Big screens capture people’s attention in a big way. Whether it’s a billboard on the side of the road, or the screen in the movie theater, ads in these environments are memorable. That’s one reason advertisers continue to increase the budgets they allocate for all forms of out-​of-​home marketing.

The final OOH tally for 2017, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, was $7.7 billion. The growth rate was slower than it had been in recent years. In 2017, OOH increases amounted to approximately 1.2% over the previous year. In 2016, the growth rate was 3.1%.

Who’s doing all this advertising? In its analysis of marketers, the OAAA reports that 25% of the top 100 spenders in the category are tech-​related. Google, Amazon and Zoom Communications all made the list. This trend was noticeable throughout 2017.

Local marketers remain another big force in the OOH sector. The business categories that showed the largest spending increases last year are as follows:

• Financial +8.8%
• Miscellaneous Local Services & Amusements +5.8 %
•  Media & Advertising +3.4%
• Government, Politics and Organizations +2.7 %
• Restaurants +0.3%.

Quick-​serve restaurants are frequent advertisers in the OOH channel. Your QSR clients might be interested to know that nearly 32% of fast food lovers have taken action such as searching for more information or visiting an advertiser within 30 days after seeing an OOH message. You can find more information like this to help you sell to prospects when you use the AudienceSCAN reports that are available with a subscription to AdMall from SalesFuel​.com.

A related report from Warc indicates that OOH on average, accounts for 5.9% of media spending. Digital OOH continues to comprise a large piece of the format’s advertising, now amounting to nearly 25% in the U.S. In addition, Warc’s analysis of successful brands finds that they spend nearly 13% of their ad budget on OOH formats. This piece of information may be another tool for you to use in selling your OOH format – whether it’s billboards, cinema or transit stations.