TEXTILES.ORG
By Tim Greene
In the spirit of reporting some good news, there are three pieces I’d like to focus on. The first is from Kantar Media, an advertising industry group that publishes extensively on advertising expenditures. The company reported that 2010 advertising expenditures grew 6.5 percent compared to 2009. That growth measures all advertising categories, including outdoor, which outperformed the rest of the market, growing 9.6 percent in 2010.
The second item comes from a recent InfoTrends–FESPA survey. We asked more than 400 companies what they expect from wide-format digital printing business in 2011. On average, they expect the market to grow 15.6 percent.
The third good-news item comes from a commissioned study by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, which reported that “for each dollar spent on out-of-home advertising, an average of $2.80 is received in product sales.” The study indicates that “although television, newspaper and magazine print advertising receive a greater share of campaign dollars in the average media mix, out-of-home advertising produces a higher return on investment.”
The relationship is clear. Out-of-home advertising is growing faster than the overall advertising market because ad buyers recognize that it is more cost effective than other types of advertising. Wide-format digital signage and graphics are an important part of the out-of-home advertising category, and print service providers should be encouraged by the end-user data and report the ROI data to clients as proof of the value of wide-format signage and graphics.
InfoTrends thinks it is increasingly important for signage and graphics companies to help ad buyers quantify the value of their services by incorporating interactive elements, such as quick response (QR) codes, into signage and graphics campaigns. Including these codes, which can easily and inexpensively be done with available software tools and printing technologies, helps the advertising company measure the impact of a campaign.
The growth of smartphones has enabled users to interact instantly by scanning the code to download a coupon or promotion. This kind of measurability helps sell the signage and graphics printing service.
QR codes can quickly and easily drive new business in the signage and graphics market. Their incorporation helps illustrate that you understand the ROI needs of your customers in terms of their signage and graphics.