OUTDOOR PRINT SET FOR Q4 REBOUND, BUT SHARE SLIPPAGE TO CONTINUE
The Covid-battered Out of Home (OOH) industry saw an increase of 50.5 per cent on net media revenue for the third quarter of 2021, and says it is poised for a strong rebound as lockdowns end in Sydney and Melbourne.
However print’s share of outdoor media continues it slip, third quarter figures reveal that print now has 39 per cent of the market with digital at 61 per cent. This time last year print was on 42 per cent. Print was more than half of all outdoor media spend in 2018.
Third quarter outdoor media revenue was $159.2m, up from $105.8m for the same period in 2020. Year-to-date revenue has increased 29.3 per cent and is sitting at $533.9m, an increase from $412.8m on 2020 revenue.
Pre-Covid OOH in Australia was on track to break the $1bn a year barrier, the 2019 spend was $935m, that target is now some distance away. Spend on outdoor media has been on a non-stop growth trajectory for the past 20 years, save for two quarters following the GFC, until Covid brought it to a juddering halt and precipitous fall. However the industry's association OMA is confident out of home will surge back.
Charmaine Moldrich, OMA CEO, said, “Our recovery to July this year indicated advertiser’s unwavering confidence in Out of Home’s effectiveness when lockdowns end. While the current lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria have momentarily slowed down our compelling recovery story, we are optimistic that quarter four, usually our best quarter, will really take off with increased spend going into the summer period. High vaccination rates are fuelling this optimism, with more people out and about very soon.
“All eyes are now on what we are doing to innovate the channel and make it an even more attractive buy into 2022. In November the industry will launch a suite of initiatives for agencies and advertisers that will set the stage for future audience measurement and campaign planning and buying,” Moldrich continued.
This announcement comes after the OMA in early-September released the findings of its neuroscience study into the impact of OOH signs on the human brain. The research, conducted by Neuro-Insight, will introduce a qualitative measure that is being built into the industry’s audience measurement system Move (Measurement of Outdoor Visibility and Exposure) as an additional tool to help agencies and advertisers plan and buy their OOH campaigns.
“For us it’s full steam ahead to get our new programs and initiatives into the palms of agencies’ and clients’ hands in the new year. And with freedom just around the corner, there is much to celebrate about being finally back out, about and together again,” concluded Moldrich.