Global out-of-home (OOH) advertising revenues, including all digital, traditional and ambient media platforms, increased an estimated 7.5% to $55.99 billion in 2018, the fastest growth rate in 11 years, according to new research from PQ Media. Key industry growth drivers included an increase in live ad-supported updates during major global sporting events, which led to higher consumer engagement with digital OOH media, as well as the strength of traditional OOH, particularly in transit locations.

While global OOH revenues are pacing for decelerated 5.4% growth this year in the absence of key global sporting events and political campaigns, as well as slowing economic growth in the second half, PQ Media analysts anticipate an 8.5% growth surge in 2020, the fastest expansion in more than a decade, according to PQ Media’s Global Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2019.

Meanwhile, consumer exposure to overall OOH media grew 1.3% worldwide in 2018 to an average of 1 hour and 7 minutes per week, driven by more consumer viewing of content related to the World Cup and Olympics, continuous coverage of key news events and political campaigns globally, and acquisition activity that expanded the scale of market-leading OOH operators, according to PQ Media.

“Our research indicates that brands and agencies are turning to OOH media more than ever, which has made it one of the fastest growing ad-driven media worldwide, both in operating company revenues and consumer exposure time,” said PQ Media President Patrick Quinn. “Media buying across multiple OOH networks has become easier through programmatic technology and brand marketers are finding that their messages are less likely to appear near objectionable content via OOH media, a drawback that is frequently cited in relation to the use of online and mobile advertising and marketing.”

Overall, the United States market reached almost $10.5 billion in 2018, and nearly $11 billion in 2019. China is close behind at over $10.3 billion in 2018, while Japan exceeded $8 billion. Other markets to exceed $1 billion include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, Brazil, Australia and South Korea. Six markets registered double-digit growth in 2018, led by Brazil at 15.2%, followed by South Korea, Argentina, Australia, South Korea and China, according to PQ Media’s Global Out- of-Home Media Forecast 2019.

Transit remained the hottest location category due to many nations upgrading airport terminals, adding new rail lines and deploying digital street furniture signage in high-traffic areas popular with tourists. Due to growing DOOH and transit OOH networks, consumer time spent with all OOH media increased for the seventh consecutive year in 2018, and similar growth is expected this year. Among future growth drivers will be programmatic media buying expanding to mid-tier operators and the use of mobile integration and more eye- dwell technology to improve ROI metrics.

This PQ Media Chart caught Insider’s eye.  US out of home growth has outpaced the US economy since 2015 and PQ Media expects this to continue through 2023.

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