It seems TV and radio’s loss is out-of-home and alternative media’s gain. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America released 2007 year-end spending numbers last week for the outdoor industry. Total sector spending was up 7% last year, hitting $7.3 billion, with 7 of the industry’s top 10 ad categories posting year-over-year spending gains.
On the heels of that announcement was today’s article in the Online Media Daily projecting alternative media spending to increase 20% this year to $88 billion. This forecast, courtesy of PQ Media Research in their first report focusing solely on the alternative media industry, is just the tip of the iceberg. By 2012, those spend numbers are expected to top the $116 billion mark, making this “alternative channel” more than 25% of the marketing mix.
While the PQ Media group’s definition of “alternative media” is admittedly pretty broad, the numbers highlight a trend we’ve been keyed into for quite some time…marketers are increasingly willing to use new forms of media to reach their ever-more-elusive target audience. As new technologies and our busy, away-from-home lives continue to erode traditional media’s reach, brands need to evolve their marketing mix or face extinction.
