Long Read: Uncovering Australia's most popular OOH locations

Jason Pollock
By Jason Pollock | 31 October 2024
 

Photo by David Vives on Unsplash.

Out-of-home (OOH) has throughout 2024, like in years past, emerged as one of the most resilient sectors of the Australian advertising industry.

Outdoor is up 5% in terms of ad spend this calendar year according to SMI data, while the overall OOH industry posted an increase of 10.06% in net media revenue for the September quarter, reporting $315 million, according to the Outdoor Media Association (OMA).

These strong growth numbers are enticing advertisers across the country to the medium, who are flocking to both metro and regional sites to take advantage of mass reach and high impact, reflected in months-long wait times for the most popular assets.

From speaking to both OOH media owners and media agencies across the industry, the areas to watch heading into 2025 include retail, public transport and airports - but don't be surprised to see brands test out emerging capabilities like 3D as well.

Brands embracing eye-catching sites

oOh!media’s group director of sales, Chris Freel, said as audiences fragment, oOh! is seeing brands increasingly turning to OOH through both short-term activations and long-term investments in premium assets, many of which are booked months in advance.

“oOh!’s new premium environments, including Sydney Metro, the Martin Place Retail precinct, and Woollahra have opened up locations that have never been previously available, and these environments are attracting brands that are looking for high-impact opportunities across Sydney’s CBD, with many scaling their campaign,” he said.

“We continue to see strong demand for new and innovative creative uses in OOH and iconic and signature large format sites are popular with brands. Stand out examples include the Glebe Silos, and ‘The Bourke’ in Melbourne and Perth’s Yagan Square that both offer 3D Anamorphic (3DA) capabilities.”

Freel said that not only are brands are leveraging retail environments and digital street furniture to maximise proximity marketing along the path to purchase as the likes of Black Friday and Christmas approach, but with airport audiences exceeding pre-COVID levels, oOh! is also seeing a strong demand for airport advertising.

Earlier this year, the company launched a full-motion immersive digital walkway at Melbourne Airport, following on from the ‘Queen Victoria’, one of the largest airport billboards in the Southern Hemisphere, which was rolled out late last year.

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oOh!'s Queen Victoria billboard

“Our network of full-motion enabled portrait displays is giving advertisers the opportunity to explore new and innovative approaches to advertising. A recent example is ANZ’s Falcon campaign, where we launched Australia's largest ever scalable 3D campaign across more than 2,000 locations in five environments - Retail, Rail, Fly, Office, and Study," he said.

“Technological advances are making trigger-based campaigns, such as countdowns and weather triggers, more accessible and cost-effective for brands in targeting audiences, while classic street furniture remains popular for its reach and efficiency, especially during key spending periods when peer to peer activation is critical."

JCDecaux, meanwhile, is seeing strong demand from advertisers adopting a hybrid approach between the reliability and scale of Classic (static) formats and the flexibility of digital solutions.

JCDecaux’s GM of sales, John Harris, said this allows brands to navigate the evolving media landscape while delivering targeted, impactful campaigns.

“Currently, there is notable demand for Classic high-impact formats like Transit (Tram and Bus) and Station Dominations,” he said.

“These formats are proving to be particularly valuable for brands aiming to create lasting visibility in high-traffic areas. The popularity and finite availability often leads advertisers to book early, especially when long-term consistency is a priority, and this is always what we encourage in order to maximise any campaign.”

At the same time, Harris said that Digital Large Format (DLF) continues to play a key role in media strategies, manifesting through an increasing desire for higher quality placements both on key arterials and highways, but also increasing interest in high-traffic hubs, like rail and tram station networks.

“The flexibility of digital assets and the capability to make real-time adjustments, supported by increasingly sophisticated audience data, are effectively complementing static assets and enabling brands to tailor campaigns with greater precision,” he said.

“As an example of this combination, advertisers are looking to our national Rail network as it combines the digital and classic formats, using video creative as well as traditional. The scalable offering means brands can ‘own’ environments which is a widely increasing trend.

