Is out-of-home media consumption suffering or soaring?

Some might say that increasing fuel prices have a negative impact on out of home media consumption as people tend to drive and travel less and thus have less opportunities to see outdoor advertising...

On the other hand, new technologies like digital displays to Bluetooth or RFID interactivity to hand-held devices will in the (near?) future accelarate out-of-home media consumption.

Also the creative elements displayed have evolved from flat, static panels to 'ambient' media like building wraps, dynamic forms of video advertising, installations that trigger the sense of smell and even billboards with live actors.

But out-of-home media consumption is more than 'outdoor'. For newspapers and magazines out-of-home reading has always constituted a considerable part of the total readership. For most radio station the out-of-home audience is probably largely outnumbering the in-home audience. With more and more powerfull portable and hand-held computers and mobile phones becoming available the on-the-move audience of websites, television and video will soar in the coming years. Printed media become more and more availbale in digital form that can be consulted anywhere and is no more bound by the limits of physical distribution.

Not only people become more mobile but also more people will have access to travel and mobility in the future. So media will travel more too, with people consulting their national and local media from other countries and continents. 

So, clearly out-of-home media consumption will soar more and more in the near and far future. For the media researcher this means that there's not only a long tail of media options (with smaller audiences) to measure, but also that this long tail is moving in all directions, out-of -the home and not bound by geographical bounderies. The optimists call this a challenge!  



Posted on: 19/08/2008