An outdoor boom

2012 saw a resurgence in the popularity of outdoor advertising. It experienced a 9.5 percent growth year-on-year in 2012, which took it back to its historic highs of 2006 to 2007 (according to figures from the Outdoor Media Centre). Growth was helped by the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, which saw outdoor expenditure increases across all forms – transport, roadside, retail and leisure.

Outdoor is liked for its ability to deliver messages to a quality urban audience in an active space. And, with it just announced that MediaCo Outdoor has received planning consent for the UK’s largest ever roadside advertising display in Manchester, outdoor shows no sign of waning in popularity as a valuable way of reaching audiences.

The 4.5m-high by 40m-wide, back-illuminated, double-sided structure will span eight lanes of the M56 airport spur road and will provide advertisers with 750m sq of high-impact media space visible to over 700,000 people each week.

The last major development in the outdoor sector was CBS Outdoor UK’s launch last summer of its first digital roadside site on the M4. As the only landscape digital asset on the motorway – and with an annual audience of 76 million people – it was a strategic and big news move. It also signalled the start of digital becoming a major driver in terms of what advertisers can do in the medium to add creativity, convergences and flexibility to their communications.

Now these are of course high-impact and high-visibility sites with a price-tag to match. But, overall, outdoor can be extremely cost effective and targeted, and in an increasingly fragmented market place it’s a great way to cut through and reach your audience. From poster advertising in a specific venue to bus ‘mega rears’, there’s plenty to suit all businesses and most budgets.

Our client services director Helen Littlewood comments: “We’ve been matching all forms of outdoor advertising to our clients since we started out 15 years ago and have won awards ranging from Best Mega Rear Campaign of the Year to the East Anglian Advertising Agency Award for Outdoor. It’s great to see investment being made in the sector and the opportunities extending into digital. I am sure 2013 will see further growth and more technological developments for us to utilise.”

To discuss how outdoor advertising could benefit your business, please call Mark Littlewood on 01603 252555.