Mars and the agencies that created the ‘Extra’s Gum Cities’ campaign, EssenceMediacom, T&Pm, and GroupM have been selected as the 2024 winners of the JCDecaux PROGRAMMATIC Campaign of the Year Award.
The winning entry demonstrated the use of programmatic out-of-home to increase brand awareness, improve sentiment, and drive sales growth.
Designed to engage Gen Z students, workers, and commuters, Extra’s Gum Cities showed how out-of-home connects brands with young audiences. Recent research shows Gen Z values real-life experiences as much as their digital world. By placing creative in targeted environments, the campaign drove shifts in brand perception and purchase intent, leading to instant and sustained sales growth of up to 10 per cent across the eastern seaboard.
“The judges agreed that Extra’s Gum Cities showed the real power of programmatic Out-of-Home – not just in reaching audiences, but in driving business outcomes. By combining data-led targeting with creative that resonated in real-world settings, Extra’s Gum Cities connected with target audiences in ways that felt natural and relevant, ultimately driving both engagement and sales,” Brad Palmer, national programmatic director, JCDecaux said.
Results of the programmatic out-of-home campaign included a 64 per cent increase in purchase consideration, 206 per cent rise in positive brand perception and a 106 per cent improvement in brand clarity.
The campaign utilised GroupM’s digital out-of-home planning platform, Journeys, to optimise location selection and ensure relevance at scale. Alongside its out-of-home presence, the fully integrated, omnichannel campaign extended across BVOD, radio, and social media.
“Younger audiences expect brands to meet them where they are, not just online, but in the environments they move through every day. Programmatic Out-of-Home played a critical role in reaching them, ensuring Extra’s Gum Cities was visible at the right time and place. The results speak for themselves; programmatic Out-of-Home allowed Extra to deliver a breakthrough result and campaign. Recognition through this award reflects the collaboration and expertise across our teams in using data and dynamic creative to drive business targets,” Michelle O’Brien, client managing partner from EssenceMediacom said.
With tailored messaging for different audience segments and locations, Extra’s Gum Cities used creative triggers within the DSP to adjust content based on time, day, environment and mindset. Morning rail commuters were served ‘Put today on the right track,’ while evening commuters saw ‘Departing platform’. Students near universities saw ‘Morning Chewtorials’ in the mornings, while nightlife districts featured ‘Chew the Night Away’ from Thursday to Saturday.
“Chewing Extra Gum delivers Australian consumers a refreshing and unconventional me-moment in an increasingly chaotic world, and our Gum Cities campaign helped us reinforce that. Programmatic Out-of-Home gave us the flexibility to tailor our messaging to different audience segments at scale, ensuring we reached people when they were most receptive. This level of precision helped further integrate Extra Gum into people’s routines, reminding them to chew Extra whenever they’re looking for a simple way to take a bite-sized me-moment,” Frances Birsa, Gum & Mints portfolio director at Mars Wrigley added.
The judges also awarded Highly Commended to HSBC’s International Airport Travel campaign aimed at increasing foreign exchange transactions with international visitors departing and arriving in Sydney. Using JCDecaux’s Sydney Airport network, the campaign aligned creative messaging with flight schedules and audience movement patterns at Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal.
