Out-of-home advertisers can take comfort that audiences across Australia are bouncing back, according to outdoor media specialist JCDecaux.
JCDecaux, in an exclusive Australian partnership, is working with mobile-first global data partner Adsquare to deploy an Audience Mobility Impact Monitor to understand the movements of 3.6 million smartphone users around Australia.
By geofencing all JCDecaux’s sign locations, the leading OOH provider generates a weekly audience mobility update to understand exactly what is going on across its network, and the numbers show that Australians are getting back to business.
The latest audience figures are now at the highest levels reported since pre-COVID.
• ROADSIDE LARGE FORMAT audiences are now at 82% (-18% pre-COVID levels)
• SUBURBAN STREET FURNITURE audiences are now at 80% (-20% pre-COVID levels)
• RAIL ENVIRONMENT audiences are now at 64% (-36% pre-COVID levels)
The Adsquare audience data is reported for all JCDecaux signs across Australia, with the exclusion of airport signs. Importantly, the data identifies unique device counts to present an accurate, unduplicated view of audiences within a 60-metre geofence of all JCDecaux assets.
This produces a level of sensitivity in audience mobility that allows JCDecaux to understand audience behaviours and local events such a lockdowns, school holidays, return to work or even warm weather and their impact on audience numbers.
For example, when governments introduce short, localised lockdowns, the trend for JCDecaux audiences is a sharp “v” where numbers tend to bounce back within a matter of weeks, as seen during and after recent lockdowns in Adelaide and Perth.
Adelaide’s snap lockdown (November 19 - 24) saw 96% of audiences return to the level of the week prior once lifted; and 100% by the following week.
Perth’s lockdown (January 31- February 5) saw 92% of audiences return to the level of the week prior once lifted.
JCDecaux anticipates that its next data release will show an almost 100% return, based on the Adelaide precedent.
“For JCDecaux, understanding the city-shaping impacts of the pandemic and temporarily displaced audience behaviours has been critical to ensuring we continue delivering advertisers the highest levels of quality audience impact for their Out-of-Home campaigns,” says JCDecaux CMO Essie Wake.
“How and where we travel, shop, spend our leisure time and access services have all adjusted. The infrastructure we use and rely on may have temporarily shifted too, but the numbers show that JCDecaux’s audiences are strengthening by the day – Australians are back on the roads and returning to workplaces too.”
NSW state government data is also indicating a strong return to workplaces with Sydney public transport patronage approaching 70% of pre-pandemic levels. The government is predicting double-digit increases across the transport network in the coming weeks.
JCDecaux is committed to leveraging audience intelligence to deliver meaningful results for its advertiser partners.
JCDecaux general manager of sales, Oliver Newton: “Through speed to market and greater flexibility, our products and offerings have been enhanced and adapted to meet today’s circumstances and we know JCDecaux remains the highest quality platform to reach audiences at scale. Our advertiser partners recognise the role JCDecaux plays in supporting Australia’s ongoing economic recovery. We are fortunately better placed than most markets around the world and this is definitely reflected in Australian Out-of-Home advertiser confidence returning.”
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