Store locator placement lifts digital out-of-home intent

Vistar Media has published research with Omnicom Media and Annalect on the effect of store locators in digital out-of-home advertising. The study found that placement and design choices affected consumer intent across retail, quick-service restaurant and consumer packaged goods campaigns.

The research was based on a forced-exposure study of 7,200 consumers in the Netherlands aged 18 to 59. Participants were shown a vertical digital outdoor advert either without store information or with a store locator placed at the top, middle or bottom of the creative.

The study measured visit intent for retail and quick-service restaurant campaigns and purchase intent for consumer packaged goods campaigns. It also tracked brand recognition, brand appreciation and ad appreciation.

Top or bottom placement generally performed better than a middle position, where store information competed with headlines and imagery. For consumer packaged goods campaigns, top placement delivered a 20% lift in purchase intent compared with adverts without a store locator.

Retail and quick-service restaurant campaigns showed a different pattern. In those categories, bottom placement generated the strongest visit intent, with a 9% lift versus the control group.

The largest change came from impulse-buy consumer packaged goods such as sweets and chocolate. In that segment, purchase intent rose by more than 110%, indicating that location information may be most influential when consumers can make a rapid buying decision.

Design choices

The study also found that visual treatment affected outcomes regardless of where the locator appeared. Using a familiar map-pin symbol increased visit intent by 16%.

Presenting store information in high contrast lifted visit or purchase intent by 10%, depending on the category. The findings suggest that relatively small adjustments to creative layout can alter how audiences respond to a digital outdoor campaign.

The research also pointed to a potential trade-off for advertisers using third-party retail branding inside a locator. When store information prominently featured another brand, such as a supermarket or dealership, attention appeared to split between the advertiser and the reseller.

That may matter more for brands trying to build recognition, particularly newer entrants. In those cases, including another company's branding in the locator could weaken the advertiser's own visibility within the creative.

The research adds to a broader industry effort to understand how creative choices affect outcomes in programmatic digital out-of-home advertising. While measurement in the channel has often focused on audience delivery and location data, this study examines whether formatting decisions within the advert itself can shape stated consumer behaviour.

Vistar Media, part of T-Mobile Advertising Solutions, operates in more than 35 markets. Omnicom Media and data and analytics unit Annalect worked with the company on the project.

The company provided a factual summary of the findings alongside publication of the research.

"This research shows that small creative decisions, like where a store locator sits and how it's designed, have a quantifiably meaningful effect on how audiences respond. When thoughtfully considered, a simple store locator becomes a measurable driver of consumer intent," said Martine Hammink, VP, Creative Studio & Creative Solutions, Vistar Media.

"It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, but we hope this study gives brands and creative teams real evidence to make their creative outdoor advertising decisions more intentional and impactful," Hammink said.