OMC ROAD update reveals Out of Home is in a space of its own and growing

The proliferation of various types of location data and new technologies has moved the Out of Home (OOH) industry into a space where new opportunities are prevailing. OOH is now a well measured media channel.

This development, and other key aspects, can be attributed to the successful application of the OMC Roadside Outdoor Audience Data (ROAD) measurement system. An update of the measurement was announced in Durban on Tuesday at the Square Boutique Hotel and Spa in Umhlanga Rocks. Another announcement took place in Cape Town yesterday at the One and Only Hotel, Dock Road, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront where key industry leaders attended.

Media strategy expert, Trish Guilford, MD of Tradigital Consulting led the presentations and highlighted the importance of the ROAD measurement system and its impact on the OOH industry to date. One more announcement will take place in Johannesburg on the 5^th December in Sandton.

“In the past, OOH was considered hard to plan, buy and measure; all that has changed now. The investment OMC members have made in the new measurement system is going to pave the way for making planning easier, smarter, and more targeted. The tools we are providing to the industry are easier to use than the legacy platforms and by using the data we have available, we are able to measure OOH advertising exposure,” says Trish.

The anticipated ROAD measurement update revealed that OOH is a strong medium for connecting and engaging, anywhere and everywhere by 97% of South Africans who leave home every day. Along with insightful facts and figures, the speakers also unpacked important aspects that supplement the ROAD currency.

Speaker Insights

Ruchelle Mouton, Marketing Intelligence Manager at Primedia Outdoor, who was part of the line-up of speakers dissected the methodology and pointed out that the ratings system was designed to provide OOH with credible metrics that are necessary to effectively compete with other measured media. This was achieved through an innovative and sophisticated research program specifically designed to measure audiences who are likely to see advertising on OOH ads across the country. Her presentation included Big Data, consumer travel patterns, satellite imagery, trip modelling and visibility calculations.

Sana Fourie, Currencies, Statistics and Field Quality at Ask Afrika, spoke about how the OMC team has overcome challenges of a new and unique methodology in South Africa over the past three years, and how efficiencies and quality control were put in place to deliver a high quality product to the industry.

Lauren Shapiro, Managing Partner at Kuper Research provided insights and benchmarks. The 2015/16 ROAD measured 30,633 respondents and several factors are taken into account in the fusion of demographics and trip data.  “The most important change is the increase in the rolled sample size which has allowed for more robust data and the diverse number of routes travelled when modelling the data.”

How South Africans travel, transport used, destinations and time spent travelling plus a weekday in the life of different LSMs and weekend outings provided useful insights.

Howard Lonstein, Marketing Manager at Outdoor Network, emphasised the benefits ROAD offers to planners, strategists and advertisers. “What I have seen and experienced working with the software and audience data is a huge appetite for information, numbers and insights. It’s an exciting space to be in and a dynamic conversation to have. Out of home is clearly evolving with new audience data, insights and planning opportunities.”

Upcoming event details:

The final event in Johannesburg will take place on the 5th December 2017 from 08h00 – 11h00 at The Venue Greenpark, 3 Lower Road, Corner West Rd South 20th floor, Morningside, Sandton.