Out-of-Home Advertising Up Nearly 4 Percent in Recent Quarter

The Washington, D.C.-based Outdoor Advertising Association of America says that out-of-home (OOH) advertising revenue rose 3.8 percent in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the previous year, accounting for $1.85 billion in spending. Year-to-date, the OOH industry is up 3.7 percent.

Among the top 10 revenue categories, those posting increases equal to or greater than the 3.8 percent quarterly increases were miscellaneous local services and amusements; retail, media and advertising; financial; insurance and real estate; government, politics and organizations; and schools, camps and seminars. Driven by local political spend, the government, politics and organizations category was up 16 percent.

“OOH was strong across all four primary formats-billboards, street furniture, transit, and place-based-with the digital OOH sector representing 28 percent of the total,” says OAAA president and CEO Nancy Fletcher. “The immersive and relevant nature of OOH continues to drive interest among brands.”

Ranked in order of OOH spending, the top 10 advertisers in the third quarter were Geico, Apple, McDonalds, American Express, Amazon, CBS, Coca-Cola, Comcast, M&Ms and MillerCoors. Over two-thirds of the top 100 advertisers increased OOH spend above the overall quarterly increase of 3.8 percent.

Technology brands are increasing spending as well. Fourteen brands increased OOH spend by double digits in the third quarter including Amazon, Cricket Wireless, Facebook, Groupon, Hulu, Jet.com, Microsoft, Netflix, Oculus, Salesforce, Uber, VM Ware, YouTube, and Zoom Video Communications.