January 25, 2023
GroupM To Advertisers: The Next New Thing May Be Outdoor, Radio & Print
- by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, November 4, 2019
Outdoor, radio and print-based media -- once the bulk of all ad-supported media (pre-TV’s introduction in the 1950s) -- now are the overlooked stepchildren of Madison Avenue’s media mix, but a new marketplace report from WPP’s GroupM unit makes a case for marketers to seriously reconsider them in their plans.
“Outdoor, radio and print-based media offer opportunities for marketers,” GroupM Business Intelligence Global President Brian Wieser writes in “Media Beyond TV and Digital,” a report posted on GroupM’s blog this morning.
While the ad industry’s growth has seemingly become reliant on the twin demigods of TV and digital, Wieser asserts that “other media may offer real benefits and maintain the potential for faster growth in the future than in the recent past.”
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Specifically, Wieser cites that outdoor advertising is “growing faster than the rest of the industry aside from pure-play digital,” and that recent results reported by major out-of-home media suppliers indicates the ad medium is growing “more than +6% globally this year.”
Wieser attributes out-of-home’s growth to a variety of factors, including an investment in “digital infrastructure” by the major outdoor ad companies, the relative cost effectiveness of the medium for advertisers, and demand from “fast-growing marketers who believe the medium is a superior alternative to television.”
In terms of radio, Wieser says it is the medium’s ubiquitous “reach,” as well as its bottom-line impact that makes it an appealing ad alternative, but its relative growth in ad market share has been “more modest” than outdoor’s.
“Like outdoor, however, innovation in audio has been percolating for years and has recently achieved more meaningful scale,” Wieser notes, but nonetheless says the medium still needs to “overcome” negative perceptions about the medium in the ad industry.
As for print, Wieser acknowledges that it “still struggles” as an advertising medium, but he says there are “niches with opportunities for long-term growth.”
Wieser concludes that “all marketers should regularly assess opportunities to use media beyond television and pure-play digital in their campaigns. Just because a medium is growing fast, slow or declining does not mean it cannot be impactful for a marketer now or in the future. What matters is whether or not the media owner is investing in opportunities to connect with audiences.”
6 comments about "GroupM To Advertisers: The Next New Thing May Be Outdoor, Radio & Print".
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Joe, if Weiser is referring to magazines when he states that "print struggles as an advertising medium" I must disagree. There's nothing wrong with magazines as an ad medium---great ad visibility and demos, a very positive environment that makes readers ad receptive, good repeat exposure capabilities and no problem with reach attainment---except on a short term basis like a week. The real issue with magazines is the advertisers' failure to appreciate the benefits of this medium and the medium's failure to promote and sell itself effectively. As for radio and OOH, yep, they, like all media have positive points. But, unlike magazines, they have been actively promoting.
@Ed Papazian: I don't want to speak for Wieser, but by "print," he means newspapers and magazines. "Struggle" was our description of his analysis, but it wasn't referring to the editorial health of magazines, but how their demand has become perceived in the ad industry. Few would argue that magazine's share of budget, mind, and momentum has eroded among ad execs in recent years, partly because more attention has shifted to digital media.
As Wieser notes in his full report, magazines, newspapers, etc., have helped revitalize themselves by investing in technology and digital extensions, but pure-play print has definitely languished.
I asked my Gen Z students if they engaged with any of the media that Wine Insiders uses to reach its Boomer target and the answer was a resounding no.
You can read their comments here...
http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2019/10/will-wine-insiders-boomer-media-also.html
Excellent targeting by Wine Insiders.
Couldnt agree more on the outdoor portion. We work with brands that market to the millennials and they cant get enough of outdoor. In the instagram era, outdoor is the it thing now.
dashtwo.com
Joe..
My tendency is to agree with Brian, but the impact of the trifecta across a broad OOH audience should be tempered by the local and niche characteristics of both radio and print ... all of which point to slow marginal growth under the umbrella of a broader OOH footprint.
Paul