Digital Leading Best OOH Media Growth In US In 12 Years

August 22, 2019 by Dave Haynes

New Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) numbers suggest OOH ad revenues in the U.S. went up 7.7 percent in the second quarter of 2019 compared to the previous year, accounting for $2.69 billion in media spend.

Year-to-date, the OAAA says the OOH industry is up 7 percent, and quarterly growth is as good as its been in 12 years.  

“The strong quarterly growth occurred across all four major OOH channels: billboards, street furniture, transit, and place-based,” says OAAA President & CEO Nancy Fletcher. “Digital OOH posted the highest increases across all formats, representing 31 percent of total OOH revenue in the second quarter.”

Among the top 10 revenue categories, six outperformed national GDP growth in the second quarter, including Miscellaneous Local Services and Amusements; Retail; Media and Advertising; Public Transportation, Hotels and Resorts; Insurance and Real Estate; and Automotive Dealers and Services.   

Ranked in order of OOH spending, the top 10 advertisers in the second quarter were McDonald’s, Geico, Apple, State Farm, Chevrolet, Amazon, Facebook, Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, and HBO.

Almost 70 percent of the top 100 OOH advertisers increased spend over Q2 2018, and one-quarter of them more than doubled OOH investment. Over one-quarter of the top 100 were tech brands including the entire FAANG suite of companies – Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. 

“OOH’s ability to deliver mass reach and maintain audience is a significant competitive strength. Nielsen found 66 percent of US travelers report taking an action on their smartphone after exposure to an OOH ad. By generating engagement in the real world, OOH’s value to brands is stronger than ever,” says Stephen Freitas, OAAA’s chief marketing officer. 

OAAA numbers are based on revenue estimates from Miller Kaplan and Kantar Media and member company affidavits.