Digital OOH Growth 17X Faster Than Overall US Ad Growth, DPAA Suggests

April 25, 2012 by Dave Haynes

The Digital Place-based Advertising Association says growth rates for the medium outpaced overall U.S. ad industry growth by a more than 17:1 margin last year.

Based on information collected by Miller, Kaplan, Arase from DPAA members and non-members, the organization says, in a release Tuesday,  ad revenue for the digital place-based sector grew by 14.2% in 2011 over 2010, more than 17 times the 0.8% growth rate for the U.S. ad industry overall, as reported by Kantar Media.

Among all media types, growth for digital place-based was second only to that of syndication, which recorded a 15.4% gain.

The DPAA suggests total industry revenues – including the very lucrative cinema pre-show ad business – were  an estimated $1.4 billion.

“2011 was a challenging year across the media landscape, but it was also a year that further solidified digital place-based as a highly desired media choice because of its ability to engage consumers on the go,” says Mike DiFranza, president of Captivate Network and DPAA chairman. “With the advent of new measurement tools and growing recognition among agencies that place-based media is an effective tool to influence consumer behavior, we expect to see a continuation of strong growth in 2012.”

“Digital place-based media engages consumers at the right time, in the right place and in the right mindset,” says Susan Danaher, president and CEO of the DPAA. “In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to see why the ability to reach on-the-go consumers in contextually relevant settings resonates more powerfully than ever among advertisers.”

Sounds impressive, though it certainly seems a little counter-intuitive to when considering how many networks are doing and the folding or rethinking of a few Digital OOH efforts. Growth will tend to look better when the steadily tanking newspaper industry drags down the overall number.

Thoughts from people who actually spend time looking at this kind of data?