Outdoor advertising has cracked 10 per cent growth for the first time, smashing record 2013 figures with a massive $602.1m spend.
The industry has been on track to eclipse the previous year’s 7.1 per cent growth rate since recording a strong second quarter, but an outstanding fourth quarter worth $189.7m, 15.6 per cent more year-on-year, pushed it into double figures, according to Outdoor Media Association (OMA) data.
Transport was the biggest mover, rising 19.5 per cent from 2013 to $106.1m – however this sector is becoming increasingly digitised with big media companies converting many of their train station ads to digital.
Print-heavy billboard revenue had big gains too, up almost 10 per cent to $197.8m, but other roadside advertising – including street furniture; taxis, bus and tram wraps and signs; and other small format ads – again barely moved, only gaining $3.5m to $196.2m.
The two categories, which are still almost entirely print, made up about 66 per cent of out of home advertising in the quarter, down from 69 per cent in 2013 because of the rise in transport ads.
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In not so good news for printers, the share of digital in the advertising mix again grew from 11.3 per cent to 18.8 per cent, a 66 per cent rise, after jumping from 7.5 per cent in 2012. Digital’s upward trajectory is likely to continue as high-eyeball areas like shopping centres and airports increasingly switch to digital screens.
The OMA says the industry has seen unprecedented digital expansion in 2014 with the launch of more than 150 new digital screens across Australia.
The trend is likely to accelerate as major outdoor media companies oOh! Media and APN Outdoor talk up their digital assets and plan to convert many of their printed assets to digital in the next few years.
OMA chief executive Charmaine Moldrich says this is the fifth straight year of growth for the industry since it recovered from the GFC in 2010.
“What is so exciting about the 2014 results is that we are seeing growth across all formats. Technology is driving some of this, with the uptake of digital and mobile integration, but traditional, static formats are winning too,” she says.
“The OOH industry continues to deliver healthy results and evolve at the pace that audiences are demanding – and we have plans for further advancements in 2015. Watch this space.”
The association’s audience measurement tool reports a 3.6 per cent increase in total daily contacts measured compared to 2013, bringing the total eyeballs up from 386 million to 400 million daily contacts.
According to the OMA, Australians are now likely to see an average of 26 advertising faces a day as they travel further each day and spend an average of 14 hours travelling and shopping each week.
The Standard Media Index, which measures media spending in different sectors, found outdoor is again the lone bright spot for print as it closes in on 10 per cent of ad spending in that advertising area at 9.7 per cent.
It also outperformed newspapers in December with a $71m spend compared to $60m, leading to speculation that it could overtake newspapers on a yearly basis as early as this year.
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