Future direction of OOH - Smart posters to take the lead

Kinetic Worldwide has released the results from a new study that forecasts the future direction of out-of-home advertising in the UK. The study, On the Threshold of Change—The Future of Out-of-Home Media (UK) predicts that out-of-home media will increase its market share over the next 10 years as a result of digital technology, and that consumers will become accustom to interacting with large numbers of smart digital posters.

From this research Kinetic is forecasting that:

• More than 100,000 digital posters will be visible in 30 major cities across the UK. Many posters in shopping malls, high-streets, leisure environments, transport systems and roadsides will be linked to the internet and capable of interacting with your mobile delivering information such as Facebook promotions. Even bus stops are set to go interactive in the next few years.
• Large numbers of “smart” posters able to recognize whether you are male or female, your age and even whether you are happy or sad will appear over the next five years. Kinetic has already tested a smart poster and the first poster advertising campaigns that will react to passers-by are expected in the near future. Science fiction style technology enabling posters to recognize individuals is also nearing launch.
• Digital technology will grow Out-of-Home’s (OOH) total share of media from £880m (2010) to £1.15bn by 2020. Digital revenues will reach almost £260m accounting for approximately 23% of total OOH spend.
• NFC and social media to transform relationship between posters and consumers with some urban areas delivering a multi-media experience. Instantaneous download capability within a growing number of smartphones, matched by NFC technology in posters, could transform promotional marketing and the distribution of social media and entertainment content even in low-dwell time urban environments. In addition a significant number of posters are expected to be capable of recognizing consumer types and moods.
• Technology will forge a far closer relationship between poster advertising and other media. Kinetic’s analysis suggests OOH will develop a symbiotic relationship with mobile marketing and internet based campaigns, opening up new revenue streams. Content will play an increasing role in OOH media and billboards are likely to become a distribution point for digitized news and entertainment content.