The introduction of a new ratings-based trading system for outdoor poster advertising would benefit media owners but not advertisers according to new research by poster specialist Concord.
The study, commissioned by Rosemary Taylor Associates, was conducted in order to learn more about attitudes towards outdoor audience researcher, Postar, and to discover opinions on the possible introduction of a ratings for system for outdoor similar to ITV’s station average price.
Just over half of advertisers would like to see the introduction of a ratings system, compared with 40% of agencies. Outdoor contractors, on the other hand, are very much in favour of rating poster sites, with over 80% saying they would like to see poster ratings introduced.
Agencies and advertisers agree that Postar ratings would benefit contractors the most, and less so for poster specialists, agencies and advertisers. Indeed, approximately half of agencies and advertisers interviewed claimed that poster ratings would be harmful to them.
The research was conducted by telephone interview of 56 senior decision makers in the industry: 23 advertisers, 27 media services/agencies and 6 media owners.
The introduction of a ratings-based currency would allow outdoor advertising to be more easily compared with other media. However, advertisers currently feel that there is not enough information on Postar available; 56% of agencies said that they had ‘little understanding’ of the company.
The introduction of a station average price to poster trading was deemed to ‘not at all useful’ by the majority of agencies and contractors. This apparently stems from their experience with TV airtime buying.
Concord: 0171 543 4444 Postar: 0171 706 2111
