Outdoor: Who's out and about?

to income, mobility and leisure activities. "Disposable income has gone
up, so leisure time has increased," Tracey Stern, the managing partner
at Universal McCann London, says. "People are spending more time
shopping, eating and drinking. The potential for going out has increased
exponentially."

This mobility is not limited to shopping and eating out. "People are
working longer, so they are spending more time commuting," Stern says.
"As house prices have risen in major conurbations, people have moved
out." Consequently the population's out-of-home habits, as we reveal
using the IPA TouchPoints survey, have radically changed and helped to
boost the outdoor advertising market's revenue by 51 per cent since
1994. But which age groups are out and about the most, and what's the
best way to target them on their travels?

20- TO 34-YEAR-OLDS

This age group spends the greater part of its waking day out of the
house. The 20- to 34-year-olds polled for the survey were away from home
for eight hours a day but only awake at home for 7.5 hours. At 10.44
hours a week, this age group spends the most amount of time travelling,
particularly by car, with more time spent in transit on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Friday. Given their lengthy commutes, the best time to
catch this audience is on their way to work, between 9am and 9.30am. To
specifically target the male consumer, it's best to wait till the
afternoon. "Young men tend to be receptive to messages later in the
day," Glen Wilson, the deputy managing director of Posterscope, says.
"From a planning perspective, that is the daypart that is relevant to
that audience."

While 54.5 per cent usually notice out-of-home ads, only 23.4 per cent
claim to like it. Almost half of this age group does, however, find
posters with SMS numbers or web addresses useful. As keen users of
mobile phones and new technology, this is perhaps no surprise. "Early
adopters like to interact with Bluetooth six-sheets," Stern says.

15- TO 19-YEAR-OLDS

Of all four age groups polled for the TouchPoints survey, 15- to
19-year-olds spend the least amount of time at home. On average, they
are only awake at home for 6.3 hours a day, compared with eight hours a
day out of the house. During the week, their movements are largely
defined by a school or college timetable, which sees them leave home
between 8am and 9.30am and then return between 3pm and 4.30pm. On
Saturdays, this demographic is out and about from 10am, with peak
exposure to outdoor media at 7pm.

The teen consumer is the best disposed to outdoor advertising. According
to the survey, 30.7 per cent say they like it and 54.8 per cent say they
often notice it. They are also the most appreciative audience, with 63.9
per cent saying that out-of-home ads give them something to look at
while travelling. Along with ads in cinema foyers and on billboards,
this age bracket is particularly receptive to ads at bus stops. "Bus
shelters are a good way to reach young people, because it's a favoured
mode of transport," Dave McEvoy, the marketing director at JCDecaux,
says. "It's one of their congregation spots."

35- TO 49-YEAR-OLDS

Over the age of 35, the balance between time out of home and time awake
at home starts to tip. The TouchPoints survey reveals that consumers in
this age group spend 7.6 hours a day out of home, compared with 8.3
hours awake at home. On an average weekday, the potential exposure to
outdoor media for 35- to 49-year-olds peaks at 9am and 3.30pm. On
Saturdays, this changes to 10am and 5.30pm.

Like their 20- to 34-year-old counterparts, this group is most likely to
drive to work and is therefore best targeted with roadside ads.
"Billboards are on major arterial routes and are best for the larger
commuting audience," McEvoy says. "It's the traditional means of
reaching the 35-plus audience." In spite of its dependence on cars, this
age group still notices posters on buses. To catch the attention of
stay-at-home women, who spend less time out of the house than men in
this age bracket, more technologically advanced outdoor formats can be
effective. "With traditional outdoor, people such as housewives would be
difficult to reach, but we've got digital media we can buy within
supermarkets and leisure centres," Wilson says.

50+

By the age of 50, the amount of time spent out of home drops
dramatically. People in this age range stay at home on average for 10.4
hours a day and venture out for only 5.8 hours. Women over 50 spend even
more time at home than men, with females totalling 5.3 hours outdoors
and males 6.4. While there are definite peaks in the daily outdoor media
consumption of the younger age groups, the 50+ bracket is more
consistent across the day, maintaining steady exposure to out-of-home
advertising between 9.30am and 5pm.

Their potential exposure may be greater but 50+ consumers are not
particularly amenable to the medium. According to the TouchPoints
survey, only 9.4 per cent liked outdoor advertising, while 39.6 per cent
felt there was too much of it. This age group dismisses the idea that
ads can be both relevant and informative, but does tend to notice
billboards and posters on buses and in supermarkets. In fact, the bigger
the ad, the better. "They tend to like the bigger formats because they
want reassurance and that carries some kind of depth of message," Stern
says.

HEADLINE STATS FOR TARGETING BY AGE

15- to 19-year-olds

7pm peak exposure to outdoor ads

30.7% like outdoor advertising



20- to 34-year-olds

10.44 hrs spent travelling

9am best time to target



35- to 49-year-olds

7.6 hrs spent out of home

3.30 pm when most exposed to outdoor ads



50+

5.8 hrs spent outdoors

39.6% "There are too many outdoor ads"