How OOH is reinventing itself

WOO president Tom Goddard. Source: WOO.

Unprecedented performance

Where online advertising has grown nearly threefold in the last ten years and the traditional media (TV, Radio, Press) have shrunk by more than half, OOH has held its 5% share of the total ad market by doubling in size to $50bn in revenues, and looks set to achieve an eight per scent increase in 2025.

So what are the trends that have driven this unprecedented performance? A range of factors : the growth of digital OOH screens, which now account for 40 per cent of OOH revenues, better and more effective audience measurement, consolidation of media ownership, outstanding creative innovation and increased ADTech investment coming into the market.

From large-format digital screens and 3D anamorphic displays to AI-driven real time performance measurement , OOH is being recognised as an increasingly efficient medium that blends the strengths of both new and traditional media.

And there are strong indications that this performance will continue. DOOH , one of the drivers of growth, accounting for 40 per cent of OOH revenues, utilises only ten per cent of OOH locations, which means there are many more sites available for digital conversion, and this will accelerate growth even further.

The industry has also invested heavily in more comprehensive and sophisticated audience measurement and automated trading systems, aided by media consolidation, which allows larger media groups to increase investment and boost overall efficiency. These systems provide greater accountability and a common trading language and will eventually make OOH buying as seamless as in online media.

Return on Wow

Furthermore the creative impact provided by OOH has never been higher.

Capital cities are becoming used to the anamorphic and special builds that leap out of buildings to capture the consumer’s eye as well as the high impact large format digital screens that provide what we call ROW –Return on Wow

OOH

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Although in conventional media planning an online banner, newspaper ad and OOH display each count as one “impression” their actual impact varies substantially. A recent neuroscience-based study suggests that messages viewed on large OOH screens are remembered far longer than those seen online or on TV.

In addition the amplification effects of outstanding OOH mean that the messages spread naturally to social media and TV, so nowadays more advertisers are planning campaigns with these amplification effects in mind, especially as there is a move among major advertisers to focus more on brand building and less on performance marketing. And with OOH’s CPM ranging from $2 to $16, about a quarter of TV’s CPM, this provides further incentives to advertisers to use the medium.

Beating the fake news

OOH also has what you might call a “halo” effect compared with other media. At a time when audiences are increasingly worried about fake news on social media and AI-generated manipulated content, OOH gains the highest levels of trust and authenticity among all media, ahead of TV, social media and influencers, according to one study.

Consumer trust in TV reaches 18 per cent, social media 12 per cent and influencers at 11 per cent, while OOH gains a trust level of 21 per cent.

One of the reasons for this must be the way in which OOH is far more than a simple advertising medium. It improves public life through its infrastructure, which enables people to gain access to free wi-fi, emergency messaging services, device-charging stations and public amenities such as benches and bus shelters.

More than 55 per cent of OOH revenues are transmitted to local municipalities.

A leader in sustainability

Not only that, OOH is a leader in sustainability, emitting less carbon than other media and the sector is full of powerful sustainability initiatives, from the use of LED lighting and solar power to living walls that purify the air around them, PVC banners and the widespread use of recycled materials.

And now the World Out of Home Organization is linking up with Ad Net Zero --- the global advertising industry initiative to drive growth that’s better for the planet --- to refine the Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF) so that it better reflects the specific characteristics of Out-of-Home media.

In our view, when you put all these factors together you have a legacy medium that has successfully reinvented itself by combining the strengths of the oldest and simplest medium with all the latest advances in digital technology. Unlike other media, you can’t turn it off, change channel, turn the page or re-click. You can’t avoid it, it’s always there but it doesn’t clutter up your life.

To sum up, OOH is forging ahead, despite continual upheavals in the media landscape and renewed economic uncertainty, which have shaken up the whole world of advertising. OOH is the original mass medium, now supercharged by digital technology, which today stands at the centre of modern advertising communication.