The Streets are Coming Alive Again

How city residents are re-emerging while adapting to the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt almost every industry imaginable. OOH advertising is no exception as our industry enables brands to be part of people’s lives when they are outside their homes by sharing their message on the streets of our cities. 

A saving grace is, thanks to our impression-serving methodology, our advertisers pay only for impressions that are actually served where people are. This means  we are uniquely positioned to protect our advertisers’ return on their media dollars during this time of great uncertainty. 

How are our partners recording impact on the streets?

Place IQ has categorized trends during the pandemic into 3 phases

The early days of the pandemic were categorized as the “Panic & Prepare” phase, when traffic dropped sharply for most industries except for pharmacies and big-box retailers. 

Then came the “Quarantine Routine” phase. Here we observed low and flat levels of traffic across the board. 

Now we are in a phase that Place IQ calls “Reemergence Ramp.” Here foot traffic on the streets is increasing , as well as in brick-and-mortar stores; people want to return to shopping and dining in the “real world” again. 

Place IQ trends

Apple reports foot traffic is reaching pre-COVID levels

Apple’s mobility trends reports quantify these phases. They show that pedestrian traffic declined by as much as 80% during the “Quarantine Routine” phase but have more recently sprung back up. 

Cities like San Francisco and NYC appear to be reaching near pre-COVID levels of foot traffic, which is encouraging. Data indicates that Chicago and LA have even surpassed those levels.

Apple Mobility Data

Chicago is returning to pre-COVID levels of walking traffic in the city

Geopath shows “distance traveled” increasing

While pedestrian traffic has recovered to a significant degree, people also have started venturing out from their residences farther every day. Geopath reports, for example, that “Average Daily Miles Traveled” is way above the “Quarantine Routine” days and near pre-COVID levels in cities where Firefly operates.  

Geopath report

New York 7 day average of miles travelled is trending back towards pre-COVID levels

Now is the time to target the streets with Firefly

We believe now is a high-return opportunity to share your message with the many people who are returning to the streets of our cities. 

Staying at home for an extended period during the earlier stages of the pandemic broke down many consumer habits. Now that muscle memory is being reset, which Foursquare calls “The Great Reset” : How COVID-19 Reestablishes the Muscle Memory of Consumption. They note, however, that the beneficiaries of this customer phenomenon of store visits returning to normal levels over time will not be the same. We agree - and Firefly can enable your message to now be far more impactful in convincing potential customers to consider your product or service.