Study: 16-34s keen to get back outdoors despite ‘coronaphobia’

New research from the outdoor advertising sector has revealed that 51% of 16-34 year olds say “going outdoors” will be the first thing they do once the COVID-19 lockdown is relaxed, despite concerns that ‘coronaphobia’ would cause consumers to stay home out of fear of infection.

The survey, conducted by out-of-home (OOH) specialist agency Rapport and data insights business Differentology, also found that 55% of the 600 16-34 year olds surveyed reported feeling bored while under lockdown, while just over a third felt sad or tired.

Nevertheless, four in ten said they felt ‘happy’ during lockdown – although only 15% said they felt happy about the current restrictions.

“OOH advertising has obviously been impacted quite hard in the past couple of months but this survey of lockdown attitudes clearly demonstrates that a large proportion of 16-34’s are really missing access to the outdoors,” said Chris Marjoram, managing director for Rapport Europe.

“Once the lockdown eases there could be a fantastic opportunity for brands to engage with this valuable age group by targeting them while they are OOH enjoying the buzz of post lockdown freedom.”

The survey also found that 35% of 16-34 year olds deem OOH advertising trustworthy – largely due to its public placement – putting it a close second behind TV advertising at 38%.

Rapport and Differentology conducted the survey between April 9 and 15, with data weighted to be nationally representative.