The digital signage market was forecasted to soar higher than newspaper ad sales for this year. It was revealed that the global marketing milestone has shown elasticity towards billboards in today's society. It was also revealed that the "out of home" segment accounts significantly rose and is still used as the traditional media in Google and Facebook.
A recent report claimed that the sales of billboards and bus shuttles are still profitable but has been showing a significant decline over the years. It was shown that for the past 20 years, print advertising such as newspapers and magazines have been valued at $4 for every $10 purchase.
According to GroupM's estimates, advertisers would spend about $40.6 billion by 2020 on outdoor posters which is four billion USD more than the budgeted amount for newspapers. It was also shared that GroupM expects that outdoor advertising would exceed the spending allotted for newspapers and magazines which would yield a total increase rate of 2.5 up to four percent per year.
The global president of business intelligence at GroupM Brian Wieser also claimed that outdoor advertising has been declining because it continues to harbor the unique characteristics for advertisers. He said that outdoor ads have been the oldest form of marketing methods and even goes way back in ancient Egypt.
Moreover, chief executive of Clear Channel William Eccleshare, the owner of one of the biggest outdoor media entities, said that in a world where television audiences are fragmenting, outdoor ads may be an outdated approach. Moreover, he added that some operators even find it challenging to prosper in China with the traditional marketing method. However, he added that in the US and UK markets, outdoor ads are still effective. In fact, Britain who has been suffering from a flat economy has a growing outdoor ad rate of eight percent per year.
The report also claimed that some of the most renowned tech companies such as Apple have experienced success in their marketing strategies through outdoor ads. It was also revealed that the fastest-growing streaming platform Netflix has acquired several billboards along Los Angeles' Sunset Strip and contributed to their market performance.
Although outdoor ads have been prospering in those places, the global president of Posterscope Stephen Whyte claimed that almost all growths in the sector were driven by digital sales. He also mirrored the idea that outdoor ads have been less effective in today's day and age and that new money has come into the digital medium.
