Out of Home in 2023 – What Can We Expect?

We’ve happily seen life return to a sense of normality, with spectators returning to events around the country, public transport operating at high capacity and shoppers back to our high streets. In the out-of-home (OOH) world, recovery from the pandemic saw an extraordinary amount of growth, which was almost identical in both classic and digital. OOH has seen the fastest ad spend recovery due to being the hardest-hit during the pandemic. In the first half of the year alone, Outsmart reported that OOH ad revenue totalled a massive £529 million, a 79% increase from the same period in the previous year. On top of this, digital-out-of-home (DOOH) ad spend in particular now equates to 34.3% of total ad spend.

And with the festive period still to come, we can expect out of home growth to climb even further with not only Black Friday and Christmas, but also with the added addition of the much-anticipated World Cup.

So what can we expect in 2023? As we approach the new year with pressures from inflation, squeezed margins, a cost of living crisis and teetering on the edge of a recession, we could expect the outlook to look pretty bleak.

Admittedly, 2023 isn’t the shining beacon of hope as what 2022 turned out to be but it isn’t all bad news. Although ad growth is expected to slow in the new year, we can expect to see 3.9% media owner revenue growth across the whole UK industry, and 8.8% in DOOH. Considering 2019 and 2020 were unprecedented years (and we hope to never see anything like that ever again!), it is no surprise that growth this year was significant. When we put it into perspective, there was bound to be a point when it had to slow down. And even though there is a predicted growth slowdown, advertising – in particularly out-of-home advertising – is still a vital investment.

A key word which we seemingly hear at every annual prediction is programmatic. After a slower start than the market would have hoped, programmatic DOOH is starting to pick up and is predicted to gain even more pace in 2023.

According to Hivestack, programmatic DOOH is bringing incremental growth by enhancing the static ad, as well as bringing benefits for buyers. It’s evolving to become an essential part of the omnichannel strategy, and is definitely something to keep an eye on as we head into the new year.

Finally, what are some of the trends we should look out for in the DOOH landscape in 2023?

• Audience targeting. Advertisers should now take the opportunity to target specific segments of audience, making for a super effective campaign.
• Flexibility. Life can prove to be very unexpected recently, being able to be flexible and make changes to campaigns quickly and efficiently is vital, and DOOH provides this perfectly.
• Real-time data triggers. We should now be doing much more than activating weather-related ads when it rains. There needs to be a real cut-through to reach consumers and more inventive data triggers will be key for this.
• Locality. Get to know the local OOH market and plan accordingly. Look to partner with a media owner who really are aware of the nitty and gritty of local specifics. In turn you are sure to get the best for your budget!

We look forward to welcoming 2023 optimistically, and we’re excited for what the new year will bring!

Sources: AA/WARC, dailydooh.com, The Drum, Hivestack, Outsmart, Statista