Feature: Scrolling Advertising Sites
JCDecaux’s Sutton Study into the effectiveness of scrolling advertising sites found that 82% of adults recall being exposed to a scrolling 48-sheet site compared to 49% who recall seeing a static poster. Presenting the findings of the study at the MRG one day conference recently, managing director of JCDecaux Worldlink, Neil Eddleston, argued that scrolling sites are more effective in catching and holding peoples attention than static sites and claimed that advertisers are being drawn to the medium.
Scrolling advertising sites first appeared in the UK in April 2000 when More O’Ferrall unveiled a scrolling 48-sheet format. JCDecaux and Maiden Outdoor, the only other two contractors to operate scrolling sites in the UK, began converting some of their static billboards to scrolling formats during the latter half of 2000 and since then the medium has grown at a rapid rate.
By the middle of last year the number of scrolling sites nation-wide had reached 250, according to outdoor agency Blade. JCDecaux owns the largest proportion of scrolling poster sites in Britain and with 180 units dominates the market with a 74% share. More O’Ferrall, or Clear Channel UK, as it is now known, operates 50 scrolling sites and controls 24% of the market, while Maiden Outdoor owns 13 scrolling sites, giving it a 5% market share.
Blade figures show that the 48-sheet is most common scrolling format in the UK and accounts for 2% of the total 48-sheet market. However, the desire to get brands noticed among increasing levels of advertising clutter has prompted contractors to extend the scrolling function to virtually all formats. JCDecaux offers everything from scrolling 6-sheet roadsides to the larger 96-sheets. More O’Ferrall launched the 10ft by 10ft “scrolling squares” format in September to offer an alternative to the traditional 48-sheet and Maiden Outdoor offers scrolling 6-sheet point-of-sale and shopping centre sites as well as larger formats and specialised banners.
JCDecaux claims that advertisers are not put off by the fact that scrolling panels are only visible for a third of the time of a fixed panel and Clear Channel’s marketing director, Yvonne O’Brien, claims that brands are quick to book scrolling sites because they are always situated in “premium positions.”
Blade predicts that the number of scrolling sites in the UK will increase over the next two years and while the rate of growth is unlikely to match that seen over the last year, the market is expected to expand. Blade also forecasts that contractors will to begin to launch scrolling sites in cities across the country and expects the medium to become more high profile, as advertisers take advantage of the creative potential of the scrolling format, which has so far been overlooked.
Eddleston concluded: “The Sutton Study has proved that the scrolling medium delivers content, now its up to creatives to ensure that their message has a positive effect.”
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