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By Elliot Gluskin
May 10, 2005
Outdoor Advertising Has Exploded!
Spring is finally here, the weather has calmed down and the company executives have gone for a lunch-time hike up the local mountain. While they're resting around a big rock in a clearing, the CEO points out the billboards he sees in the distance and asks the marketing director what he knows about outdoor advertising.
When you think of outdoor advertising you typically think of billboards, but in today's media environment, billboards are just a small part of the whole spectrum of choices. Take a look at the chart (courtesy of the OAAA) below.
Image coming soon
You'll see how the genre of outdoor advertising has exploded over the recent years. Also, a number of research studies done at the turn of the century - 1999 through 2001 - have highlighted how the outdoor segment can play an important role in the media mix.
As we are aware, consumer lifestyles have changed drastically due to an increasingly cluttered media environment and technological advancements - the Internet, MP3 players, PDA's, etc. While this technology is being relied on by consumers to streamline their lives, they are becoming more and more time-stressed every day. Consider the following facts:
- On average, the typical American drives 302 miles per week
- On average, the typical American walks 6.1 miles per week in downtown areas
These facts come from the Arbitron Outdoor Study conducted in 2001. The study also pointed out that consumers are spending more time commuting to work - 56 minutes per day. These consumers while driving, walking, or fighting rush hour traffic are not being reached by traditional media (television, newspapers, magazines, etc.), but are being influenced by outdoor advertising in all its myriad forms. In fact, one of the study highlights is that outdoor media "plays a vital role in the media mix by reaching consumers missed by other media and enhancing the exposure of other media."
An industry white paper titled "Outdoor Advertising: The "Brand" Communication Medium of the 21st Century" written by James M. Maskulka, PhD. in 1999 sheds some light on the importance of outdoor advertising in building "brands" and "sales."
Perhaps the two key benefits described by Dr. Maskulka are that outdoor advertising:
- Provides a "creative canvas" for delivering the brand message
- Fits a transformational advertising strategy
According to the paper, transformational advertising is defined as implanting either a message or image about a differential product advantage in the mind of the user. This type of strategy requires frequent exposure over an extended period of time. In every case, outdoor advertising fits the bill.
As far as the "creative canvas," think about some of the more famous outdoor advertising campaigns - Nike's "Just Do It," Apple Computer's iMac, or Richard Branson's Virgin Airlines. These companies used the creative nature of outdoor advertising to deliver their message and position their products for growth.
Apple Computer and Virgin Airlines along with Altoids and other brands are considered by Dr. Maskulka to be "philosophy brands" - brands that reflect a philosophy or attitude toward life. These types of brands are more resistant to competitive challenges and offer more flexibility in terms of adapting to changing consumer tastes.
Reviewing the earlier chart, you can see that the outdoor advertising segment has evolved to keep the segment relevant as consumers' tastes and behaviors have changed. The outdoor medium has the opportunity to be the media driver for ad campaigns, especially for those companies looking to:
- Launch new brands such as e-commerce brands
- Test new product ideas such as Apple Computer's iMac
- Test creative concepts and new brand propositions such as the Dairy Board's "Got Milk" campaign
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