OOH sector gets back on track in 2021

When the nation was told to stay at home in March 2020, the OOH (out of home) sector was inevitably going to suffer. A series of lockdowns and restrictions has left the industry bruised and battered, but as those restrictions ease and life returns to some degree of ‘normality’, OOH is making a comeback – and with real gusto.

In the second quarter of 2021, OOH has enjoyed an impressive resurgence, with year-on-year growth of 277%, reports The Drum. This increase, announced by Outsmart and PwC, marks the highest quarterly performance ever recorded in the sector. After a tricky first quarter, retailers will take some comfort from the news that total revenues between April and June were just shy of £200 million.

The UK Out of Home Revenue report found a rise across all OOH revenues – both digital and traditional – which increased 247% and 339% respectively. These figures illustrate the surge in digital seen over the course of the pandemic; digital now holds a 63% share of overall revenue – an increase from the 53% share it held pre-pandemic.

The expectation is that this recovery will continue into the autumn and winter months. Speaking about the findings, Justin Cochrane, chair of Outsmart said: “Out-of-home’s strongest growth quarter ever […] is great to see. We’ve felt the momentum building and are looking forward to this continuing through the rest of the year.”

Meanwhile, Alistair MacCallum, UK CEO at Kinetic Worldwide (WPP’s specialist OOH agency) talked about the sector’s ongoing agility, explaining the data was “testament to the transformation seen across the industry to make OOH smarter, faster, and more adaptive throughout COVID.”

He continued by highlighting OOH’s “unique ability to publicly and inclusively, reach and engage audiences at scale.”

According to MacCallum: “With the UK returning to ‘real life’ in large numbers, there’s every reason to be hugely optimistic as both classical and digital OOH return to the sustained growth path we were seeing in the years before the pandemic.”

If your business is looking for ways to ride the wave of Q2 through smarter, faster, more adaptive multi-channel marketing, Delta can help. Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you: hello@thedletagroup.co.uk

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