“Smaller markets like Perth and South Australia are also seeing growing demand, particularly in premium locations, such as airports. With domestic travel being on the rise, brands are pursuing national reach, with inventory in these regions booking out increasingly early.

“The broader industry trend we are seeing is that brands are becoming more selective about asset quality and placement, focusing on high-traffic, clutter-free locations. As this demand increases, advertisers are planning further in advance to secure these premium, high-impact sites.”

According to QMS’ chief sales officer Tim Murphy, there’s two key reasons driving demand for OOH assets, the first being that OOH is the last true broadcast medium where the audiences are increasing and translating to clients alongside operators looking for the best locations across the country that deliver big, unique audiences. 

The second is that reach is no longer all that is needed by advertisers - they now want to make an impression to grab and hold people’s attention.

Recent research by QMS and audience measurement company Amplified Intelligence revealed that OOH ads are 5.9 times more likely than other digital channels to deliver above the global threshold for something to be committed to long-term memory, as well as scoring an average of 12 seconds of total attention.

“We launched our new Emporium billboard in Melbourne CBD just prior to Paris 2024. Throughout the games we saw a number of brands jump at the opportunity to make big statements with its full motion and 3DOOH capability,” Murphy said.

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QMS' Emporium billboard

“As a result, we are seeing clients book it 3-4 months in advance to 'block out' 3DOOH and full motion activity during major and special events like Black Friday Sales, New Years, the Australian Open, Footy finals and the F1 Grand Prix.”

Like their competitor JCDecaux, Murphy said that premium digital billboards on major traffic corridors and across overhead bridges continue to be at the top of the list for most QMS advertisers, given the reach they deliver to an uninterrupted audience.

“Our premium City of Sydney Digital Street Furniture continues to be in high demand and the starting point for Sydney campaigns across a growing number of category spenders,” he said.

“In particular, our Consecutive Bus Shelters are highly sought after as they give clients the ability to tell a story creatively across multiple panels or create a statement with a complete take over to maximise impact to large Sydney-wide audiences.

“We are also seeing growing demand for The Convenience Network assets located across 7-Eleven stores. The network sits right in the heart of local communities around the country and provides an easily scalable network that is full motion and 3DOOH enabled, allowing brands to deliver cost effective reach with cutting edge creative capabilities.”

Utilising a balanced mix of classic and digital

It isn’t just the ‘big three’ who are seeing advertisers lean in; for Bishopp Outdoor Advertising, 2024 has been filled with demand across all formats, whether that's airport, roadside, digital or classic.

Bishopp’s sales director, Dominic Lis, said some of the most innovative trends the company is seeing is when advertisers get creative and think outside of the box, whether that be using 3D or anamorphic, airport walkthroughs or takeovers.

“We’ve seen some impressive examples of creativity, and we’re excited to see what the next 12 months brings. I think we’ll particularly start to see massive advancement in 3D technology,” he said.

“In a post-Covid world, we’re seeing a significant increase in demand for airport advertising. The tourism industry, especially in Queensland, is really bouncing back. In the year ending June 2024, 64.5% of total visitors to Queensland were from Intrastate – 17.9 million people - with a 26% increase in tourist expenditure and 10% increase in visitor numbers over the last 3 years.

“Coming into the holiday season, we’re experiencing a high demand for our airports located in key tourism hotspots, including Gold Coast, Cairns, Ballina, Byron Bay, Whitsunday Coast, Hobart and Sunshine Coast Airports.”

Bishopp Hobart Airport

A Bishopp screen at Hobart Airport

As a result, Lis said that Bishopp is investing heavily with a lot of its airport partners to increase the size and quality of its programs, with 3D capabilities in most of the airports the company advertises in, which provides a unique and attention-grabbing opportunity for advertisers to reach an affluent and highly engaged audience.

