Two and a half years have passed since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a state of emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19 (hereafter referred to as Corona or Coronavirus). Each advertising medium has also been affected by Corona, and there have been major changes in advertising content and spending.

This time, we will look back at the trends and current situation of OOH advertising (※1), an advertising medium that has been particularly affected by the COVID-XNUMX pandemic, and consider future prospects based on the knowledge of XICA, which conducts comprehensive effectiveness analysis of all types of advertising.

*1) Refers to outdoor advertising, digital signage, and transit advertising.

Changes in OOH advertising spending

First, let's look at the changes in OOH advertising spending due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to a research report by Dentsu Inc. (※2), when comparing the amount of OOH advertising spent in Japan in 2020 and 2021, it decreased by approximately 4,283%, from 4,086 billion yen to 4.6 billion yen.

*2) Advertising expenditure in Japan in 2021 (Dentsu, 2022) (https://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2022/0224-010496.html）

Important points to consider when placing OOH ads in the future

Although the amount of OOH advertising spending is tending to be restrained, it can be effective if you pay attention to the key points. From here, we will introduce the points that will affect the acquisition efficiency (cost-effectiveness) of OOH advertising based on the knowledge gained from XICA's past analysis.

How to verify each point

XICA is working on calculating "industry norm values" using the MMM (※3) tool "MAGELLAN."

Simply put, the "industry norm value" is the average for each industry. It is derived from the English word "norm," which means "average or standard." The industry norm value is calculated by repeatedly collecting and analyzing data under the same conditions to determine the standard value for the entire market.

By knowing the industry norm value, you can understand industry trends, such as measures that are likely to achieve acquisition efficiency in each industry and the general effectiveness of each measure.

This time, we used this industry norm value and calculated from the perspective of "how the acquisition efficiency of OOH advertising has changed."

*3) MMM (Marketing Mix Modeling) is an effectiveness measurement method that can quantify the impact that various marketing measures have on results, whether they are online (web ads, SNS ads, etc.) or offline (TV commercials, newspapers, magazines, etc.). It is characterized by its ability to not only accurately grasp the effects of each measure, but also to quantify the relationships and synergistic effects between measures.

For more information on MMM, please see this article.

• Why you should use "on-off integrated analysis" to measure the effectiveness of your advertising | XICA Co., Ltd. https://www.wantedly.com/companies/xica/post_articles/379221
• Three reasons why Japan should adopt MMM in marketing in the cookieless era | XICA Co., Ltd. https://xica.net/magazine/marketing-mix-modeling/

Point 1: Traffic flow

Foot traffic is considered important for OOH advertising. This is due to the unique property of outdoor and transit advertising that "the more people you come into contact with, the better your reach efficiency becomes."

There are cases where OOH advertising placed during periods of increased foot traffic was effective, based on the difference in acquisition efficiency of transit advertising between periods when a state of emergency was declared and periods when it was not.

In fact, let's compare the period from March 4 to September 2020, when four states of emergency were declared, with the period after that, and see how the acquisition efficiency of OOH advertising changed.

<Comparison of acquisition efficiency for OOH advertising from March 2020 to September 3 and October 2021 to December 9 (*2021)>

*4) Calculated from analysis results held by XICA

We can see that the acquisition efficiency of OOH advertising has improved significantly since the period including the state of emergency declaration. The reason for this is thought to be "people flow (the amount of people moving or flowing)."

According to the announcement by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (※5), the number of people using public transportation during the period when the state of emergency was declared was significantly lower than in other periods.

<Increase/decrease rate of people flowing on public transport (※5)>

*5) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Station Usage Status (Tokyo Metropolitan Area/Kansai: Preliminary Figures) (https://corona.go.jp/toppage/pdf/area-transition/20220624_station.pdf)Than

Point 2: Products

Although the acquisition efficiency of OOH advertising has declined overall due to the COVID-6 pandemic, there are also cases where analysis results show that OOH advertising has a high acquisition efficiency. A common feature in these cases is that the products analyzed were FMCG products (*XNUMX) that are easy to purchase while out and about.

As shown in the graph below, the acquisition efficiency of OOH for FMCG products is 8.2% higher than the acquisition efficiency of OOH for non-FMCG products.

*6) Abbreviation for Fast Moving Consumer Goods. Refers to relatively low-priced everyday consumer goods that are consumed in a short period of time, such as laundry detergent, toiletries, stationery, beverages, food, and cosmetics.

<Comparison of OOH acquisition efficiency between FMCG products and other products (*7)>

*7) Calculated from the analysis results held by XICA (March 2020 to December 3). The standard value is different from the acquisition efficiency index in *2021.

In particular, with transportation advertising, people often use the same route to travel from home to their destination, so the repeated exposure effect is likely to be a factor, making it likely that the acquisition efficiency is high.

Foot traffic is returning, and it is expected that OOH advertising acquisition efficiency will improve.

前述の「公共交通機関における人流の増減率」の22年以降（※5）を見ると、2022年6月20日～2022年6月24日ですでにコロナ前と比較し首都圏では約8割、近畿では約9割まで人流量が回復しており、今後もさらなる回復が予想されます。

As foot traffic recovers, the effectiveness of OOH advertising is expected to recover to nearly pre-COVID levels.

Integrated on-off analysis allows you to continuously understand acquisition efficiency and carry out the most effective marketing operations.

This time, we used industry norms to examine changes in the acquisition efficiency of OOH advertising during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is expected that foot traffic will continue to recover, and the acquisition efficiency of OOH advertising will also recover. Now that the acquisition efficiency of OOH advertising is expected to recover, why not take this opportunity to review the acquisition efficiency of your advertising measures, including OOH advertising, and reassess your budget?

The relationships between the advertising strategies introduced here are merely trends calculated from statistically processed data and do not necessarily correspond to the trends of individual companies.

If you want to measure the acquisition efficiency of offline advertising, including OOH, please consider the MMM option.

Free download of case study

In this rapidly changing era, how can you optimize your advertising investment to maximize business results?

Download Now