The outdoor advertising market in the UK is a large market that is showing stable growth. The graph below shows that the OOH market as a whole is expected to grow from GBP 697 million to GBP 1,301 million in 2019 or 86.7% in 20 years. This can be calculated back to an average of 4% per year (rounded up). Now you might think that this annual growth is not that much, but it has to be taken into account that during the crisis of 2008 and a few years after that, this market got a hefty knock. Another important point is that OOH is a form of advertising that has been around for a very long time. New profitable places are therefore scarce. After 2019, this growth is expected to continue even further, although the Covid-19 outbreak and the crisis that is expected at the moment may raise questions.
Digital Out of Home advertising is the growth engine of OOH-advertising in the UK
Even though the new places to apply OOH in large cities are limited, this market continues to grow. One of the main reasons for this is the increase in Digital Out of Home advertising. In 2011, the percentage of DOOH in relation to total turnover of the OOH market was only 14%. The figures in the graph below clearly show the rapid adaptation of DOOH at the expense of OOH. In 2018 this was already half and the figures from 2019 indicate that this has already risen to 54%. A further increase in DOOH compared to OOH is in line with expectations. After all, a digital billboard generates more turnover than a static poster. The main reasons for this are:
- Many more advertisers can show their ads in the same period of time
- Advertisers can have multiple ads created until they interact with each other
- Creating digital ads is more lucrative than a single poster
- In view of the improved measurability of DOOH, more entrepreneurs are willing to do so.
Market share in Great Britain by Media owner
The DOOH market consists of 1 major player that controls by far the most media, JCDecaux 44%. The other 56% of this mark is divided among 7 players with percentages between 1% and 16% and some smaller players falling under ‘other’. It is striking that the DOOH market is much more divided than the OOH market in the UK. The digitization of this market lowers barriers and gives multiple parties access to this market. The OOH market consists of 3 very large players who together control 87% of the market. These are JCDecaux, Global outdoor & Clear Channel 2018.
