When we asked Billboard Insider readers about the strengths of the out of home industry 44% said the biggest strength was barriers to entry, 40% said the biggest strength of the out of home industry was high cashflow margins and 8% said the biggest strength of he out of home industry was that technology creates upside.

Technology is the friend of out of home.

• Technology makes digital billboards possible.  This enables the out of home industry to get 8 times as many ad spots out of an existing billboard plant.  In practice every new digital billboard installed results in about a four times lift in revenue.
• Technology makes better out of home measurement possible.  Instead of the current slowly-adjusting impressions model, technology will enable impressions to adjust quickly as traffic changes.
• Technology creates cost savings.  High efficiency lights use less electricity.  Monitoring devices like Smartlink allow you to save on labor costs by eliminating truck trips.

Technology has hurt the other forms of media.  Newspapers, magazines and broadcasting have lost ad revenues to online digital advertising. Television audiences have splintered as technology has made streaming possible.  Over the air radio has lost listeners to satellite radio.  Here’s an interesting chart which compare the performance of out of home versus other US media over the past 10 years.  The revenue figures are in billions.  Technology is the friend of out of home…

How do you think technology is helping the out of home business?  Email davewestburg@billboardinsider.com or use the comment box below.

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