Sales Tips: OOH Finishes 2021 Up Almost 17%

OOH advertising spend increased 16.7 percent over 2020, ending with an extraordinarily strong fourth quarter that generated 37.4 percent growth. Total year 2021 OOH spend was $7.1 billion, led by digital OOH with the segment jumping 22.7 percent compared to 2020. Fourth quarter DOOH grew 49.6 percent over the same period the previous year.

OAAA members can access the 2021 OOH Facts & Figures report here. It provides valuable insights on OOH opportunities and prospecting strategies, such as identifying competing media channels with greater share than OOH in local markets, and understanding key ad spend months for all product categories. The report examines:

In 2021, all top ten industry product categories increased and eight grew double digits, including Local Services & Amusements, Retail, Media & Advertising, Insurance & Real Estate, Restaurants, Government Politics and Organizations, Financial, and Automotive Dealers and Services.

Reflecting the overall strength of OOH, the largest category, Local Services and Amusements, which represents over 25 percent of total OOH spend, increased by 20.9 percent, second only in growth to the Media and Advertising category increase of 21.3 percent.

Ranked in order of OOH spending, the top 10 advertisers in 2021 were McDonald’s, Apple, Geico, Amazon, American Express, Coca-Cola, Allstate, Google, Walt Disney Pictures, and HBO. 

  • 79% of the top 100 OOH advertisers increased their OOH spend from 2020
  • 28% of the top 100 OOH advertisers more than doubled their spend including (ranked in order of percentage increase): Credit Karma, Webull, Molson, William Hill, Cartier, Curative, ClickUp, Capital One, Postmates, DoorDash, Chrysler, BetMGM, Boston Beer, Constellation Brands, DuckDuckGo, UnitedHealthcare, Uber, At Home, FanDuel, LVMH, AT&T, Brown-Forman, Audible, Chevron, FX, Walt Disney Pictures, Expensify, and GrubHub
  • 28% of the top 100 OOH spenders were technology or direct-to-consumer brands including: Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Audible, BetMGM, ClickUp, Comcast, Cox, Credit Karma, Curative, DoorDash, DraftKings, DuckDuckGo, Expensify, Facebook, FanDuel, Google, GrubHub, Hulu, Netflix, PayPal, Postmates, Samsung, T-Mobile, Uber, Verizon, Webull, and William Hill

MAGNA, a division of IPG, reports OOH was the second fastest growing ad channel in 2021, outperforming all media channels except digital. For 2022, MAGNA projects an 11 percent growth rate for OOH, once again outperforming all traditional media. 

Source: Kanter, MAGNA, OAAA