Martin Boase, chairman of outdoor advertising contractor Maiden, yesterday told his company’s AGM that there has been a strong start to the year for outdoor advertising, despite a broader slowdown in the ad market.
He said that Maiden’s record performance in 2000 has so far been carried over into this year. Despite a ‘more uncertain economic environment’ in May and June, Maiden expects to show a 9-10% increase in revenue over the same period last year.
The US slowdown has impacted on UK growth, said Boase, but “the announcement of the 7 June election date, the decline in the foot and mouth epidemic and the three interest rate cuts by the Bank of England would appear, in combination, to be increasing confidence and mitigating against the expectation of any significant drop in UK economic growth this year.”
He said there has been an uplift in interest from advertisers in launching campaigns for the summer. More broadly, Maiden is committed to enhancing its position in the UK through selective acquisitions and organic investment.
ABN Amro expects outdoor to be the fastest-growing medium in the UK in 2001, at around 5.5%.
