Commentary

Out-Of-Home Video Seeks Captive Audiences

Out-Of-Home Video Seeks Captive Audiences

Summarized by Ben Macklin, Senior Analyst at eMarketer, a PQMedia benchmark study finds that outdoor advertising is taking advantage of digital, video and wireless technologies to become the largest component of what is described as the "alternative" out-of-home advertising sector.

Similar to narrowcasting, the out-of-home video content and advertising is distributed to captive audiences in retail outlets, transit vehicles, office buildings, shopping malls, theaters, bars and restaurants, gas stations, hotels and gyms.

eMarketer forecasts that out-of-home video advertising spending in the United States will total $2.3 billion in 2011, up from $1.3 billion in 2007 partially as a result of the falling costs of flat-panel LCDs, combined with the emergence of IP and wireless Internet technologies.

US Outdoor Video Advertising Spending, 2006-2011(billion $ and % change)

Year

Outdoor Video Ad Spend ($ Billion)

Percent Change

2006

$1.0

28.0%

2007

1.3

24.8

2008

1.5

22.0

2009

1.8

18.0

2010

2.1

14.5

2011

2.3

8.4

Source: eMarketer, December 2007

According to PQ Media, says the eMarketer report, the four key areas of out-of-home video advertising: in-theater, in-retail, in-office and in-transit, constitute a significant proportion of the out-of-home video ad sector:

National CineMedia, the leading company in the in-theatre video advertising market, operates a network of 14,000 screens and has a network of screens in lobbies offering advertisers a variety of options to target waiting movie and theater patrons, along with traditional cinema advertising on the big screen.

The $19 billion dollar Point-of-purchase advertising industry in the US has traditionally been cardboard displays, but video networks in major retail stores are beginning to change the paradigm. Premier Retail Network has more than 200,000 digital screens in retail outlets including Wal-Mart, Cosco, Best Buy and Circuit City. Wal-Mart's in-store video network is estimated to number 100,000 flat-panel screens. Adspace Networks, Reatrix and Onspot Digital Network are targeting retail shoppers in the common Mall areas with digital screens and interactive displays.

The Wall Street Journal Office Network broadcasts Wall Street Journal news updates to premier office blocks, while Captive Networks now has more than 6,000 screens in elevators across the US.

Video in buses, trains, ferries, taxis and other public transportation vehicles is becoming the norm, with Transit TV boasting more than 8,400 screens in buses and trains across the US. Gas Station TV, says Macklin, will keep you amused for as long as it takes you to fill your tank.

Please go here to access the original chart, or here for the eMarketer release.

Next story loading loading..