Predictions 2022 - OOH prospects as consumers race out of lockdown

Chris Pash
By Chris Pash | 14 December 2021
 
Credit: Jade Masri via Unsplash

Outdoor media has burst out of the lockdown gates as COVID restrictions ease across australia.

Ad spend is still below pre pandemic 2019 but out-of-home has returned to growth. The SMI (Standard Media Index) for October put outdoor ad spend, as measured by media agencies, up 13% compared to 2020 but down 34% on October 2019. 

Investment bank Jefferies sees revenue lost during the pandemic returning: “We view the out-of-home advertising industry in a positive light (long-term gaining share from other advertising media).

“Our analysis suggests outdoor ad revenues have commenced a strong recovery phase.”

Analysts at Goldman Sachs quote industry feedback suggesting that OOH is poised for greater than double-digit growth in calendar year 2022. 

And better measurement of ad effectiveness is ahead. The industry in 2022 is due to release an update to MOVE (Measurement of Outdoor Visibility and Exposure) which will now measure digital screens.

Included in MOVE 1.5 is a new qualitative measure based on neuroscience, the Neuro Impact Factor, giving buyers an insight into the impact of campaigns, weighted by audience, for both classic and digital signs.

Charmaine Moldrich, Outdoor Media Association CEO: “For out-of-home, 2022 will be a year of implementing and delivering on our innovative change agenda. 

“MOVE 1.5 will make delivering on campaign strategy easier and we have done this by adding Digital OOH measurement and a new metric—the Neuro Impact Factor— that measures the impact of the campaign.

“What this gives buyers is the ability to hone in campaign strategy; giving them the opportunity to choose across our network of classic and digital signs, while also guiding their decisions on what formats deliver the right audience coverage and impact. 

MOVE 1.5 will deliver more accurate digital data, and while it is using factors to deliver this measurement now, it preempts the use of more accurate, granular audience data when MOVE 2.0 is launched in 2024.

“In 2022 we will also see programmatic Digital OOH continue to grow as a delivery platform, particularly as we provide an industry wide Impression Multiplier to buyers.

“For all our businesses in general in 2022, the environment, sustainability, diversity and inclusion will need to be embraced beyond the rhetoric to ignite what is at the core of all our businesses – our people.

“To succeed and attract the right people and clients, all businesses will need to be flexible and progressive with the way they handle these key issues, putting them at the heart of all business decisions.

“Leaders will need to be authentic and go beyond tokenism and being woke to succeed. The time for talking is over, 2022 will be the time to walk the talk and show off values and purpose.”

John O’Neill, CEO, QMS: “The introduction of MOVE 1.5 will give advertisers a more accurate understanding of their DOOH campaign audience, leading to greater market confidence and a more sophisticated way of utilising the medium. 

“Crucially the inclusion of the Neuro Impact Factor, will allow advertisers to see the true relative impact of their campaigns over and above just understanding reach and frequency.

“Audiences are already back and 2022 will see advertisers really start to take advantage of the enhanced digital and data capabilities available to communicate to consumers more effectively and with greater impact to capture attention like never before.”

“In 2022 we will see corporate representation of values such as sustainability, diversity and inclusion elevated as a consideration metric by brands wanting to stay connected and accountable to their customers. 

“Media owners, just like us, are already fast-tracking responsibility across these key themes, which will ensure a positive contribution to a sustainable, diverse and safe future for the industry.”

Tim Murphy, chief sales officer, oOh!media: “2021 started extremely positively for the OOH  industry, but as audiences once again became unstable with persistent lockdowns from late May, the momentum we built was understandably disrupted. 

“It has been comforting to see, however, that as audiences across Australia surge back to life and are back out and about, the demand from advertisers is resounding and the end of the year looks very positive.

“2022 will be a historic year for the out-of-home sector in Australia. The heightened collaboration of members of the OMA and the positive intent to make our medium easier to plan and buy, as well as more accountable to standards of measurement and delivery, should be genuinely motivating for clients big and small.

 “Despite the challenges of 2021, there is great confidence that well-coordinated vaccine booster programs and more informed governance in each state should ensure extremely healthy and balanced audiences across all Out of Home environments and formats throughout 2022.

“We are already seeing new advertisers, be they direct or through agencies, look to Out of Home as a critical part of their media mix for the first time. We are also seeing big brands looking to tell big stories on big billboards again.

