There’s an element of ‘back to the future’ in the growth of New Zealand’s Out of Home (OOH) market in 2024. In a world of pop-up ads, AIgenerated content and a vast array of social media platforms, the old-fashioned stick-an-ad-where-people-willsee-it approach is once again coming into its own. In a year that saw many media channels experience a decline in revenue, OOH maintained its growth trajectory, with the Out of Home Media Association of Aotearoa (OOHMAA) announcing that its members’ 2023 revenue grew by 9.4 percent year on year to $179m.
There’s much more to it these days than just your traditional signs and posters. OOH might take the form of roadside billboards and street furniture, advertising on public transport and at airports, or on display screens in shopping malls. Advertisers can use sophisticated ad-buying technology to target certain audiences or locations, or hand-painted signs and street art to leave an impression on those walking by.
CEO of OOHMAA, Natasha O’Connor, says the growth of digital and programmatic tools gives advertisers more options, but the classic billboard still has its place. “Out of Home today offers advertisers more ways to engage with their audience with greater effectiveness. The speed at which technology is advancing within digital Out of Home (DOOH) and Programmatic Digital Out of Home (pDOOH) allows a level of flexibility, immediacy and dynamic targeting power [like never] before; however, it’s important to remember the power of the classic format that delivers 100 percent share of voice 24/7.”
WORK TRENDS GIVE IT A BOOST
OOHMAA’s latest research project, Aotearoa In Motion,(76 percent) and well ahead of other channels like online video (48 percent), linear TV (47 percent) and radio (47 percent). The research showed the flexible work model is causing an increase in commuter windows and more microtrips throughout the day; the average Kiwi spends three hours a week commuting and 74 minutes a day travelling overall. Although 67 percent of white-collar workers have flexibility around the locations and hours they work, nearly 60 percent of Kiwis still commute into city centres or inner suburbs to work.
