The out-of-home (OOH) advertising industry is turning its hand to self-promotion with a campaign about the lesser known benefits it brings to the community.

Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of Australia’s Outdoor Media Association, says OOH advertising subsidises public amenities including bus shelters, public toilets, park benches and transit infrastructure, and contributes to superannuation funds via billboards on property trusts and council fees. Feel-good characters will deliver the message “outdoor advertising funds lots of good stuff” on more than 600 ad faces in January across the ACT, NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia through Adshel, APN Outdoor, Bishopp, Executive Channel, goa, iOM, JCDecaux, Metrospace, oOh! Media, Paradise Outdoor Advertising and ROVA. Moldrich says, “Our contribution to the community might not be as obvious as it is with other media and we want to change that by raising awareness. We want to let people know how much we really contribute but we didn’t want to be too earnest about it.” Creative agency Born & Raised, which developed the campaign, adds that “Out-of-Home gives back to the community in many ways that people are unaware of, so it was fundamental that we found an engaging way to bring these messages to life. “The happy and likeable billboard characters deliver the message with charm and humility. Combined with bright and simple design that lets the message win, the campaign is a showcase for effective outdoor communication.” The OMA says the industry provides almost 7,000 pieces of public infrastructure in Australia, contributing an estimated $275m. It also donated more than $15m in advertising space to worthy causes in 2012, and contributes around $250m GDP to the economy each year.

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