The Last of the Mass Media

Words by Nico Kloeten and published in NZ Marketing Magazines April 2024 Issue

Facing the decline of traditional media and an increasingly fragmented overall market, advertisers are looking to Out of Home to provide reach with a broad audience. Time, then, for a look at the trends in this growing sector.

There’s an element of ‘back to the future’ in the growth of New Zealand’s Out of Home market in 2024. In a world of pop-up ads, AI-generated content and a vast array of social media platforms, the old-fashioned stick-an-ad-where-people-will-see-it approach is once again coming into its own. In a year that saw many media channels experience a decline in revenue, Out of Home maintained its growth trajectory, with the Out of Home Media Association of Aotearoa (OOHMAA) announcing that its members’ 2023 revenue grew by 9.4% year on year to $179m.

There’s much more to Out of Home these days than traditional signs and posters; it might take the form of roadside billboards and street furniture, advertising on public transport and at airports, or on display screens in shopping malls. Advertisers can use sophisticated ad-buying technology to target certain audiences or locations or hand-painted signs and street art to leave an impression on those walking by.

To read Nico’s entire article that looks at the creative's role in delivering effective campaign results, how flexible work hours/WFH has given Out of Home impacted audience numbers, and more, click here.