signage issue 1 volume 1 | Page 22

Article Outdoor Advertising - 3 Steps to 10 % of Market Share

Article Outdoor Advertising - 3 Steps to 10 % of Market Share

Aroad map is supposed to guide one to one ’ s destination . In Outdoor , the question is one of such a destination . Not enough intellectual effort has gone into the determination of such a destination . Or is Outdoor really like the ghost ship , The Black Pearl in Pirates of the Caribbean , which has no destination , but cannot die , because they stole the wrong g u y ’ s g o l d ?

Certainly , the analogy of Pirates has been used before but , is it possible for this Industry to have a unified destination ? If not , it will not grow as an Industry and will die a slow death due to more exiting media forms that is on offer to an already spoiled a d v e r t i s i n g m a r k e t .
M a r k e t s h a r e
The behaviour of the abused child is often ascribed to his / hers circumstances . The same holds true for Outdoor . They ( the Outdoor Media Owners ) behave like that because advertisers , agents and state regulators , alike , abuse them . Wanting better rates , playing the one against the other and wanting something underneath the table etc . are typical abuses . Do not fall into this trap – if you do , you will become a Black Pearl . How do you escape t h i s ?
2 . S u p p o r t y o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n Organizations are not perfect and it is at best difficult to serve multiple masters . The benefits of the organization are multiple . It can deal with issues internally . It can negotiate on behalf of members . It can promote , profess and defend the industry on a collective level . It can also set standards , create norms and meet out discipline if necessary . To utilize an organization ask maturity
The market share for outdoor hover around 5 % of ad spend and has been black pearling in that region for a decade or so . It is however up from what it was in the 90 ’ s . This fact is not making s e n s e f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g r e a s o n s :
• It is far lower than the estimated 30 % of the rest of the
C o n t i n e n t ;
• I t i s l o w e r t h a n t h e avera g e o f 8 % i n E u ro p e ;
• Outdoor is consumed on the same level as the other Media a c c o r d i n g t o S A A R F
The destination of the Roadmap should be to grow to 10 % of the market share . It is really 1 , 2 , 3 and Outdoor can be there .
1 . S t o p t h e i n f i g h t i n g First thing is to stop the infighting . Advertisers will not support an Industry where competitors accuse one another of obtaining sites through unlawful means , or if competitors run to advertisers and degrade its competition because its sights are i l l e g a l .
This is just poor marketing – not only of your own product but of your Industry as well . If you do not have a better sales pitch than t h a t , y o u s h o u l d r e s i g n . of people . Maturity to realize the bigger picture and maturity to realize the organization is only the sum total of its members . So , if the organization does not satisfy your needs then look for the f a u l t i n y o u r o w n b u s i n e s s . An effective organization is not one where everybody is 100 % happy all the time . - Sometimes there will be differences . This is healthy . Maturity will dictate patience to discuss and sort p r o b l e m s o u t .
3 . M a r k e t i n s t e a d o f t a k i n g o r d e r s This criticism has been levelled at the Outdoor Industry – sometimes unfairly so . It however requires the Industry to c o n s t a n t l y m a r k e t t h e b e n e f i t s o f O u t d o o r .
The fact that you know it is working , does not mean everybody else knows it . Yes , the lack of research is sometimes inhibiting , but there are other guerrilla tactics that can be utilized to make t h e p o i n t
The research efforts of the Poster Specialists are good marketing f o r t h e i n d u s t r y .
These 3 steps would see Outdoor Advertising with a bigger market share , but any journey starts with the first step .
22 SIGNAGE . NG