Canadian out-of-home advertising revenues increased by more than 12% in the first five months of 2008, says the Out-Of-Home Marketing Association of Canada (OMAC).
The growth incorporates several areas of the sprawling out-of-home industry, including transit advertising, billboards and indoor networks. Out-of-home attracted $197.2 million in advertising from January to May, according to Nielsen Media Research’s Ad Expenditure Report, a 12.1% increase from $175.9 million during the same time period last year.
The growth is even more pronounced among the top 50 out-of-home advertisers, 19%, while spending has increased across several product categories, including telecom, financial, packaged goods and government.
OMAC president Rosanne Caron said the medium should top the $496.2 million in ad revenues it attracted in 2007 (which was a 14% increase from $435.4 million in 2006). “Based on how the past five months have gone, I would expect the same kind of growth over the rest of the year,” she said.
She attributes out-of-home’s growth to the incorporation of emerging technologies like text messaging, Bluetooth and SMS, innovative new networks like Zoom Media’s “Fashion Frame,” and changing lifestyle habits which see Canadians spending 53% of their weekly time outside of the home. “Advertisers and agencies are starting to realize that out-of-home can be an important part of the media plan,” said Caron.
OMAC is a three-year-old organization that promotes the benefits and effectiveness of out-of-home media to advertisers and agencies. Its members include Astral Media Outdoor, Captivate Network, CBS Outdoor, Lamar Transit, Métromédia Plus, NewAd, Pattison Outdoor, Titan Worldwide and Zoom Media.
