Out-of-home (OOH) media saw total advertising expenditure of $5.5 billion in the US during 2004, a massive increase of 91% over this last decade, and is forecast to continue the upward trend, according to a recent study from Mediaedge:cia.
The report predicts that OOH advertising will enjoy strong growth compared to online and broadcast rivals. Joe Abruzzo, managing partner at Mediaedge:cia and director of its MediaLab research unit, thinks that agencies are going to have a difficult time trying to keep up and quantify the changes in the OOH category.
Commenting on the research, Abruzzo said: “Historically, it’s been harder to capture the impact of outdoor media than other forms, such as TV, radio, magazine – mainly because its audience is defined while on the move.”
The Mediaedge:cia study showed that certain age groups tend to notice certain kinds of OHH advertisements more than others, with younger demographics and men the most likely to take note. Men more likely to notice train, taxi and bus shelter adverts than women.
At the other end of the spectrum, senior citizens are the least likely to notice and consider brands advertised on billboards.
In addition, OOH was found to be one of the least annoying forms of advertising, with only 29% of those surveyed claiming they were irritated by them. Taxi adverts were considered by 29% to be the most annoying advert, with 43% of young people aged 15-24 finding them the most bothersome.
Newer forms of advertising, such as interactive billboards and those featuring audio or visual, have not yet had a significant impact on consumers, with just 37% claiming to have encountered these particular types of OHH advertising.
Abruzzo added: “Out-of-home media is clearly growing, as spending is up and advertisers are showing increased confidence in the medium. As newer forms of media come into the market place, it will be a challenge to measure the effects of each new form on consumers’ brand perceptions and purchases.”
Outdoor advertising broke new records in Britain in 2004, with the gross figure for the last quarter of the year reaching £234.95 million, a 2.7% increase on 2003, according to the latest figures from the Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA) (see Outdoor Advertising Breaks Records In 2004).
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