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Breaking down Arbitron's Out-of-Home Digital Video Display Study 2009

August 6, 2009

Yesterday, Arbitron released the 2009 version of its Out-of-Home Digital Video Display Study to the industry, with much attention coming from the finding that 155 million American adults said they recalled seeing a digital out-of-home (DOOH) video screen in the past month.

In case you didn't make it through the 16-page report, here the highlights and what they mean for the DOOH advertising industry.

DOOH audience defined

As said earlier, the real kicker to this report was that 67 percent of the American adults surveyed had not only been in the presence of, but recalled seeing a digital out-of-home screen in the past month. Compared to the "population-at-large," this works out to an estimated 155 million American adults. These screens were located in any one of 17 venues, including shopping malls, gas stations, restaurants, office buildings, etc.

"It's a very positive outcome for the industry," said Dominick Porco, chairman and CEO of AdSpace Networks. "That number - 67 percent - will hopefully get a lot more advertisers to stand up and take notice. This study confirmed that if you are looking to reach masses like so many network television advertisers and finding it difficult with the fragmentation, digital out-of-home is a good alternative."  

Also noteworthy: Of those who recalled seeing a digital video display in the past month, 76 percent noticed screens at multiple venues.

One of the nice things about the survey-based methodology of this report is that it wasn't just a venue traffic count. The audience had to specifically recall seeing a digital video display in the past month, as opposed to just being in a venue where a screen was installed.

Study exposed key audiences for DOOH

One reason that this report is going to be of value to the industry is that it indentified specific audiences for digital out-of-home, giving advertisers further information into who's watching. Throughout the report, Arbitron used indexes to compare findings to the total U.S. adult population.

For example, those who noticed a digital video display in the past month are six percent more likely to be male compared to the total U.S. population aged 18 or older. Also, 64 percent of those on office building elevators are men, meaning a person watching a video screen on one of those elevators is 33 percent more likely to be a man than the population at large. Stadiums and arenas, convenience stores and public transit also ranked high as male-targeted venues.

This may come as no surprise, but OOH digital video networks reach a high concentration of young adults aged 18 to 34. According to the study, those who noticed a digital video display in the past month are 25 percent more likely to be 18-24 compared to the total U.S. adult population. Also, they are 11 percent more likely to be 25-34 compared to the total U.S. adult population. As far as venues go, stadiums, bars and elevators stood out as areas where young people would most notice DOOH screens.

Show me the money

We also got a feel for how much money DOOH viewers are making, giving advertisers and agencies another good piece of demographic info for media planning.

Screens in office buildings, airports and health clubs receive a high concentration of "affluent" consumers. Here, affluent is defined by those with an annual household income of $100,000 or more. Thirty percent of the audience for DOOH elevator screens makes more than $100,000 per year, meaning someone watching a screen in an elevator is 88 percent more likely to be affluent than the population at large.

Airports also seem to get wealthy traffic. Twenty-eight percent of the DOOH audience in airports live in households earning $100,000 or more, meaning a person watching a video display in an airport is 75 percent more likely to be affluent than the population at large.

Study exposed key venues for DOOH

The study also gave advertisers, agencies and brands a better idea of venues that are most effective for DOOH advertising.

Retail came up big, showing that DOOH screens retail locations alone (including grocery stores, large retailer/department stores, drug stores, shopping malls or convenience stores) reach more than half (53 percent) of American adults per month.

About one in five (18 percent of) Americans adults noticed a DOOH screen in a bar, restaurant or place serving food or beverages in the past month. Fourteen percent have noticed an OOH digital video display specifically in a restaurant and eight percent (of adults aged 21 or older) have seen a display in a bar.

Transit also seems to be a viable venue for DOOH. According to the study, 22 percent of U.S. adults have viewed a DOOH screen at a gas station in the past month, 19 percent have seen screens at an airport and seven percent have noticed screens while waiting for or riding on mass transit. Of those mass transit riders, four percent have noticed OOH digital video displays while waiting for public transportation in the past month and five have seen video while riding mass transit.

Healthcare is also a rising DOOH venue. Arbitron says 19 percent of American adults have seen a DOOH screen at a doctor's office or hospital in the past month and seven percent have viewed video content at a health club.

"The demographic insight and audience data simplistically presented in the paper clearly supports the necessary key considerations when approaching the medium," wrote Jeff Atley of Adcentricity. "I'm confident that this will become one of the leading research papers in digital OOH in 2009."