Bishopp most recently secured an exclusive, multi-year advertising partnership with Launceston Airport, covering both indoor and outdoor advertising programs and becoming the company’s 25th airport advertising partnership across Australia and New Zealand.

In terms of which locations are seeing the most growth, Lis said Brisbane “absolutely continues to grow”.

“The beauty of Bishopp’s diversity in a state like Queensland is that we’re seeing growth across every region,” he told AdNews.

“You’ve got to remember that more than 50% of the Queensland population live outside of southeast Queensland, so we’re seeing significant growth in regional areas as well as growth in metro markets.

“Demand for digital OOH in regional areas has been phenomenal, as it allows people to get their message out and into the market quickly. We’ve got large format digitals in every major town across Queensland now. It’s a super exciting part of our growth. But personally, I still love the classics. 100% ownership – own the space, own the road.”

Val Morgan Outdoor (VMO) is experiencing a significant surge in demand for programmatic OOH offerings – the fastest-growing segment of the business - a demand that is also actively reshaping the outdoor industry globally.

VMO MD Paul Butler said this highlights a fundamental shift in priorities with advertisers increasingly seeking targeted solutions offering agility and efficiency.

“Place-based has long been the cornerstone of our network, and with retail now the number two OOH segment, our VMO Shop network continues to experience significant demand from advertisers," he said.

Butler said that VMO’s petro & convenience and health & wellness networks have also gone from strength to strength, with the recent acquisition of the TMS network significantly enhancing the company’s scale and attracting growing number of brands to engage within this environment.

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A screen that's a part of VMO's petro & convenience network

“Additionally, our Ultimate Media Champion initiative has been instrumental in raising awareness of our VMO Active network across the market, driving demand while educating our partners on the advantages of positioning themselves within this positive environment," he said.

“Creative solutions like sampling and Dominations have continued to gain traction for VMO in 2024. Two of our key locations, Manly Wharf and World Square in Sydney CBD, have become hotspots for advertisers looking to make a brand extension beyond purely screens. Both spaces are fully booked from November through January, which demonstrates how brands are rethinking their outdoor strategies across the summer months.”

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) media and EV charging network JOLT is seeing a growing demand for scalable, targeted audience campaigns in the channel, according to CEO Doug McNamee.

He said that clients seek flexibility in trading, seamless campaign activation, live-campaign reporting and rich post-campaign analysis.

“The growing demand has steadily been driven by the ongoing digitisation of the out-of-home channel and stronger technology and data capabilities entering the market over the past few years,” he said.

Along with expanding to Canada, JOLT recently launched Spark Intelligence, a data platform designed to change the way OOH media is planned, traded and reported on.

McNamee said as a standardised, global, network built in a post-measurement world, JOLT has a unique opportunity to elevate the conversation beyond the physical panel in the ground.

“With the launch of our Spark Intelligence platform, we enable advertisers to reach their audiences in the moments that matter through our connected ecosystem; regardless of buying style, we'll ensure to report on the impact of their campaigns,” he said.

Revolution360, an OOH agency specialising in street posters, wall murals and experiential advertising, shared their most in-demand sites with AdNews, with Melbourne locations comprising half the list.

Swan Street in Richmond, the intersection of King & Flinders Streets in Melbourne and Chapel Street in South Yarra are all seeing strong demand from advertisers, as are Cleveland Street in Surry Hills and Enmore Road in Newtown – both in Sydney – as well as Ann Street in Queensland’s Fortitude Valley.

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Revolution360 site on Swan Street in Richmond

Revolution360 GM Josh Fitzgerald said that the six assets are generally booked out four to five months in advance.

“Brands are increasingly opting for more impactful static OOH and bold, creatively-driven campaigns to reach their audience,” he said.

“To cut through in today’s environment, 100% share of time and pushing the boundaries in creativity are paramount. Despite the increasing complexities of modern day marketing, simplicity can be successful in OOH with being visible and being memorable the ultimate goal."

Digital billboards, street furniture and retail environments

Media agencies AdNews spoke to said their clients were spreading their spend across all formats.

