Outdoor industry braced for hit as DfT rules on emissions data

by Alex Brownsell, Marketing 24-Jun-08, 08:45

LONDON - The outdoor advertising industry is bracing itself for a loss of revenue as car advertisers look to shift spend away from the medium to avoid being forced to include CO2-emission and fuel-economy data on posters.

Following pressure from environmental groups, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that it is broadening its definition of the 'promotional literature' that must include CO2 and fuel information to cover outdoor ads as well as print.

The information given must also share 'equal prominence' with the main text in the ad, including length of warranty and price.

The ruling will come as a blow to the outdoor industry, because automotive was its third-biggest category in 2007, with spend totalling £76.4m.

Ian Twinn, public affairs director at advertising trade body ISBA, said: 'On posters, this information takes up space without adding value and reduces the effectiveness of ads, so advertisers may look elsewhere to get their message across.'

However, the Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA) said it was confident that car manufacturers would continue to use outdoor, but admitted it would be a disaster if they chose to take spend elsewhere. 'Outdoor is a good medium to advertise a car, so hopefully it's more of a challenge for the creatives, but it becomes an issue for us if they lose interest in outdoor advertising,' said the body's operations director, Bill Wilson.

Motor brands and outdoor

The car industry spent £76.4m on outdoor ads in 2007, up 32% year on year and accounting for 9.4% of the UK's total outdoor adspend.
Its outdoor spend was £57.9m, or 7.7% of the £751m UK total, in 2006.
It spent £61.7m on outdoor in 2005, 8.3% of the £744m outdoor total.
Source: OAA