MAM
Outdoor ad revenues in the US marginally up in 2002
MUMBAI: Well, looks as if the 360 degrees mantra hasn’t really filtered down the hierarchy of advertisers and ad agencies in the US. If it had, it would be positively impacted the hoarding and outdoor ad spends.
After falling less than one percent in 2001, outdoor advertising revenues grew marginally in calendar year 2002, up 0.8 percent to $5.2 billion, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.
The information released by the association claims that local services and amusements continued to be the industry’s most important category, accounting for 13.3 per cent of revenues. This is a growth of six per cent as compared to the previous year.
Public transportation, hotels and resorts category was placed second although it fell 7.3 per cent in revenues. Despite this fall, the category still made up 10.4 per cent of the industry total. The financial category, which grew 19.7 per cent, represented 6.3 per cent of the total.
Despite the presence of a booming auto market, the biggest reduction was witnessed in the category of automotive, auto accessories and equipment, which shrank nine per cent but still accounted for 4.4 per cent of overall revenues.
MAM
GUEST COLUMN: How data and adtech are driving OOH growth in India
Data and technology are reshaping OOH and boosting advertiser confidence.
MUMBAI: Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising is evolving from a traditional, location-driven medium into a data-informed channel that blends physical presence with digital intelligence. For Nipun Arora, co-founder of Osmo, this transformation is redefining how advertisers plan, execute, and measure campaigns in India. In this piece, Arora explores how traffic, mobility, and AI-powered data are enhancing site and audience insights, why DOOH is accelerating precision planning, and how authenticity, creativity, and repeat exposure are driving renewed advertiser confidence in OOH.
For years, Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising operated with minimal reliance on data. Site selection was largely driven by visibility, location, and a planner’s understanding of traffic patterns.
That is now changing rapidly.
The first shift came with traffic data, offering basic estimates of vehicular movement. This evolved into mobility data powered by GPS signals, enabling deeper insights into audience movement and behavior. Point-of-interest data further refined this by helping advertisers understand who is likely to be present around a location.
Today, artificial intelligence and computer vision are unlocking an entirely new layer of site and audience intelligence. Together, these data streams are transforming OOH from a real estate-led medium into a data-backed one.
The rise of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) is accelerating this shift. Campaigns can now be planned, scheduled, and optimized with increasing precision bringing OOH closer to an adtech model. That said, as a physical medium, OOH still operates within real-world constraints, making this transition gradual rather than absolute.
At the same time, advertisers are returning to OOH with renewed interest.
One of the biggest drivers is authenticity. Unlike digital platforms, OOH offers real-world visibility free from bots, fraudulent impressions, or ad blockers. What you see is what exists.
There’s also growing digital fatigue. Consumers are overwhelmed by constant online advertising, often choosing to skip or ignore it. OOH, by contrast, engages audiences naturally within their environment, without interruption.
Mobility further strengthens its impact. As people move through cities daily, OOH benefits from repeated exposure building recall over time in a way few channels can match.
Add to this the power of creativity. Large formats and contextual executions don’t just capture attention, they often extend beyond the physical space, finding life on social media.
Finally, the increasing availability of data at the planning stage is boosting advertiser confidence. Better insights mean better decisions and more accountability.
As cities grow and movement increases, OOH is uniquely positioned at the intersection of physical presence and data intelligence. Its evolution from billboards to big data isn’t just a technological shift, it’s a redefinition of the medium itself.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
