The outdoor advertising industryStreet Furniture, Billboard and Transport Advertising are the three main areas in outdoor advertising. For several years this sector has outperformed the broader advertising market.
Three main sectors
Advertising on Street Furniture - bus shelters, map and information panels, multi-service columns - is the most recent sector of the outdoor advertising market. It is also the area that has experienced the greatest growth.
Billboards are the mosttraditional and widespread form of outdoor advertising.
Finally, Transport Advertising comprises advertising in airports, on or inside buses and underground trains, and at bus, underground and train stations.
A competitive medium
Broadcast and cable television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema and the Internet… These media exist in a competitive, complex and increasingly fragmented environment. This ultimately benefits outdoor advertising, which has become the only mass medium that can reach the consumer as they go about their everyday life. Moreover, outdoor advertising is particularly cost effective at reaching these consumers. Research carried out in the United Kingdom in 2004 (1) showed that for every €1,000 invested, outdoor advertising provides 502,756 impacts, against 261,047 from radio, 114,263 from television and 52,411 from the press.
(1) Source: Outdoor Advertising Association/Postar, Initiative Media and National Readership Survey/Initiative Media.
A growth market
Since 1999, the outdoor advertising market has grown faster than any other advertising medium, up 5% while the global market for all media increased by an average of 4%. In 2004, the market for outdoor advertising was estimated at €17 billion, representing 5.2% of the estimated €323 billion total worldwide advertising expenditure.
A promising outlook
For the period 2004 to 2007, forecasts (2) show important differences by country. In Europe, there are a number of dynamic markets, such as the United Kingdom, where the JCDecaux subsidiary, the Group second-largest contributor, achieved its best result in the third quarter of 2004. Similarly, in Asia, the Group has profited from the growth of certain business sectors, notably the expansion of shopping centres.
(2) Carat and Zenith Optimedia.
