What are the Benefits of Outdoor Versus Other Media Types?

• Outdoor is a true broadcast medium: It is able to draw huge audiences, at a fraction of the cost of other media. Billboards have a 82.5% reach of the total S.A population, just above that of TV. As illustrated below:

  % Media Types Compared
  

  TV 78.5%

  Print 24.4

  Radio 91.0%

  Outdoor 84.0%

  Mags 40.7%

  *Source: AMPS 2001B

• Outdoor provides strong visual communication that spans across the barriers of illiteracy: In looking at the level of education across the different provinces, it is evident that the degree of message comprehension is diminished by the relatively low levels of education prevalent in certain areas, as is shown by the table below:

  	National	W. Cape	E. Cape	KZN	F.State/ N.Cape	Mpum/N. Prov	Gauteng	N.West
  No School	14.0%	3.0%	12.8%	16.0%	13.0%	18.3%	6.9%	19.6%
  Some Primary	20%	11.1%	24.0%	23.6%	23.2%	18.3%	15.1%	20.9%

  *Source AMPS 2000B

  As indicated in the above table, many provinces have an above average incidence of very little (or no) schooling. The strong, bold communication of outdoor billboards helps to cut across this level of relative illiteracy, and communicates in a clear, concise manner thus providing an information news platform that is able to be understood by any person viewing the billboard.

• Outdoor has grown in the light of increasing fragmentation of other (particularly electronic) media: With the current media menu offering over 100 radio stations, more than 40 television channels, along with a plethora of magazine titles (not to mention the growing internet audience) outdoor has moved centre stage in terms of becoming a true broadcast medium, able to reach large audiences with low cost-per-exposure.

• Outdoor cannot be zapped, turned off, or turned over: The issue of advertising avoidance is a serious hindrance to media such as TV, radio, print and magazines. The greater programming choice currently available has also increased the probability of avoidance. One of the unique benefits of outdoor is that it is very difficult to consciously avoid. The target audience does not have to subscribe to the medium in order to be reached by it. Furthermore, there is no financial cost or leisure-time forfeited by the viewer in order to be exposed to the medium – outdoor utilises "dead time", when the target audience is "not looking".

• Outdoor can be used to create a media-multiplier effect: thus obtaining additional exposure of the campaign through word-of-mouth, as well as through publicity in other media channels.

• Outdoor provides extremely high frequency, as well as permanent, high-impact presence: High frequency is a given benefit to most outdoor campaigns, with the build-up of multiple exposures occurring rapidly after the launch of a campaign. Again this makes outdoor ideal in terms of an integral support mechanism to other media, particularly if these are used in a burst type strategy.

• Outdoor offers a brand street presence, a public face, a place in the community: The nature of an outdoor holding necessitates a physical presence in the community. The brand or message is on public display, 24 hours per day. Whilst this is clearly a qualitative value offered by outdoor, it can be integrally important to certain types of creative strategies, particularly for those with a community appeal or a need to generate a direct consumer relationship over time. This "permanent presence" allows a brand to earn a place in the minds of the consumer, offering a constant reminder that the brand is available and on sale.

• The medium is the message. The message is not part of the medium: Outdoor is one of the only media that does not have any editorial content. Outdoor constitutes "pure advertising" in that there is no interference/clutter imposed by editorial content or programming.

  Every purchase is preceded by a window of opportunity. It is the task of the media planner/strategist to place the brand message in that window:

  Outdoor is an ideal medium to achieve just this. With sophisticated mapping software able to plot campaigns down to street and site level, outdoor can be planned such that it stimulates awareness immediately prior to the purchase decision, thereby maintaining brand awareness when it counts. This supports the theory of "Recency" whereby the attempt is made, through an effective media plan, to ensure that the brand message is most recent in the prospect’s mind prior to the purchase process taking place.

In light of the above, it is important to note that outdoor media planning has evolved from a shotgun approach to a more accurate and concise function, through the introduction by outdoor media owners, of sophisticated outdoor mapping and planning tools. As such, many of the above benefits of outdoor may now be magnified through the use of these tools which ensure accurate targeting of sites profiled against a brand’s target audience, thereby reducing advertising wasteage and improving the accountability of the medium.