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Outdoor Advertising: Larger Than Life

Written by: Bill Weger

Article Overview: The article reviews the advantages of the popular outdoor advertising sector.

Outdoor Advertising: Larger Than Life

Outdoor Advertising: Larger Than Life

By Bill Weger

Thousands of years ago, the Egyptians used enormous stones to publicize laws and treaties. Many civilizations later, merchants painted wooden signs and glued gigantic posters to walls and fences to sell remedies and common goods.

And today, outdoor advertising is still larger than life and takes many formats. Digital technology has transformed the industry, and outdoor advertising can now be customized for just about any marketing venue.

Billboards line our highways and landscapes. Bus shelters, kiosks and bicycle racks blanket our cities. Shopping mall displays and parking garages populate our suburbs. You’ll find outdoor advertising in arenas and stadiums, at airports, in subways, on buses and atop taxis.

By Land, Air or Sea

Don’t forget the many fleets of trucks and cars, including VW Beetles and Mini Coopers that carry company messages. Outdoor advertising is practically everywhere, and it’s part of the American pop culture. For 80 years, Goodyear blimps have adorned the skies as very visible corporate symbols of the tire and rubber company. Outdoor advertising can be found by land, air or sea.

Is it too much? Critics say outdoor advertising clutters our cities and blemishes the countryside. Advocates point out that longstanding laws control outdoor advertising, especially billboards. Created in 1965, The Highway Beautification Act allows the federal government to regulate outdoor advertising along 300,000 miles of Federal, Interstate and National Highway System roads. Despite some opposition, billboards remain popular and are viewed useful by more than 75 percent of the U.S. population, polls show.

Hitting Target Audiences

Who sees all the outdoor advertising? The multi-media blitz targets pedestrian traffic, public transportation users and vehicle drivers and passengers. Outdoor advertising reaches super commuters, city shoppers, dog walkers and sports watchers.

It targets women, men, youth, seniors and diverse ethnic groups. A two-year research study conducted in New York, Los Angeles and Minneapolis showed that an outdoor advertiser can expect nearly three quarters of riders in a car to notice billboards in their vision. Younger riders (ages 18-34) are more likely to take in outdoor visuals. Women are more likely to note and read outdoor ads than men. However, men are more likely to be influenced by outdoor ads.

Some of the primary reasons why people remember outdoor advertising are uniqueness, bright colors and personal relevance. Outdoor advertising is all about telling a story in seconds. Award-winning outdoor designers believe the best ads often project humor, surprise, emotion, culture and aesthetic value. The most effective ads focus on a single idea and the right concept can generate millions of media impressions.

Outdoor Ad Revenue Rises

Led by the Internet, there has been an explosion in new advertising mediums during the past decade, but outdoor advertising remains remarkably steady despite the competition. In fact, since 1990, outdoor advertising has been rising nearly every year.

In 2004, advertisers spent $5.8 billion on outdoor advertising, up from $5.5 billion in 2003, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Inc. (OAAA). The outdoor advertising industry posted strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2004, with a 4.5 percent increase over fourth quarter 2003 and an overall increase of 6.0 percent in 2004 compared to the previous year. In 1990, outdoor advertising revenue was $2.6 billion and by 2000 it rose to $5.2 billion. Early indications are that outdoor revenue will grow beyond $6 billion in 2005.

Billboards Most Popular

Outdoor advertising has four major product categories: billboards, transit, street furniture (bus shelters, parking garages and displays) and alternative outdoor (arenas, airborne, marine, etc.) By far, the most popular outdoor format is still billboards, capturing 62 percent of the market share, followed by transit (19 percent), street furniture (14 percent) and alternative outdoor (5 percent).

Who is buying outdoor advertising? The largest expenditures are for local services, amusements, retail stores, hotel chains, resorts, restaurants, automotive dealers, banks, real estate agents, insurance companies and telecommunications firms.

While many local businesses buy outdoor advertising, corporate giants gobble up millions of dollars in outdoor ad space. Some of the largest outdoor media buyers are McDonalds, Time-Warner, Miller Beers, Verizon, Anheuser-Busch, Chevrolet, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Coca-Cola, Allstate Insurance and Bank of America, according to OAAA.

Who are the largest outdoor companies that secure advertising space? The media behemoths include: Clear Channel, Viacom, Lamar Advertising, Fairway Outdoor Advertising, Van Wagner Communications and Reagan National Advertising. Many individual and small companies, too, own billboards.

With so many exciting and creative placement options to support a branding campaign, outdoor advertising will be an advertising mainstay for many years to come.

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