A Global Perspective: Digital Ad Trends

We live in a social media driven world where trends and ideas travel the globe in an instant. This is true for fashion, food, and entertainment – as well as advertising. To see what’s trending, we caught up with Peter Lindstrom of Primedia Outdoor in Johannesburg, South Africa to get his perspective on what’s happening in the DOOH industry worldwide.

Q: Tell our readers a little about Primedia Outdoor — its history, reach, markets and inventory.

A: Primedia Outdoor has been in business for the past 25 years, part of the larger Primedia Media group that own Radio, Cinema, Digital and a wide range of OOH assets. Primedia Outdoor is the 2nd largest Outdoor business in South Africa with assets that reach the entire spectrum of the South African population. We also operated in 9 African countries as far as Nigeria and Kenya. Primedia Outdoor currently controls over 22,000 panels of advertising across the continent.

Q: Any emerging OOH advertising trends that stand out in South Africa?

A: Digital OOH has started to reshape the market within SA, much like the rest of the world. DOOH used to be the domain of the larger media owners, but with the constant decline in the cost of LED technology, many of the smaller players are now investing. The industry in SA consists of a few large businesses and hundreds of much smaller operations. These smaller players tend not to follow the regulations as closely as the law requires and I believe this behavior over the coming months will be curbed through better enforcement of regulations.

Q: What are the main qualities you look for in suppliers or business partners?

A: Over the past 5 years, the bulk of our investment has been into LED technology and our partnership with Daktronics was based on a few key elements: 1. A supplier that is the market leader and is heavily reinvesting into R+D. 2. Superior products that ensure our advertising is running 99.9% of the time. 3. Exceptional technical assistance to our “in the field” maintenance teams. 4. Quality staff that understand the outdoor business and are able to offer great solutions. 5. No nonsense support when things don’t go according to plans.

Q: How do the products and services Daktronics offers help drive business/ROI?

A: Primedia Outdoor is the market leader in the DOOH space with the most square meterage installed in the market. As the leader, we pride ourselves in having the best-looking screens on the market. This, coupled with the unrivaled longevity of the Daktronics displays, results in a great visual for a longer period of time.

Q: There is an extensive section on Primedia’s website about advertising design principles. What is your #1 suggestion for those creating content for digital advertising displays?

A: We have 2 types of offering, one limits the creative to static images and the other allows full video. My #1 suggestion is always “simple is best.” Whilst traveling past a billboard, the target audience has very little time to take in the message and thus artwork needs to embrace this time frame.

Q: Any business advice you would offer to advertisers that are not currently using OOH to reach clients?

A: If not using OOH at all: The South African advertising market is becoming exceptionally fragmented with audiences spending more time out of the home. OOH offers compelling options for all budgets and objectives and is guaranteed to reach their given target markets. If not using digital OOH: The immense creative flexibility that digital offers must be utilized to the maximum to warrant the premium it demands. Advertisers now have the opportunity to create artwork that talks to their audience with context using time of day, location and proximity to interest points to connect more deeply and personally than ever before.

Q: What is exciting about the future of OOH?

A: The future for Primedia Outdoor is exciting with the recent take-over of the biggest mall advertising business in SA. We will now be able to provide a true path to purchase offering, targeting consumers from when they leave their homes right to the final point of purchase within a shopping mall.

Q: What keeps you up at night regarding the business: day-to-day operations, the future or competition?

A: We operate in a volatile market with many things out of our control, so this uncertainty creates many challenges. I don’t have a pet issue that consumes me, but rather the overall well-being of the business for the many employees we have in our Primedia Outdoor family.

Thank you, Primedia Outdoor, for sharing your insight with us!

To learn more about Primedia Outdoor, please visit their website: