8 SIGNAGE . NG
OAAA ' s five steps to an even brighter future for out of home advertising , by Nancy Fletcher
The following remarks were part of Nancy Fletcher ' s opening speech at the TAB / OAAA Conference + Expo – Boca Raton , Florida
In 2015 , the OOH industry hit a new revenue peak of 7.3 billion dollars after racking up 23 consecutive quarters of growth . In fact , OOH is the only traditional advertising medium that has achieved such a long and continuous winning streak – of that we should all be extremely proud .
And today , we celebrate another milestone because today we mark the
125th anniversary of the founding of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America . For 125 years , OAAA has been here to protect , promote , and advance our industry .
Nancy Fletcher , President & CEO of the Outdoor Advertising Association of
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America ( OAAA )
Over the last 125 years our industry has been through a host of changes :
From standardizing posters in 1900 , to offering bulletins in the 1920 ' s , to creating a beautiful array of OOH formats
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today ;
We glued paper to wooden boards , moved on to hand-painting on wood or steel , then we began computerprinting on vinyl , and now we ' re designing digital displays ;
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For 70 years we were counting cars , and then ten years ago , we launched TAB OOH ratings .
Each time , the change was disruptive . Each time , there were those who wanted to slam the breaks on change , but instead the industry broke through and made t h e s i g n i f i c a n t investments required .
It was never easy , but each time the industry embraced innovation , and leaped forward . And what made us strong then will make us strong now . The fundamentals of the OOH industry – our vision , resolve , and unity – they give us everything we need to make the next leap forward .
That ' s how we protected private property rights on Capitol Hill – and at state legislatures – and i t ' s h o w w e w e r e eventually able to find relative peace after decades of draconian anti-billboard proposals . I t ' s a l s o h o w w e developed Eco-friendly materials and systems . A n d , i t ' s h o w w e established a successful regulatory and technology framework for the rollout of digital billboards .
We successfully made our case with those who opposed digital billboards – and from big markets to small , we ' ve begun to make the capital investments required , to make another leap forward . As we ' ve grown , we ' ve learned from our history . Because of the smart decisions the industry has made – decisions going all the way back to 1891 – we are facing the most exciting future ever , in 2016 . As proud as I am of those industry-wide decisions , I am even more proud of how the industry has made them : with vision , with resolve , and most important of all , with unity .
Despite being 125 years old – OOH is still scrappy – and we are very , very hungry . And so today I want to talk with you about how we are going to build that bright future . What I see are five specific steps we need to take – together – as an industry .
Here they are : 1 . Closely Connect OOH & Digital ; 2 . See to it that planning , buying , and measuring OOH is as easy as possible ; 3 . Make the Most of Data ; 4 . Make everyone aware of OOH Strengths ; 5 . And serve the Public Good .
The first step is to closely connect OOH & digital . As you know , ad revenues have been flooding from traditional to digital media . And when I say digital media – I mean web , search , social , and especially mobile .
Research from MagnaGlobal shows that all traditional media ( except OOH ) is losing market share . It projects that by 2017 OOH will have a larger share than magazines and that by 2019 OOH will have a slightly larger share than newspapers . But here ' s the big news story : by 2017 , digital will end television ' s sixty-year reign and become the largest advertising medium in the country . Digital ' s share of the media pie triples ; from 18 percent in 2010 , to 2019 when digital will have 49 percent of all ad revenues . All types of digital media – web , search , social , and mobile – all are projected to continue to grow at a rapid clip – and here ' s why : advertisers like digital media because content is easy to deploy , detailed audience analytics are available , and return on investment can be calculated .
But , while all this has been happening , OOH has held its market share . OOH has become much more relevant . And , OOH has become a part of that same interconnected media mix that includes digital . Of course digital billboards , interactive kiosks , and place-based screens are prime examples of more digital OOH . But we ' re also seeing more and more activation using printed OOH formats , connecting our medium with mobile .
OAAA has been working to define OOH ' s role in this larger media landscape .
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