• by Wayne Friedman , May 1, 2007

Forget the "inside" media--TV and the Internet. New forms of out-of-home advertising are seeing big growth.

Stamford, Conn.- based media researcher PQ Media says new out-of-home media, digital billboards and other new out-of-home advertising soared 27% in 2006 to $1.69 billion. Expect more of the same in 2007, with an additional growth of 28%, according to the research company.

As with any new media, comparing growth to traditional media comes with a caveat. Alternative out-of-home advertising is working off a smaller base of revenues. So the 27% growth rate compares, naturally, much better to the 10.6% growth rate for all out-of-home media, or the 6.4% growth rate for the ad industry.

Video advertising networks are the largest segment of the alternative media group, accounting for 60% of total spending. This includes theater, office, store and transit media areas, led by companies such as National CineMedia (theaters), Premiere Retail Networks (stores) and Captivate Network (office buildings). Spending in this category grew 28.0% in 2006 to $1.01 billion.

Digital billboards are the fastest piece of the new out-of-home group. Spending is up 55.4% in $233.2 million. So-called "ambient" advertising--ads in places such as store floors, gas pumps, washrooms stalls, elevator walls, park benches, telephones, fruit and even pressed into the sand on beaches--also improved in 2006, up 14.1% to $446.4 million.

PQ Media explains the growth, noting that Americans spend twice as much time outside their homes and workplaces today than they did just a few decades ago. Unlike other media, out-of-home can't be fast-forwarded or turned off. New digital platforms are also making it attractive for marketers to open their media wallets.