Yango’s head of media, Natalie Murray, said the most popular OOH assets among her clients are large digital or static road billboards.

“Their high visibility and impact make them ideal for driving large-scale campaigns,” she said.

“As large formats, they provide plenty of creative freedom for advertisers. These formats have become more innovative than ever, with many suppliers now offering 3D capabilities to help brands stand out. With digital billboards, creatives can be submitted just a week before the campaign starts, making them perfect for also last-minute buys.”

Another popular option Yango is seeing is small format street furniture panels, a great option for targeting specific audiences.

“Despite being smaller, they still capture attention with animation features and are often placed at bus stops, where dwell time is high,” she said.

“They’re also cost-effective, with digital sites typically requiring artwork 3-4 days before the campaign, and classic panels about two weeks to allow for printing and installation.”

UM Australia’s group trading director, Steven Flood, said the IPG-owned agency is seeing strong demand for the ultra-premium landmark placements such as oOh!’s Glebe Silos and Taylor Square sites, JCDecaux’s Broadway site in Sydney and The Icon and Southern Cross Station sites in Melbourne.

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JCDecaux's Broadway site

“The focus is very much on large landmark and the ability to own space,” he said.

“We're seeing the intention and appetite from clients to investigate longer term positions, building bespoke never commercialised positions and the desire to stand out from their competitors. This is evident as well by booking lead times with key locations being 6+ months in advance.”

Outside of those ultra-premium locations, UM is also seeing strong growth in transit formats as workers are returning to the office, as well as retail delivering growth as overall budgets tighten and the path to purchase becomes more and more critical towards the end of the year.

“We’re also seeing the rising demand for programmatic activations, while still making up an overall small portion of the pie programmatic grew accounting for around one sixth of total annual growth,” Flood told AdNews.

“While not every client, we are starting to see advertisers shift away from large set piece TV campaigns and more and more clients are using OOH as the centrepiece of their campaigns.

“There is a lot of testing, learning and educating as clients look to this format. While we're not seeing as many clients execute yet, they are asking for 3DOOH options, custom creative executions and special builds.”

Flood has also seen clients receptive to new acquisitions and emerging formats such as oOh!’s Metro offering, VMO’s expansion into office locations, and Cartology’s acquisition of the Vicinity contract.

“Clients are excited by the capex heading to Sydney Airport; how this pans out for JCDecaux will be interesting as while there is interest, there is also hesitation to the disruption that the builds will have on campaigns,” he said.

Bench Media’s head of media innovation, Sebastian Diaz, said that certain screens will always have a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that leans towards ‘bigger is always better’ – he sees Westfield’s SuperScreens as a “true statement piece” in this regard.

“They are the focal point of a shopper’s journey, come completely uninterrupted and dominate in scale and presence,” he said.

Scentre Group BrandSpace

A Scentre Group BrandSpace SuperScreen

“Buying a SuperScreen is on the more expensive end of a DOOH buy, but with a guaranteed programmatic spot per cycle, it's easy enough to go live ASAP with a programmatic ad and manage budget accordingly. A direct buy which guarantees a placement within a SuperScreen's rotation varies considerably based on current demand and seasonality - they can sell out closer to Christmas, so planning ahead is imperative.

“As the possibilities for media buying have evolved from investing all your media dollars into a ‘hero’ screen, to allocating part of the budget to time-dependent, contextually placed and targeted screen buys, brands can’t look past time-targeting ads across oOh!’s new army of screens across the new Sydney Metro that seamlessly connects with JCDecaux’s larger sound-enabled train platform screens and then spill onto the street across QMS' City of Sydney pedestrian screens. They’re a great format to tap into as audiences flock into Pitt St on a late-night Thursday shopping night, or a weekend outing.”

Diaz said the ability to tap into dynamic feeds such as proximity to store, current weather or sports scores blurs the lines between advertisement and information, which Bench saw saw work "perfectly" in the recent QMS and Woolworths collaboration during the Olympics and Paralympics, where everyone was kept up-to-date with Australia’s medal tally across QMS screens throughout the Sydney CBD.

