Last week Route published the latest audience data for out of home advertising in the United Kingdom. The release reflected a step forward on the currency’s evolution and we think demonstrates real progress towards Route’s end goal of delivering spot level ratings for digital out of home ads by the end of 2020.
Within the new data we see:
- Digital out of home (DOOH) continues its rise in audience and now reaches 62% of GB population each week (a growth of 12% in total impacts since last quarter)
- The reach of bus campaigns spanning more than 4-weeks are up between 5-11%
- 162 digital phoneboxes are now measured by Route the network now reaches in excess of 2 million people per week
- Two additional motorway service area (MSA) locations are now measured by Route, this has increased the reach of MSA advertising by 300,000 adults over a 4-week period (+7%)
- Of the top grossing 100 OOH locations, based on weekly impacts; 91 are located in London and 23 are classified as Roadside
Methodologically, there are two notable developments introduced in this release that affect the data:
- Actual contacts from the full 14-day fieldwork period are now used in the probability model
- Introduction of new geometry for large rail stations
Route’s General Manager Euan Mackay told us “The effect of incorporating 14-day samples is that we have more contacts with frames over a longer period of time. Previously, participants in Route carried their trackers for a nine day stint. What this means for advertisers is that we now provide a more accurate representation of longer term reach. This is evident in the new data at a two-week level for all environments which are showing increased reach”.
Another major development is the introduction of new HERE maps which underpin the Route infrastructure. The first environment to benefit from the switch is rail. This release we see the introduction of new maps within large rail stations. In updating the geometry, we have significantly improved the information on the layout of stations and the relative positioning of ads.
Some of the upgrades which we are now better able to factor into our calculations include:-
- The entry and exit points of stations have been updated. There were several cases where entrances were previously missing
- Platform lengths have been updated which can affect the traffic flows
- The in-station attractor points (e.g. restaurants, seating areas, ticket offices) which structure the flow models have also been updated
This development again improves the accuracy of the audience measurement. From an audience perspective, as result of the changes, impacts for rail have risen by 15% for frames common to R.27 and R.26, although the changes vary format and station.
Euan Mackay added “The latest data and introduction of new maps in rail stations is just the first of many lily pads across which we’ll be hopping over the next year or so. It signals exciting times ahead at Route, as we, alongside Ipsos, begin to see the effects of all the work happening behind the scenes emerging onto centre stage and improving the audience data.”
The next data released by Route will be published in September and will include new mapping for Indoor Shopping centres and a new Traffic Intensity Model.