Outdoor media climbing back to former spend
Spend on outdoor media bounced back from its Covid hammering, with December the first month to exceed pre-pandemic revenue levels, but the annual figure still remains 20 per cent down on the 2019 pre-Covid year.
Digital OOH (DOOH) revenue increased its share of the outdoor spend at the expense of print, it now accounts for 58.8 per cent of total net media revenue year-to-date, an increase over the recorded 55.2 per cent for the same period last year. Print’s share this year is likely to dip below 40 per cent for the first time.
The year just gone 2021 saw an increase of 24 per cent on net media revenue, up to $812.7m from the $655.2m for 2020. Net revenue year-to-date still trails pre-pandemic results, which was $982.3m in 2019. However in a positive portent the December 2021 figure was the first month since Covid that revenue exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
With CBD offices remain at best partly used, and often empty, as work-from-home continues, outdoor media has been hit harder than most during Covid. However the figures are bouncing back, with the industry hoping that today’s announcement by chief health officer Paul Kelly that Australia is “past the peak” of the Omicron wave will signal a return to CBD working.
In good news for the industy quarter four 2021 saw an increase of 13.3 per cent on net media revenue year-on-year, posting $247.6m, up from $218.6m for quarter four 2020.
OMA CEO Charmaine Moldrich said, “We began the year cautiously optimistic for industry recovery, and while the second wave of lockdowns mid-May stymied momentum, revenue consistently tracked above 2020 levels. What’s more, December’s results mark the first month since revenue has risen beyond pre-pandemic levels, up seven per cent from December 2019.
According to figures released by Zenith, Australian advertising spend is expected to grow 5 per cent in 2022, off the back of 18 per cent growth in 2021. ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence saw a small drop in the first week of January, down 2.4 points to 106.0. Confidence in future financial conditions remained unchanged however, with 38 per cent of Australians expect they will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year.
“What this shows is people are still optimistic about the future, and this sets us up for another bounce back when the situation stabilises further. This is good news, and advertisers should be confident in Out of Home’s ability to deliver audiences particularly in transport, retail and roadside environments and continue to leverage the channel’s impact and creative potential,” concluded Moldrich.