Creative Quality Emerges as Key Factor in OOH Campaign Performance, New Analysis Finds
Initial Findings Point to Strong Link Between Creative Execution and Brand Outcomes
NEW YORK, May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on prior research demonstrating the effectiveness of out-of-home (OOH) advertising, new analysis from Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO) and Super Optimal suggests that creative quality plays a meaningful role in determining why some OOH campaigns outperform others.
Drawing on 27 RADARProof studies conducted with Kantar, the analysis incorporates creative scoring from Super Optimal to compare campaign performance across key brand metrics including ad awareness, favorability and purchase intent.
In 70% of the measured campaigns, creative quality aligned with brand performance outcomes. Campaigns with stronger creative scores were more likely to deliver higher brand lift, while weaker creative was more often associated with underperformance. Together, these findings suggest a meaningful, direct relationship between creative quality and campaign outcomes.
"Creative is one of the most controllable drivers of campaign performance in OOH, yet it's often under-leveraged as a strategic input," said Mike McGraw, Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director at Clear Channel Outdoor. "By bringing structured creative scoring into measurement frameworks, we can help advertisers understand not just what worked, but why, and use that insight to continuously test, refine and improve campaign performance over time."
This analysis also builds on broader industry findings, including Clear Channel and Kantar's recent study analyzing thousands of brand campaigns that showed OOH ads prompted an average 13.3% growth in ad awareness, outpacing TV (10.2%), digital (3.9%) and connected TV (2.2%), highlighting both the strength of the channel and the opportunity to further optimize results through creative effectiveness.
To build on these insights, Clear Channel Outdoor is partnering with Super Optimal, to integrate its creative scoring into future RADARProof attribution studies, enabling advertisers to evaluate creative alongside campaign outcomes and apply those insights to optimize future campaigns.
"There is immense value in bringing data and consistency to something that has historically been subjective," said Neil Morris, Founder at Super Optimal. "This analysis reinforces a simple truth: out-of-home works best when creative is intentionally designed for the medium. By testing creative within a consistent OOH-focused framework, we can validate what drives performance and offer clear, practical insight."
This news marks an early step in Clear Channel's broader investment in creative optimization and measurement, helping brands better align medium, message and outcome in an increasingly complex media landscape.
"We're building on what we already know: OOH is a proven, high-performing medium. This data begins to answer a more important question about what drives stronger results within the channel," said Dan Levi, Chief Marketing Officer at Clear Channel Outdoor. "Creative has always mattered, and these early findings suggest creative strategy and design should be treated as strategic performance levers, with OOH creative being designed specifically for the medium, not just extended from other media formats."
About Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCO) is at the forefront of driving innovation in the out-of-home advertising industry. Our dynamic advertising platform is broadening the pool of advertisers using its medium through the expansion of digital billboards and displays and the integration of data analytics and programmatic capabilities that deliver measurable campaigns that are simpler to buy. By leveraging the scale, reach and flexibility of our diverse portfolio of assets, we connect advertisers with millions of consumers every month.
About Super Optimal
Super Optimal is a design intelligence platform built specifically for the out-of-home advertising industry. Using machine learning models trained on proven OOH design principles, the platform analyses creative assets and provides actionable optimization guidance across metrics such as simplicity, clarity and attention. To learn more, click here.
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SOURCE Clear Channel Outdoor