OOH Research Shows Big ROI, Marketers Increase Spending

BY Kathy Crosett
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Earlier this year, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America reported on the high ROI for out-​of-​home advertising. A study conducted by Omnicom also found that using OOH with print, radio or digital can extend the reach of these other formats. This news comes at a time when advertisers continue to increase their investment in OOH.

According to Omnicom Media Group’s Benchmarketing research, advertisers can count on an added $5.97 in revenue for every $1 they invest in OOH marketing.  The study was based on a 10-​year span, 25 campaigns which used OOH, and included marketers that allocated 9% of the media mix to OOH. Researchers noted that OOH can increase “the effectiveness of digital search by over 40 percent and print by over 14 percent.”

In the second quarter of 2017, marketers seemed to get the message about the importance of OOH. Ad spending on the format increased 1.5% over the previous year and reached $2.38 billion. For the year, investment in OOH is up 1%  – an amount that is better than the  increases made in other traditional local media formats. The top four categories for OOH local ad spending in Q2 this year are:

  • Miscellaneous services and amusements
  • Retail
  • Public transportation, hotels, resorts
  • Restaurants

Some of your clients may have been holding back on their OOH investments, especially for digital billboards. Their hesitation may have been traced to the four-​year legal dispute in the industry. Scenic America had taken its case to the U.S. Supreme Court to win its argument that digital billboards violate federal law. The argument was all about lighting. The Federal Highway Administration, a decade ago, recommended that states regulate digital billboards mandating displays rotate every 4 and 10 seconds.  The industry standard is between 6 and 8 seconds. Scenic America also argued that the nation’s 7,300 digital billboards should have less glare. The Supreme Court declined to hear Scenic America’s latest appeal.

Regarding this win, OAAA officials point out that operators are properly lighting digital billboards and that the format comprises a critical piece of every marketer’s media mix. Are you talking to your clients about OOH?


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