• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 16, 2001

According to a new outdoor media consumer study conducted by Arbitron Inc., outdoor media can play a critical role in a media plan by reaching consumers who are not exposed to either newspaper or local television news. The Arbitron Outdoor Study examined the media habits of America's pedestrians, vehicle drivers and passengers, and commuters. The results also underscored outdoor media's compatibility with radio, which has the ability to reach people out-of-home, close to the point of purchase.

Americans are more mobile than ever

- Americans reported traveling an average of 302 miles in a vehicle in the past seven days Much of this travel is devoted to going to and from work, with the average daily, round-trip commute clocking in at 54 minutes. According to the study, media that target vehicle drivers/passengers reach 96% of Americans weekly. Inversely, heavy commuters spend 19 percent less time reading newspapers and are less likely to be reached by local TV newscasts, especially the local evening news.

- Pedestrian traffic has also stepped up across the country. 80% of Americans reported that they have walked in any town, city or downtown in the past seven days. Outdoor media that target pedestrian traffic reach 79% weekly.

Three new consumer groups emerged from the study:
- Mega-Milers: 29% of consumers who represent 77% of all miles traveled by vehicle.
- Power-Pedestrians: 21% of Americans who generate 83% of all miles walked
- Super-Commuters: 24% of Americans who spend nearly two hours a day getting to and from work.

Mega-Milers and Super-Commuters tend to be upscale, educated and more likely to be married with children than the national average. Power-Pedestrians, on the other hand, tend to be younger, single and from each end of the income spectrum.

Over one-third of Americans shop near work. Among those who work full-time, 62% say they shop closer to home and 35% indicate they shop equally near home/work or shop most at work. "This indicates that advertisers cannot just target consumers who live near their retail locations; they must also consider the sizable group of consumers who shop near work when constructing their media plans," says Jacqueline Noel, director, sales and marketing, Arbitron Outdoor.

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