OPINION: OOH growth in Southeast Asia to double global average

The global out-of-home (OOH) sector is estimated to be worth in the region of US$27 billion in 2011, according to PWC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook. The United States accounts for a 25 per cent share with US$6.5 billion in OOH spend, followed by Japan with US$4.9 billion and China with US$2.3 billion.

Accordingly, two of the three biggest markets in the world are in Asia, accounting for a 35 per cent share of the global spend. This figure could be even higher as spends are not accurately tracked in many Asian markets.

Not surprisingly, China is the fastest growing market in the world. The country is expected to grow at an annual compounded growth rate of 14.3 per cent over the next five years and likely to overtake Japan by 2020.

Elsewhere in the region, Southeast Asian countries are expected to grow at an annual average compounded growth rate of close to 10 per cent, compared to the global and Asian growth average of 5+ per cent.

While different markets are at different growth stages and have different complexities, there are common catalysts that fuel growth.

Digital OOH (DOOH) is expanding and here to stay. Markets like Japan and China are bursting with DOOH opportunities and even smaller markets like Malaysia and Singapore are seeing digital options growing at a very fast rate. DOOH combined with search, mobile and social media is even more exciting. There are now many examples of campaigns deploying digital screens and technology, including augmented reality, RFID and QR codes, which are recorded and virally distributed on the likes of Facebook and You Tube. These campaigns generate massive audiences and subsequent impressive long-tail benefits.

Mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets will boost OOH spend, making it possible to go straight from awareness to action, bypassing the traditional awareness to interest to desire to action model. Tesco ran a fantastic campaign illustrating this in Korea, creating virtual hypermarket aisles and shelves using stickers in transit stations. With Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled mobile devices, consumers could click pictures of products and have them delivered straight to their homes. This totally redefines online transactions as the decision is now made out of home.

OOH research is also gaining more interest in many Asian markets. Posterscope is already investing in out-of-home consumer studies in all markets as better measurement will lead to better accountability in planning OOH media. In addition, there are also many OOH formats that are already being tracked by companies like Nielsen as part of their country media index to understand consumer lifestyle and visitation habits.

We also expect to see major opportunities in the transit sector as countries continuously upgrade their infrastructure for better connectivity. China is expected to have close to 250 airports by 2020, allowing for 80 per cent of their population to live within 100km of an airport. Every other developing country, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, are building numerous new road and train arteries to better move people and products, giving rise to numerous new advertising opportunities.

OOH is about to get a whole lot more exciting...