Back to school: Why (D)OOH is the season's must-have media channel

Alongside Black Friday and Christmas, the back-to-school season has established itself as one of the peak shopping periods of the year. In Belgium, more than 1.2 million pupils and 285,000 students are heading back to class¹; a unique opportunity for brands to reach an audience on the move. Here is how (D)OOH (Digital & Out-Of-Home) turns this key milestone of daily life into an advertising success.

A journey that starts as early as June

Back to school doesn't just happen on 1 September. It's a three-part narrative:

• From June: 34.1% of shoppers get a head start to plan stress-free.²  
• In August: over 90% of back-to-school purchases are wrapped up in an organizational frenzy.³
• Early September: the focus shifts to simplicity, speed, and proximity.⁴

It is therefore essential to tailor your message to each stage of the journey to capture the right intent at the right time (organization, good deals, or practical urgent needs).

Two audiences, two stories to tell

1) Parents & Families (practical & indulgence purchases):

• 33% of Belgian households have dependent children.⁵
• 1 in 2 parents takes the opportunity to treat themselves to personal items, boosting their average basket size by +40%⁶
• They can be reached near schools, daycares, residential areas, and shopping centres.

2) Gen Z & Students (urban autonomy) :

• 83% of students handle their own back-to-school shopping (tech, student room decor, fashion).⁷  
• 55% prefer out-of-home advertising (OOH) over online ads. OOH reaches 99% of this target audience, with 3 hours of daily outdoor exposure.⁸  
• They can be reached around universities, nightlife hotspots, public transit, and bike-sharing stations.

From the urban landscape to the point of purchase

Even in a digital-first era, 72% of back-to-school purchases take place in physical stores (compared to 28% online).⁹

(D)OOH acts as the perfect bridge between the street and the checkout:

• Brand awareness: +9 % recall. ¹⁰ 
• Drive-to-Store: +46% store traffic among consumers exposed to the posters. ¹¹
• Drive-to-Web: +56% online actions triggered after seeing an outdoor campaign.¹²

A successful back-to-school strategy isn't played out exclusively behind a mobile screen. By combining the geographic precision, powerful impact, and local footprint of Bauer Media Outdoor Belgium's (D)OOH solutions, you guide families and Gen Z right at the heart of their daily decisions!

Discover our out-of-home advertising solutions today.

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¹Together with Black Friday,Christmas & winter/summer sales periods. 1,2 million students (aged 2,5-17years old) and 285.727 college/university students

²JLL (Jonas Lang LaSalle IP, Inc) Back-to-School Shopping Survey2023

³Back to school: How out-of-home advertising drives purchases,Alight Media, 2025

⁴Back to school: How out-of-home advertising drives purchases,Alight Media, 2025

⁵Back-to-SchoolShopping report 2023, JLL (Jonas Lang LaSalle IP, Inc)

⁶Back-to-SchoolShopping report 2023, JLL (Jonas Lang LaSalle IP, Inc)

⁷Gen Z Insights article “Why brands should double down onback-to-school marketing” NRF’s Annual 2021 Back-to-School/College Survey

⁸Kanta Millward Brown Study

⁹Back to school: How out-of-home advertising drives purchases,Alight Media, 2025

¹⁰Ipsos Cobra 78 cases 2014-2020

¹¹Posterscope / WARC & Toluna “Worldwide adult shoppers”

¹²Posterscope / WARC & Toluna “Worldwide adult shoppers”