In recent years, industry pundits have been saying that digital-out-of-home advertising is the fastest growing segment in the out-of-home market with no signs of slowing down.
According to preliminary numbers reported by PQ Media [1], a leading provider of alternative advertising and marketing research, the digital out-of-home market was expected to grow 15% for 2010, to $2.07 billion.
The trend is consistent with patterns seen by DOmedia [2], Columbus, Ohio-based provider of planning and buying tools for alternative, traditional and digital out-of-home media. DOmedia has seen continuous double-digit growth since its founding in 2007.
In 2010, DOmedia experienced a 30% growth in DOOH searches.
“There is considerable momentum in the marketplace for DOOH,” says Rich Langdale, interim CEO, DOmedia. “For example in 2010 alone, the number of total searchable companies in the DOmedia marketplace increased 18% to over 460 companies, but the number of digital companies nearly doubled, increasing 92%, to over 100.”
The number of agency and advertiser users also grew dramatically in 2010, almost doubling the amount of buying users compared to 2009.
There are a number of reasons for increased interest in DOOH advertising. According to DOmedia, consumers are spending more time out of the home than ever; twice more today than 30 years ago. And when consumers are out of their home, they are increasingly likely to see DOOH advertising, from screens at the gas pump to ads in their local mall.
Consumer researcher Arbitron [3] found in a 2010 Digital Place-Based Video Study that more than two-thirds of teens and adults have seen a digital video display in a public venue in the past month. Marketers are finding a much more receptive audience when they reach consumers while they are out than when they are at home on the couch.
“When a consumer is at home watching television, the commercial is an interruption and TV watchers often use this time to get up and do something else,” says Langdale. “Contrast this to advertising at a gas pump or when waiting in line; these ads are often seen as a welcomed distraction.”
Additionally, with reduced ad budgets due to the recession, marketers are finding that digital out-of-home advertising is one of the most efficient ways to reach consumers cost-effectively. For example, during elections this past November, DOmedia showed campaign media buyershow they could target their political ads to one particular precinct or zip code, enabling them to target their messages more effectively. The company expects that this targeted use of DOOH will only increase as more election campaigns become aware of this tool.
Retailers are also finding value in reaching a targeted audience. According to Langdale, DOmedia saw a spike in searches in the fourth quarter for last minute Christmas advertising campaigns targeted to shoppers.
Technologies such as those offered by DOmedia are expected to reduce the cost of DOOH media in the marketplace. The use of technology creates increased efficiency that lowers the cost and increases the scale by which DOOH media can be planned and bought. Limited advertising budgets, decreasing costs in DOOH due to market efficiencies, and better advertising targeting will all lead to continued DOOH growth in the coming years.
“We are on target to grow dramatically in 2011, with no signs of slowing down,” Langdale says.