Emerging Post Pandemic Out-of-Home Trends

The past few months have been tough on the Out-of-Home (OOH) industry. With consumers under stay at home orders they have not been on the roads or traveling the amount of miles they normally would during the course of a week. Advertisers had to rethink their strategy and find different and creative ways to use OOH to reach their consumers. Hand sanitizing stations, branded face masks, grocery/delivery bags, and pizza/take out boxes are just a few of the ways advertisers have been able to get their message in the hands (literally) of consumers.

This week we are celebrating the 8th consecutive week of the average number of miles traveled increasing across the country. Not all markets are recovering at the same rate, but all have seen considerable growth since April. According to GeoPath, DMA’s New York’s weekly average miles traveled have increased 175% since April, however Omaha has only increased by 37%. It will take time to get the numbers back up to where they were prior to COVID-19, but we are already on the right track and the numbers will continue to grow.

However, not all consumers are ready to venture outside of their homes. According to Nielsen’s (href=”http://blog.geopath.org/index.php/2020/05/19/nielsens-covid-19-consumer-sentiment-and-spending-intention-study/) COVID-19 Consumer Sentiment and Spending Intention Study consumers have one of three attitudes: “Wait and See” (31%), “Proceed with Caution” (37%), and “Ready to Go” (32%).

The “Ready to Go” segment is optimistic that life will return to normal quickly. This group tends to skew younger (25-54), have children under the age of 11 in their home, and are more affluent with HHI of $100k+. They intend to spend money on travel, household services, home improvement, auto parts/ repair, and food/dining. In regards to travel, they will most likely avoid airports and confined spaces, but will still travel by car or other methods to get where they are going.

The “Proceed with Caution” group is leaving the house, but being very cautious about where they go and take all the necessary safety precautions. The “Wait and See” group plans to wait a little bit longer before venturing out. Even though they are taking things one day at a time, they still expect to be back out in the world within a month or two.

This data shows that 69% of consumers are back on the road and ready to spend.

So what does this mean for OOH? With people back on the roads, traditional OOH impression levels are headed back to where they were prior to the pandemic and will continue to grow. Since consumers have been cooped up for so long and summer is almost here, many are starting to plan vacations, which will increase the amount of impressions even more.

The OOH might struggle at times, but if you think outside of the box there is always a way to put your message in the hands of consumers. After all, there is a reason why it is the oldest media format.

If you have any questions about your OOH media strategy moving forward post-pandemic, please contact us.

Chrissy has more than 20 years of experience as an OOH Media Specialist and has worked for national agencies such as D’Arcy, MediaVest, and Starcom. Throughout the years she has handled numerous traditional and experiential/ambient outdoor campaigns across the globe for clients such as Continental Airlines, Oracle, Jim Beam, Miller/Coors, Ernst & Young, and NBC Networks. At True Media Chrissy’s experience helps others develop effective OOH campaigns for our clients. By keeping up the latest trends within this industry she is able to recommend innovative solutions to help clients achieve their goals.