OUTDOOR MEDIA SPEND PLUNGED 40% IN COVID 2020

Spending on outdoor media plummeted last year, as Covid wreaked havoc, with $369m wiped off the industry in a 40 per cent plunge in revenue, which was $566.5m, down from $935.5m for 2019.

The fallout in the printing industry has been intense, with many wide format print businesses hit hard; Signex, Prologica, Cratftech and now Magnify Media succumbing to the decimated spend.

Print’s share of outdoor media spend slipped slightly, down from 44.2 per cent to 43.9 per cent. However, in cash terms it meant just $244m was spent on outdoor print in last year, compared with $413.7m in 2019.

The outdoor figures did improve in the final quarter, but they still saw a massive decrease of 32.9 per cent on net media revenue year-on-year, posting $181m, down from $269.9m for quarter four 2019.

Kylie Green, acting CEO at OMA said, “The year just ended was extremely challenging for the advertising industry, and the outdoor industry felt the full brunt of Covid-19 lockdowns.”

However, Green posted an optimistic note for the year to come, saying, “Though the impact of these restrictions still lingers, our outlook is bright: net media revenue is up 6.7 per cent from November to December, audiences are returning to outdoor spaces, and consumer confidence in December was at a ten-year high.”

The Standard Media Index (SMI) reported that in November, Australian media agency spend overall grew by 8.3 per cent following 26 months of decline.

“These media industry trends, coupled with a positive Christmas period, signifies that we are on the right trajectory in 2021,” concluded Green.

Prior to 2020 the outdoor media spend had been on a non-stop growth trajectory for the past two decades, save for two quarters following the GFC, and was on track to top the $1bn marker in the near future. While print’s share of the spend was slipping behind digital, its overall spend was steady or increasing slightly as the market size grew.