Briefly…Digital out of home ads increasing

The increased success of digital out of home (DOOH) advertising in South Africa is intrinsically linked to the country’s infrastructural development, rapid urbanisation and the prevalence of busy, upgraded transport nodes such as taxi and bus ranks, says Out of Home Media South Africa (OHMSA).t

“Last year, the digital out of home advertising spend grew by 6.4% to R528-million owing to the increase of DOOH in venues and locations, specifically in airports and transit nodes, where what we term ‘high-dwell’ time is present,” said Billy Basson, OHMSA acting chairman.

The falling price and improving quality of flatscreen displays means that static posters printed on paper are being replaced by snazzy digital commercials with moving pictures, sound and sometimes interactive features. As some advertising media, especially newspapers, see their audiences fade, streets, airports and other public spaces are becoming crowded with more potential viewers than ever, as people continue to move to cities and travel more, said Basson, quoting from The Economist magazine.

The US takes first place on the DOOH Media Rankings List, with South Africa coming 14^th out of 28 countries. “Globally, expansion into new venues and markets, innovation, enhanced features and the integration of mobile and social media, has resulted in DOOH being one of the fastest growing and vibrant advertising mediums worldwide.  The same holds true for South Africa. In 2011, an estimated 46% of time spent with media occurred outside the home,” he added.

The two big trends in DOOH that will unfold in the next two years include the use of interactive mobile and social media applications and; research measurability and accountability: there is a global trend towards producing strong digital audience measurement systems to prove value and return on investment. Importantly, the methodology of simply comparing screen impressions (screens varying in size, location and audience behaviour) does not accurately reflect digital media consumption.