Kinetic, in partnership with Grand Visual, recently announced that it has released its second annual Digital Out-of-Home Handbook, the definitive guide to the growing U.K. digital out-of-home sector. The guide enhances Kinetic’s position as the leading lifestyle and environments network as it gives a comprehensive understanding of how to communicate with people in environments where digital works best, said the company.
The 130-page guide, produced together with digital production company Grand Visual, is a reference point for all those involved in the planning, creation and execution of advertising across the industry’s complete spectrum of screens, said the company.
The handbook was released as the Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA) reports double digit growth for digital out-of-home (DOOH) revenues in the first quarter of 2010, said the company. According to the industry body’s figures, DOOH revenues between January and March rose 11 percent year-on-year to £19.06m, up from £17.14m in the same quarter last year, said the company.
The figures illustrate the phenomenal success of DOOH over the last few years. The revenue figures for Q1 2010 are just half a million shy of those earned in the whole of 2004 when the OAA reported that digital accounted for £19.59m, said the company.
“The popularity of digital out-of-home continues to grow across a range of environments,” said Carolyn Nugent, head of digital, Kinetic, London, U.K. “We are seeing a particular increase in demand in the retail environment, from malls to convenience stores; a trend we expect to continue for the remainder of 2010.”
She added: “There is also a growing interest from clients in interactive technologies, which interrupt linear advertising and offer a unique one-to-one conversation, reaching people in a way no other medium can.”
This month’s figures reflect an ongoing success for digital, which bucked the advertising downturn in 2009 with revenues increasing by more than 10 percent, and an increase in its share of out-of-home to 9.4 percent, said the company. Kinetic anticipates DOOH revenues to grow to around £82m in 2010, an increase of 12 percent on 2009, said the company.
“The growth of the medium is tremendously exciting but it can seem a daunting collection of varied technologies, displays and delivery specifications,” said Neil Morris, founder and managing director of Grand Visual, London, U.K. “The handbook is an invaluable guide for creatives and producers and should be instrumental in helping the industry deliver more effective, more ambitious, bespoke digital OOH work.”
Kinetic and Grand Visual also are announcing the unveiling of Accelerator, a dedicated online tool which manages the copy production process and distribution of DOOH campaigns allowing for major time-saving efficiencies, said the company. The program is designed to aid the entire campaign process, from campaign specification and copy validation through to final delivery. It will aim to simplify and streamline existing processes through centralization, according to the company.