Tesco Mobile dials into real-time flight data to promote no EU roaming fees

The DOOH activations, created by BBH London, are part of the 'It Pays to be Connected' campaign

By Creative Salon

24 July 2024

Tesco Mobile is shining a spotlight on No EU roaming fees with a digital out of home campaign (DOOH), which displays a live countdown to flight departure times alongside straplines tailored to each destination.

By reminding non-Tesco Mobile customers of all the fun chatter they'll be missing out on when they take off for their summer holidays, the campaign brings to life how 'It Pays to be Connected', thanks to Tesco Mobile and no EU roaming fees.

Set to run for three weeks, the ‘Summer Roaming’ campaign is the first time DOOH.com creative has displayed live flight information using airport APIs. The creative will update using real-time flight information, including flight numbers, destinations, and time to departure.

The DOOH.com spots will display countdowns to departure times, then, travellers heading to those destinations in time for certain cultural events will be served bespoke headlines. For example, those travelling to the destination of a certain musician’s world tour will see their countdown, followed by the line “...til you can’t live-stream your restricted view of tay-tay”. The location-dependent tagline is followed by, “Unless you’re on Tesco Mobile, with no EU roaming fees this year”.

The work will be prominently featured in major UK airports including Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Birmingham.

The campaign was created collaboratively with BBH London, EssenceMediaCom, GroupM OOH and DOOH.com.

Rachel Swift, chief customer officer at Tesco Mobile, said: “We’re in the midst of a captivating summer of sport, music and entertainment and with so many families looking forward to travel this summer, our campaign serves as a timely reminder that it pays to be connected with Tesco Mobile. No EU roaming fees, means our customers can take their minutes, texts and data with them while they travel this summer, they won’t have to miss a moment.”

Steven Dennison, creative business director at DOOH.com, added: “The ‘Summer Roaming’ Tesco Mobile campaign is a testament to innovation and engagement. This is exactly what Dynamic campaigns are about - bringing fun, relevant content to screens, that not only engages with the target audience but is actually useful to passersby. It’s great to see big-name brands continuing to pursue campaigns in this way.”

BBH London creative directors, Genevieve Gransden and Selma Ahmed commented: “Airports are a hub for generic messages so it’s been really fun to bring data and creative together to make something that feels fresh and dynamic. By using live flight times we’re able to play off the idea of ‘FOMO’ with a real sense of urgency that makes the work stand out from everything else around it.”

Harry Smith, senior account manager at GroupM Outdoor concluded: “DOOH campaigns that use real-time data and contextual copy, now have the ability to connect with broad audiences across a range of environments. Our target audience’s geographical and behavioural activity was used to help inform our planning and buying approach – these specific airports and dwell time moments were selected as a prime opportunity to build brand consideration of Tesco Mobile.”