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Marketers scale back spend as lockdowns hit outdoor advertising

The recovery of the out-of-home advertising sector has slowed after lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria saw marketers scale back their spending, latest figures have shown.

While revenue in the three months to September climbed 50% against the same period last year, it was down almost 22% on the second quarter, according to the Outdoor Media Association (OMA).

OMA chief executive Charmaine Moldrich predicted the fourth quarter would see a return to more robust growth.

“Our recovery to July this year indicated advertiser’s unwavering confidence in Out of Home’s effectiveness when lockdowns end,” she said.

“While the current lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria have momentarily slowed down our compelling recovery story, we are optimistic that quarter four, usually our best quarter, will really take off with increased spend going into the summer period.

“High vaccination rates are fueling this optimism, with more people out and about very soon.”

Net media revenue in the third quarter hit $159 million million, up from $106 million million for the same period in 2020 but down from $203 million in the second quarter.

Digital out of home revenue accounted for 61% of revenue year-to-date, compared to 58% for the same period last year.

Overall year-to-date revenue has climbed 29% to $534 million, up from $413 million.

“All eyes are now on what we are doing to innovate the channel and make it an even more attractive buy into 2022,” Moldrich said.

She said the industry will launch a range of initiatives at a virtual ‘out-front’ event for agencies and advertisers in November that will “set the stage for future audience measurement and campaign planning and buying”.

“For us it’s full steam ahead to get our new programs and initiatives into the palms of agencies’ and clients’ hands in the new year,” Moldrich added. “And with freedom just around the corner, there is much to celebrate about being finally back out, about and together again.”

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