Outdoor Advertising Continues To See Revenue Rise
The outdoor advertising industry continued its recent growth spurt in the first quarter of 2004 with revenue increasing by a solid 9.1% year on year to more than £184.5 million.
However, the latest official figures from the Outdoor Advertising Association show the industry failed to replicate the record year on year increase of 16.5% experienced during the first quarter of 2003 (see UK Outdoor Revenues Jump 17% In First Quarter).
Entertainment and media continued to be the highest spending outdoor advertiser in the three months to March with an investment of £31.2 million. The motor industry took second place with adspend topping £21 million, followed by financial companies, which accounted for £16.6 million of the sector’s total revenue.
Mail order and online retail companies made the largest percentage increases in adspend on outdoor during the same period with rises of 256% and 114.7% respectively. Leisure equipment saw the third biggest increase, pushing up its spend by 114.4% year on year.
Outdoor advertising has had a busy few months since the start of the year with several new initiatives poised to give a massive boost to the sector’s market share. Tesco TV, the in-store television network, could prove valuable if it can be classified as an outdoor medium with claims that it will reach an audience of 10 million consumers every week (see JCDecaux Secures Nationwide Tesco TV Contract).
Also jumping on the outdoor bandwagon is ScreenFX, a new start-up company installing giant plasma screens in shopping centres nation-wide. The company claims its network will be seen by 200 million visitors a year, showing broadcast quality adverts at a fraction of the cost of television commercials (see ScreenFX Prepares Largest Ever Plasma Screen Network).
Commenting on the medium’s success so far Alan James, chief executive of the OAA, said: “An increase in revenue of 9.1% for the first quarter is a great beginning to the year and follows on well from the 10.4% that was achieved for the full year in 2003. Outdoor has seen very progressive growth over recent years and Q1 proves that the medium is still going from strength to strength.”
He added: “The upcoming conference in Barcelona in September is perfectly timed to give the medium the opportunity to meet with some of its major users, discuss the big issues and to launch some major findings on the effectiveness of outdoor.”
Research released earlier this year by Clear Channel UK indicates that the the impact and effectiveness of non-television media is underestimated by as much as twenty percent by current research, a prospect that could further bolster outdoor advertising’s figures (see Existing Research Under-Reports Non-Broadcast Media).
Outdoor Advertising Association: 0207 973 0315 www.oaa.org.uk
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