Beyond Reality: The Rise of Faux OOH
Beyond Reality: The Rise of Faux OOH
Features: NBA, Juventus FC, Chelsea FC, USA Basketball, Adidas
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There is a new trend that brands are increasingly leveraging - It’s called Faux Out of Home (FOOH).
If executed well, it can create an optical illusion that grabs your attention, and generates exponential reach online.
Brands such as the NBA, Juventus, Chelsea, Adidas and USA Basketball who’ve adopted this tactic have achieved significant uplift (between 2x - 200x) in their social media performance.
Here are some recent examples of successful executions:
The NBA takes over the Las Vegas Skyline
In the lead up to the NBA’s 2023 In-Season Tournament Championship Game in Las Vegas the NBA posted the below 2 x Instagram reels, that created the optical illusion that the NBA was taking over Las Vegas.
1. From a helicopter
To gain incremental reach, they tagged trick shots sensation, Tristan Jass who shared it to his 2.3m followers. The above clip was also posted on the NBA's TikTok, receiving almost 1m views.
2. From the ground
Shortly following the above post, Richard Jefferson posted the below clip on his Instagram, which was later reshared via the NBA Instagram.
✅ Combined, these 2 x reels have been viewed 17m+ times (and counting) on Instagram and they’ve far-exceeded the NBA’s average post/reel-performance.
USA Basketball made a big announcement using London’s O2 Arena
The announcement below was that the USA Basketball Men’s National Team will play 2 x games in London next year vs South Sudan and Germany.
✅ This reel received an unparalleled number of views (6m) ensuring that the announcement was spread far and wide across social media.
Juventus paid tribute to Giorgio Chellini
View count
✅ This clip has been viewed 13m times on Juventus’ TikTok and has outperformed all clips posted within a similar timeframe on…
✅ This reel also received 18.1m views on Juventus’ Instagram and outperformed all others by a longshot…
Chelsea FC launched their kit for the 2023/24 season on the London Bridge
View count
✅ This reel has been viewed 5.2m times on Chelsea’s Instagram and has significantly outperformed others.
Adidas used the world’s largest picture frame to leverage Argentina’s world cup victory
Adidas received 250m+ organic views on this (fake) billboard in Dubai, featuring Lionel Messi.
Why does Faux OOH work?
Surprise gets our attention. In their book, Made To Stick Chip and Dean Heath explain that:
The most basic way to get someone’s attention is this: break a pattern. Humans adapt incredible quickly to consistent patterns. Consistent sensory stimulation makes us tune out.
Over time our brains have become wired to know what to expect, but our brains are also designed to be acutely aware of changes.
When we witness something unexpected like a giant basketball, jersey or a superstar athlete sitting on top of a world-famous landmark, we pay attention.
This is what the below brands have done, and this is the beauty of FOOH - the optical illusions cause us to stop scrolling on social media and pay attention.
Not yet a subscriber? Discover specialised sports marketing insights, tailored for sports industry professionals within Australia and across the globe. If you work in sports for an agency, brand or rights-holder then this is for you.