“As creative agencies adapt to fit their creative into large-scale screens in a more impactful way, we should see a rise of full-motion 3D creative. Watch these come to the fore as brands learn how to capitalise 3DOOH as an evolved form of experiential/activation marketing,” he said.

Enigma’s MD of media, Justin Ladmore, said the agency is strongly increasing its spends across digital billboards due to the more tactical nature of its campaigns and the flexibility in displaying multiple tactical messages throughout the day.

DOOH revenue accounts for 74.5% of total net media revenue year-to-date, an increase over the recorded 72.4% for the same period last year, according to the OMA.

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A JOLT screen

“We are also spending big on transit advertising such as buses, trains and trams with commuters returning in larger numbers, and we’ve developed a bit of a formula for bus advertising delivering efficient reach via unmissable ‘mobile billboards’ in the metro and regional areas we need a presence in,” he said.

“There are a lot of client conversations around share-of-voice so static outdoor sites have remained very popular and surprisingly we are also getting a lot more interest from clients on running 3D creative.”

Although specific rates for the assets Enigma is buying weren't available, Ladmore did say that the agency is still getting “really great deals” packaged up by the outdoor companies which are negotiated direct.

“From a programmatic outdoor perspective, we are seeing the CPMs are remaining flat, although demand in inventory has increased,” he said.

“We are continually benchmarking and sense checking these CPMs against direct buys to ensure the programmatic premiums we pay are not over-baked.”

Ladmore also said that some of the more premium static outdoor inventory is harder to get hold of due to the limited inventory and the demand from clients to achieve a high share-of-voice.

“The programmatic outdoor buys are very quick; the outdoor companies are investing in their programmatic teams and product, and this has helped with speed to market,” she said.

“The larger outdoor companies are still placing restrictions on some of the more premium assets; however, it does feel like this is shifting as just recently we have been able to access run of agency deals where we can access more premium inventory without the budget thresholds and can get to market quickly without having to structure PMP deals.”

OMD Melbourne’s group investment director, Sam Hey, said in the current economic climate, the Omnicom Group-owned agency is seeing a resurgence and growing interest for classic and retail formats, taking it back to basics as the most in-demand assets.

“The economic headwinds are reshaping the landscape, and as brands prioritise attention metrics and leverage retail channels, adaptability and clarity will be essential for driving business outcomes,” she said.

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A Sydney Light Rail train with advertising via TorchMedia 

“Clients are feeling the pressure to demonstrate tangible returns on investment (ROI) and concrete business outcomes. This urgency has prompted a notable shift back to classic static formats, where share of voice has become a top priority.

"Clients recognise that visibility in a crowded marketplace is essential for brand recognition and customer engagement, to achieve the ultimate goal in driving sales outcomes.”

Hey said that as advertisers recalibrate their strategies, attention metrics remain a critical component in planning across all channels, with a particular focus on mass reaching channels where awareness is a key objective but there is a limited timeframe to capture audiences.

“Focusing on how well audiences engage with formats is vital to driving outcomes for clients,” she told AdNews.

“By emphasising formats that not only capture attention but also capture audiences at the right time, brands can maximise their impact and ensure their messages are seen far and wide.

“However, this renewed focus on traditional formats has led to a strain on asset availability from media partners. As competition for limited inventory intensifies, advertisers must navigate these constraints while maintaining impactful messaging.”

Hey said that retail has also seen an increased demand as a channel, with advertisers keen to capture audiences in a shopping mindset, enabling brands to connect with consumers at key decision-making moments.

“Measurement remains at the forefront of client’s framework, so how do we measure success?” she said.

“For the most part, this looks like attributable sales from which the retail environment allows a direct correlation to store sales for a given brand, after being exposed to the messaging.

“Retail also provides an environment for advertisers to dip their toe in innovation via 3D formats emerging in this space.”

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