OOH: the valuable real estate of the future

This is according to Jacques du Preez, MD of Provantage Media Group. "In the next five to 10 years we will see television in flux. Already we are seeing the start with PVR, On Demand, and Box Office etc. Internet radio is only going to grow as broadband expands and as it does consumers will have literally millions of stations to choose from. Already consumers channel hop commercial radio stations.

"In the meantime more and more people will use public transport. If a consumer is in a public transport node - be it a station, airport, bus shelter - there will be digital billboards and screens and they will not have the ability to switch them off. Common sense tells me this will be very valuable real estate."

Jacques du Preez

Growing trend in OOH

Recently Provantage launched the first of its kind in the country integrated large format (4.5 x 8m) HD screen at King Shaka International Airport in KwaZulu-Natal.

Called VisioNet, the product forms part of the company's Airport Ads offering. The product contains no content, only advertisements and will be rolled out to other airports and stations across the country.

The introduction of this type of innovation into the OOH space is part of a growing trend in OOH globally, says du Preez. "In the OOH landscape, traditional OOH products are still in place, but we are seeing digital OOH now coming into its own."

Growth in OOH, he explains, is coming from two areas: infrastructure development and technology.

"New malls are still being built, airports upgraded constantly, train stations expanded and new public transport systems being added to, such as the BRT and MyCiTi. All of these are natural incubators for OOH. New stores are also opening creating opportunities for our medium type. In fact anywhere where people spend time, you will find OOH."

By 2030 Africa will be the fastest urbanising continent, he adds. "China is done and India is next, then we will follow. Already we are at the base of that, with informal settlements springing up all over the continent as people move into urban areas. Of course once this happens, what follows is not a surprise: government has to build infrastructure."

Creating synergy

The growth OOH is experiencing from technology is a mix between digital OOH and the other big driver, the mobile device. The big challenge is driving synergy between OOH and smartphones. "What is this synergy and how does it work? How do we engage as opposed to just expose? If you can get this right then you create a rich environment for brands to connect with consumers," says du Preez.

There are three main categories in the digital OOH space. The biggest globally is digital place-based networks. Du Preez says the numbers are staggering and the category is worth billions of dollars. "The global trend towards this category is manifesting itself in South Africa - the category is already the biggest in the country. It is popular in airports, stations and then pubs and doctors rooms as well as malls."

This category does well where there are lots of people, in other words convergence points.

He says it is so successful that these networks are stealing some of the spend that traditionally went to television, although presently this is still a small amount.

The second category in digital OOH is the digital billboards. "They contain no content only advertising because there is less dwell time and the consumer tolerance for advertising is higher," explains du Preez.

The digital billboard is full HD and allows for more than one advertisement to be flighted and/or the creation of a network. The big advantage is that you can change your message instantly.

The third category is the integrated large format (4.5 x 8m) HD screen, which Provantage launched at King Shaka International Airport.