TDI Expects To Buck Advertising Downturn
Last year the outdoor advertising industry was one of the fastest-growing media in terms of ad expenditure, with a year on year growth of 7.8%. This was beaten only by the massive growth of radio advertising and the 8.9% growth of business magazines. Radio expenditure was up by 15.9% between 1997 and 1998 according to Advertising Association figures. However, UK advertisers’ spend on Outdoor last year was greater than that on radio: £543 million, compared to radio’s £438 million.
Projections by the Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA) show that Outdoor advertising will slip back to a growth of 0.7% between this year and 1998; the total advertising expenditure of the UK is expected to slip into recession during 1999, down by 0.2% on 1998.
All figures for the Outdoor market include transport advertising: ads on buses, the London Underground, railway sites, taxis and airport sites. Bus and Underground advertising in the UK is sold by TDI, a company which is expecting to buck the media industry’s slow-down with a predicted 10% growth in its business this year.
TDI is currently bidding for the European outdoor advertising company, Avenir (see Bids For Outdoor Company Avenir Received). Fresh from success at last year’s Media Week awards, TDI is confident that the company’s “innovative performance” in Europe will put it in a strong position in the Avenir discussions.
All display advertising media will be affected by less favourable economic conditions over the next couple of years. However, the Outdoor medium is expected to perform rather better than the average as television becomes more fragmented, according to the OAA.