Ad Revenue On The Up For Outdoor

Advertising revenues have increased on a yearly basis in the first quarter of this year, climbing 5.5%, according to figures released by the Advertising Association.

Outdoor saw the greatest increase with revenue soaring 19.3% from just under £150m for the first quarter 2000 to just under £180m for the first quarter of this year. National Newspapers saw the second highest climb, with ad revenue increasing 11% to £631.8m. Growth in radio ad revenue was less significant, rising a modest 1% to £121.3m, while TV was the only sector to see advertising revenue fall, dropping 2.3% to £904.4m.

Commenting on the growth enjoyed by the Outdoor sector, managing director of Maiden Outdoor, Dave Dron, said: “Everyone is glad to see advertising revenue for the sector rise. Last time there was an overall dip in advertising, which is what we’re seeing this year, TV advertising was consolidated and other advertisers lost out. This year its different, advertisers are taking a multimedia approach and outdoor is doing better and better. Five years ago if you looked at the top advertisers, only 35% of them had outdoor accounts, now 85% do.”

He added: “There is no one single reason for this, its a combination of the outdoor sector becoming more professional, providing a better service, gaining more sites and investing more in research. It’s also thanks to factors beyond our control such as outdoor’s audience increasing, due to the rise of road and rail traffic, and TV and Radio’s audiences becoming more and more fragmented.”

Dron predicted that the growth of the sector would continue, saying: “Q2 growth will not be as high, but advertising revenue for the outdoor sector will have increased between six and eight percent by the end of the year.”

Advertising Association: 020 828 2771 www.adassoc.org.uk

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