“There is a genuine thirst for audience data and insight to optimise and fuel solutions, and the opportunity to attribute genuine campaign outcomes across out-of-home is very real. We are already seeing strong demand for oOh!’s Better Ways to Buy optimisation approach, and the ROI being achieved for clients is extraordinary.

“To sum up, we are proud leaders in the market and excited to be wrestling back momentum as Australians get back out of home.”

Paul Butler, Managing Director of VMO: “In 2022, OOH will become easier to buy and analyse with the launch of MOVE 1.5 in January.  

“By applying market leading neuroscience to better measure the impact of the different OOH formats, clients should have greater confidence in the accuracy of OOH measurement next year, particularly with digital OOH formats. 

“Also, with a number of OOH vendors such as VMO having recently joined the OMA & MOVE for the first time, buyers will have access to a more standardised measurement currency than previously possible.  

“We also anticipate Programmatic Buying will accelerate next year. 2022 will see all vendors include their supply in the programmatic exchanges which will allow for greater agility in buying and targeting capabilities. 

“With Header Bidding and Dynamic Creative optimisation becoming available next year, advertisers will have even more reasons to consider programmatic as an effective OOH solution for their campaign.”

Steve O’Connor, CEO, JCDecaux Australia & New Zealand:  “2022 will be a strong year for out-of-home as we rebound in great strides from the pandemic. 

“Audiences in out-of-home are strong as people reconnect and return to outdoors; we are already seeing a shift of spending to out-of-home away from the trend of TV ad spend in 2021.  

“The demand and transition to digital out-of-home will accelerate with our privacy-friendly, uncluttered format, with advertisers also being more discerning about location and display quality. 

“Furthermore, creativity will be key to success and will flourish as advertisers pursue more dynamic and contextual executions. The nature of digital formats means that creativity can be tailored to the environment and updated with ease, an attractive proposition for brands. As programmatic continues to rise and mature, out-of-home will take more chunks of available ad dollars from traditional and digital media channels.”

Ben Walker, CEO, Shopper: “Investment in digital OOH will continue in an upward trajectory into 2022, as agencies and marketers continue to capitalize on the format’s agile nature. 

“During 2021, we’ve seen shorter planning cycles and brief turnaround times, and this won’t change next year, as marketers look for ways to build greater efficiency and effectiveness in their campaigns. Digital Retail OOH is flexible, it’s powerful and it’s influential. 

“More importantly, its immediacy works for agencies and brands who don’t have the luxury of long lead times or need to pivot quickly. With animation being 201% more effective than static in shopping centres (Power of Animation, Neuro Insight Study) and not achievable in road side formats, we are likely to see more dynamic and ‘fit for purpose’ digital creative in 2022, specifically for Retail OOH. Digital is now 95% of retail revenue (As at Oct 2021) and is leading the way for the future. Retail is becoming a largely digital-first product. 

“The rollout of MOVE 1.5/2.0, reflects the industry’s appetite for greater transparency, measurement and standardisation across digital OOH and the inclusion of Shopper and VMO into MOVE will help provide a like for like comparison for planners and buyers. 

“This transparency will give agencies and marketers greater confidence in OOH as a whole and the introduction of measures such as the Neuro Impact Factor will only help demonstrate the value of digital OOH for the marketing and advertising community.”

Matt Bushby, Managing Director Aus/NZHivestack: “Over the last two years, the OOH industry has survived and proved its worth as an effective marketing channel in fast-changing situations, both in Australia, New Zealand and globally.

"Programmatic digital out of home (DOOH) has proven itself to be a flexible, efficient channel in the region, and we can expect that marketers will continue to integrate it into their media mix over the next year.

“Programmatic DOOH is also now fully in step with channels that are traditionally optimised to sell on audiences and impressions, such as CTV and digital advertising. With the leaps that programmatic technology has made over the last few years, we’re in a place where it can truly be part of an omni-channel strategy. We’ve seen proof of this in recent campaigns that delivered vital public health messaging to audiences in Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

“For the Australian market, expect to see more brands and advertisers leveraging programmatic DOOH for large-scale takeover campaigns. Foxtel’s recent unprecedented DOOH campaign showed how scale and precise targeting, powered by programmatic, can reach audiences across the nation, demonstrating the strength of the channel.”

 

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