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6th November, 2026
At a glance: For its New Year campaign, launched in December 2016 to welcome in 2017, Southern Comfort asked The Media People to deliver its biggest ever out of home (OOH) campaign: a multi-million pound plan across four UK cities in four weeks. We saturated key areas with a Piccadilly Circus takeover, bus sides, Tube posters and panels, experiential activity and sampling, backed by national press and a Time Out takeover. It delivered 60 million impacts and 2.2x extra media value vs spend.
Key results
| Result | Figure |
|---|---|
| Impacts across the campaign | 60 million |
| Extra media value vs spend | 2.2x |
| Samples served | 4,500 |
| Standout placement | New Year takeover of the illuminated screens at Piccadilly Circus |
What was the brief?
The brief was to deliver Southern Comfort’s biggest ever out of home campaign. It was a multi-million pound media campaign across four UK cities, including London, Manchester and Glasgow, and it had to be delivered in just four weeks.
That combination of scale and a short window shaped everything. The plan needed to make a big impression quickly, in the places where the audience would see it most.
Who was the audience?
The audience was people in four UK cities getting ready to celebrate New Year. Many of them would pass through busy commuter hotspots and city centres during the campaign, so those locations were where we focused.
What did The Media People do?
Our approach was simple: find the people and hit the hotspots. We focused on high-impact online and offline media, takeovers, experiential activity and sampling, and we concentrated it in key areas to saturate them. All messaging centred on New Year celebrations.
A New Year takeover of Piccadilly Circus
We secured a New Year takeover of the iconic illuminated sites at Piccadilly Circus, one of the most recognisable advertising locations in the UK. It was the standout placement of the campaign.
Buses, the Underground and Tube panels
In London, we used bus sides, London Underground posters and Tube panels across key stations and network intersections. Placing ads where routes meet means more people pass them on their way through the network.
Experiential activity and sampling in commuter hotspots
Experiential activity ran in commuter hotspots, and promotional sampling served 4,500 samples. Sampling gave people a taste of the product alongside the advertising they were seeing around them.
National press and a Time Out takeover
A national press campaign extended the message beyond the four cities, and an online Time Out takeover was aimed at people planning what to do and where to go over New Year.
What were the results?
The campaign delivered 60 million impacts and 2.2x extra media value vs spend. It served 4,500 samples, and the takeover of the Piccadilly Circus illuminated sites was the campaign’s standout placement.
Why did it work?
It worked because the plan concentrated spend where it would be seen most, over a short period. Saturating key areas makes a campaign feel everywhere at once, which suits a seasonal moment like New Year.
The mix also covered the full journey. Large OOH formats and the Piccadilly Circus takeover built fame, Underground and bus placements repeated the message on everyday routes, sampling turned attention into trial, and press and Time Out reached people who were planning their celebrations.
What can other drinks brands learn from this campaign?
- Concentrate rather than spread. In a short window, saturating a few key areas can create more impact than thin coverage everywhere.
- Use landmark sites for fame. Iconic placements like Piccadilly Circus give a campaign a talking point.
- Follow commuter routes. Stations and network intersections put ads in front of the same people repeatedly.
- Pair OOH with sampling. Advertising makes people aware of a drink; sampling lets them try it.
- Match the message to the moment. Messaging built around a shared occasion like New Year feels relevant in every location.
FAQs
What is a good example of OOH advertising for a drinks brand?
Southern Comfort’s New Year campaign is one example. It combined a Piccadilly Circus takeover, London bus sides, Underground posters and Tube panels with sampling, national press and a Time Out takeover, delivering 60 million impacts.
What channels did the Southern Comfort New Year campaign use?
It used posters at Piccadilly Circus, London bus sides, London Underground posters and Tube panels, experiential activity and sampling in commuter hotspots, a national press campaign and an online Time Out takeover.
How many impacts did the Southern Comfort New Year campaign deliver?
The campaign delivered 60 million impacts and 2.2x extra media value vs spend.
Why advertise at Piccadilly Circus?
Piccadilly Circus is one of the UK’s most recognisable advertising locations. A takeover of its illuminated screens gives a brand a high-profile placement, especially at a busy time like New Year.
What does "impacts" mean in out of home advertising?
Impacts are an estimate of the number of times people see an advert. One person seeing the same poster several times counts as several impacts.
Related services
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