Garnier wins JCDecaux award for weather-led campaign

L'Oréal Garnier has won the 2025 JCDecaux Programmatic Campaign of the Year Award for its Vitamin C Daily Tinted Fluid campaign, developed with WPP Media agency Wavemaker.

The award recognised a programmatic digital out-of-home campaign that used contextual creative and weather-triggered messaging. JCDecaux reported the work delivered a 10% rise in sales during the campaign period, alongside a 31% increase in brand familiarity and a 54% lift in consideration.

Garnier's campaign addressed a common consumer behaviour gap in Australia: awareness of ultraviolet risk is widespread, but daily sunscreen use remains inconsistent. The brand positioned its Vitamin C Daily Tinted Fluid as a product that combines skincare with SPF50+ protection, placing the message in public settings tied to everyday routines.

Programmatic digital out-of-home technology allowed ad placements to adjust in real time. Creative content also changed with live weather conditions, reinforcing the idea that SPF should be used every day regardless of the weather.

John Harris, chief sales officer at JCDecaux Australia and a judge for the awards, said: "Garnier's campaign is an excellent example of what programmatic Out-of-Home can deliver when data, context and creativity work together. It combined smart targeting and contextual messaging to build consistent presence at scale, delivering results that matter - stronger brand measures and reported sales growth."

According to Wavemaker, the campaign marked Garnier's first major investment in programmatic out-of-home advertising. The brief was to encourage consumers to build a daily SPF habit while helping the brand stand out in a crowded skincare category.

Bridget Chaur, marketing manager at Garnier, said: "Garnier is a brand rooted in a legacy of pioneering innovation. Our first foray into DOOH for our Vitamin C Daily Tinted Fluid campaign perfectly illustrates our commitment to testing and trialling new formats to bring innovation and market share growth to the brand. We didn't just want to leverage programmatic DOOH to reach more people, but to land a contextually relevant message that would shift perceptions and drive consideration of Garnier in a cluttered category. We didn't just showcase a product; we demonstrated to consumers how the Daily Tinted Fluid integrates seamlessly into their lives. A huge thank you to the Wavemaker Media & JCDecaux teams for helping us set the benchmark on how we engage with our community through digital excellence."

Wavemaker said the campaign relied on real-time optimisation to determine where and when ads appeared, aiming to improve efficiency while matching messages to the moments and locations most relevant to target audiences.

Joshua Fithall, Wavemaker implementation & activation associate director, said: "The Garnier team constantly challenge us to find smarter ways to drive impact, and this campaign is a direct result of that ambition. This was Garnier's first major programmatic Out-of-Home investment, and it's set a new benchmark for what contextual, data-led Out-of-Home can achieve. The brief challenged us to make daily SPF a habit, and to help Garnier stand out in an increasingly crowded market. Programmatic Out-of-Home allowed us to do both, combining real-time optimisation with weather-triggered creative to deliver the right message in the right moment. Alongside strong shifts in familiarity and consideration, this proves the power of Programmatic Out-of-Home when there is a clear strategic ambition. A huge thanks to the Garnier team for backing the ambition."

Highly commended

The judges also gave a Highly Commended rating to Virgin Australia and PHD Media, working with Yahoo DSP, for the Business Flyer campaign. It used dynamic alignment, geofencing and sequential storytelling to target audiences at selected moments.

Reported results showed the Virgin Australia campaign delivered a 15% uplift in brand perception and moved customers through the sales funnel. Its stated aim was to lift brand awareness and increase loyalty program sign-ups through a data-led programmatic approach.

Award background

The JCDecaux Programmatic Campaign of the Year Award was launched in 2023 and is positioned as Australia's first award dedicated to programmatic digital out-of-home. It recognises brands and agencies using programmatic out-of-home through a combination of strategy, creative work and data-led media execution.

This year's judging panel included executives from JCDecaux Australia, IAB Australia, Innovid, Mars Australia and JCDecaux Group. Harris said the winning campaign showed how contextual messaging and data can work together to produce measurable commercial and brand effects.