Dive Brief:

• Spending on out-of-home (OOH) advertising grew 4.5% in 2018 over the previous year to reach $8 billion, according to an Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) report shared with Marketing Dive. In Q4, spending increased 7.2% year-over-year, the largest quarterly increase since before the Great Recession.
• The growth is a record high for the format, which has seen 35 consecutive quarters of growth. Digital OOH represented 29% of the total 2018 OOH revenue, but there were also increases in the four main formats: billboards, street furniture, transit and place-based. 
• The top 15 advertisers in 2018 in OOH spending include Apple, McDonald’s, Geico, Netflix, Google, American Express, Metro By T-Mobile, Amazon, M&Ms, Chevrolet, Facebook, Universal Pictures, Coca-Cola, AT&T, and Comcast. Apple and McDonald’s have held the top two spots for six consecutive years. A quarter of the top 100 advertisers were tech companies, including Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google. Thirteen advertisers more than doubled their 2018 OOH spend: Facebook, Pepsi, Allstate, Uber, U.S. National Guard, Pfizer, Warner Bros, HCA Healthcare, Oculus, Crown Imports, JP Morgan, Diageo and State Street Global Advisors.

Dive Insight:

The OAAA report underscores how, even in the digital age, marketers still find value in traditional ad formats like OOH. Combining traditional OOH with digital and interactive experiences is a trend more marketers are embracing, as evidence by the OAAA finding that digital OOH represents nearly a third of total spend. 

McDonald's, a top OOH spender, recently earned 6.4 million mobile impressions via a campaign linking OOH billboards and in-app advertising on Waze. The campaign leveraged more than 300 billboards with geofencing technology in Southern California to serve Waze users an ad format called Zero Speed Takeover whenever their car came to a full stop for several seconds. The ads promoted McDonald’s menu items and included a call-to-action guiding Waze users to nearby restaurants. It reached 1.9 million unique consumers in an eight-week run in October and November last year. 

OOH remains attractive to marketers for its ability to reach large audiences, usually in high-traffic areas, and deliver unique experiences to on-the-go consumers. The format also leads to high engagement levels. Tech companies embraced OOH for its broad reach and the ability to combine it with mobile targeting, which can offer valuable consumer insights. 

Brands that dedicate 15% or more of their media budgets to OOH saw a 24% increase in brand trust, a 106% increase in perception of brand quality and a 275% boost in customer loyalty, according to a study by Rapport, IPG Mediabrands’ OOH division. OOH can also elevate the effectiveness of other ad investments, including 31% for online ads, 80% for paid search and 56% for social media.