Out-of-Home, Fueled by Digital, To Weather Recession Well
Interesting post a couple of days ago over on Media Buyer Planner indicating that Digital is helping out of home weather the recession (a little)…
Out-of-Home, Fueled by Digital, to Weather Recession Well
Though the outdoor industry has not been immune to the pressures facing other advertising sectors, and though total ad revenue may be down in 2009, digital components – led by cinema advertising, in-store networks and digital billboards – will help keep loss to a minimum
Estimates put out-of-home for 2009 at flat or up 1% to 2%, according to Mediaweek. PQ Media predicts total out-of-home will be up 3%. Digital OOH is expected to be up 9%, and to account for more than 27% of total revenue in 2009 – up from 15.8% in 2008.
Still, the recession has had and affect: just one merger of note – Fuelcast and Bhootan merged to form Outcast – managed to take place in the fall before the credit crisis unfolded. Lamar Advertising slowed its rollout of digital billboards for 2009, planning to convert 100 rather than the 400 originally planned.
On the other hand, only one company, Reactrix, went under last year.
The third quarter brought negative growth to the nation’s three largest OOH companies – Clear Channel Outdoor, CBS Outdoor, and Lamar – and the fourth quarter is expected to show negative results, as well, but a full recovery is expected by 2010, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America predicts.
January 7th, 2009 at 18:08 @797
Out-of-home media will experience some effects of the economic downturn – a slow down in the number of static billboards transitioning to digital probably being the most pronounced – but the industry is well-positioned to benefit from buyers and planners taking a closer look at what advertising mediums really work and those that do not.
Wouldn’t it be ironic for digital OOH to finally reach its tipping point while the country is in a recession?