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NEW YORK Out-of-home ad spending during the fourth quarter plummeted, sending total OOH revenue down 4 percent for the year to $7 billion, according to figures released yesterday by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. Fourth-quarter revenue sank 15 percent, totaling $1.5 billion in total ad expenditures.
Despite the declines, OOH, which has had steady, high-single-digit growth for the past three years, is still holding up better than many other media. The last time the outdoor business posted negative growth was in 2001, when revenue was down 1 percent.
Insurance/real estate and communications, the industry’s fifth and sixth largest categories, took nosedives in Q4, dropping 35.3 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively. For the year, spending in insurance and real estate dropped 22.4 percent, while communications spending dropped 15.4 percent.
First quarter 2009 looks equally as grim, but outdoor executives remain optimistic.
“The fundamentals of the outdoor advertising industry are strong,” said Nancy Fletcher, president and CEO of the OAAA. “Historically, the industry comes out of recessions stronger than before, and it is well positioned to do the same after this recession.”
The OAAA’s revenue estimates cover billboards, street furniture, transit advertising and alternative out-of-home media. Data are calculated from a number of sources including Miller Kaplan, TNS, member company affidavits and other syndicated media projections.
