The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) has released its 2018 Annual Report, which notes a healthy and growing industry, currently accounting for 6.2 per cent share of the $15bn Australian media spend, and sitting in the top two growing media channels for 2018.
Total net media revenue increased 10.8 per cent to an all-time high of $927.2m, with print at 47.3 per cent of that, and digital Out of Home (DOOH) accounting for 52.3 per cent. It was the first year that digital overtook print in the majority of spend. Seven years ago digital was only 7.3 per cent.
Spending on outdoor media has been growing rapidly, it is up by more than 50 per cent on the figure five years ago, when it stood at $579m. Roadside billboards are the number one channel, followed by roadside other, then transport, then retail and lifestyle. The Christmas quarter sees a 20 per cent uplift in spend compared with the other three quarters.
Alcoholic beverage brands spend the most, followed by food, gambling, communications, and entertainment. Unibet was the top brand promoted outdoor.
Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of the OMA said, “We are proud of our achievements in 2018, working in areas that not only unify our industry but also focus on the needs of advertisers and the community. The OMA’s work across the core functions of policy and regulation, government relations, media relations, marketing, audience measurement, and member services, has proven pivotal for industry growth.”
The report says out of home media reaches 93 per cent of Australians living in capital cities, which is 12.7 million people making 53 million trips each day.
The year was a huge one for the out of home industry, with four of the major players consolidating into two, as oOh!media bought Adshel while JC Decaux acquired APN Outdoor.
“Our Board and our membership continue to drive innovation and invest in technology that will grow our industry well into the future. Our most recent investment of $1.3m into a Neuroscience Project Study will inform the development of a new metric to measure digital out of home. The industry continues to build a modern, dynamic channel with scale to reach Australians en masse”, said Moldrich.
The report also details 2018 initiatives such as the School Mapping Tool that ensures products that are illegal for sale to minors are not advertised within 150 metres of a primary or secondary school; and, driver behaviour research which indicates that digital billboards can improve driver performance.
“We take our position in the public space seriously, and one area where we have seen significant results is with our content policy and advice service. In 2018 we pre-vetted 377 advertisements, rejected 69 and proposed changes to 38. As a result of this diligent self-regulation, there were no breaches of Outdoor advertisements in 2018,” continued Moldrich.