Outsmart, the trade body for the Out of Home industry in the UK has announced that Out of Home revenue reported for the quarter October to December 2017 saw the total market grow by 4.3% from GBP 318 million in Q4 2016 to GBP 332 million in Q4 2017.
Justin Cochrane, Chair of Outsmart, told us “the Out of Home industry remains resilient at a time of much economic and political uncertainty. The growth seen last year highlights just how creatively advertisers are using the medium to deliver results.”
The strong Q4 contributed towards annual Out of Home revenue of GBP 1,144 million, up 1.5% from 2016. Digital had a significant quarter of growth with an increase of 17.4% in Q4.
Q4:
- The total OOH advertising market has grown 4.3%, from £318m in Q4 2016 to £332m in Q4 2017
- Digital has grown 17.4% in this period (a slightly slower rate than it has been throughout the year), and Classic at -6.0% (a less aggressive decline than seen in prior quarters). This may suggest a rebalancing after some fairly rapid digital rollout/expansion
- Digital penetration has (for the first time ever) reached 50%! (49.51% to be exact!) This is vs. 44% penetration one year prior
- Banner formats have seen the fastest growth in % terms, growing 16% since Q4 2016 – all of which is driven by Classic. There has also been over 50% growth in Digital 48s and 96s (although this has largely been mitigated by declines in the Classic versions of these)
- Retail had a strong performance in Q4 2017, growing 13.1% vs. Q4 2016. This is a positive story for retail, given recent concerns around shopping mall traffic vs. Christmas purchases being made online. Transport is the only segment which has net declined, although only by a relatively small amount (-0.7%, -£0.9m)
2017:
- The total OOH market has grown 1.5% to £1,144m, from £1,128m in 2016
- Across the year, Digital has grown 22.9% (+£98m), while Classic declined 11.6% (-£81m)
- Digital penetration was 46%, up from 38% in 2016
- 48s and Banners declined by 5.8% and 1.3% respectively, while all other formats grew. Most notably 6s, which grew 4.4% (+£15.4m) over 2017 – outweighing the decline in 48s and Banners
- All environments have experienced moderate growth (Retail +9.3%, Roadside +3.1% and Other +5.3%), except Transport which has declined 3.0%
For the first time, Digital Out of Home accounted for 50% of total Out of Home revenue, in comparison to 44% in Q4 2016. This reflects the continued investment in state of the art digital inventory as well as conversion of Classic sites.
Figures from the latest Route release (R25) highlight the growing influence of Digital OOH, which now reaches over half the Great British population each week and offers 92% reach in London.
With Digital enhancements at scale and audience growth, the medium as a whole is increasingly effective. A recent study commissioned by Rapport, in partnership with the IPA, measured the business impacts of both Classic and Digital Out of Home. The results revealed that advertisers spending 15%+ of their budgets on the medium receive a boost of over one-third in market share and a 20% increase in profit growth.