• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 4, 2014

After several years of slower growth, growth in global digital out-of-home advertising revenues should accelerate in 2014, according to PQ Media, which tracks and forecasts DOOH spending. That double-digit growth rate follows several years of more modest single-digit increases.

In the U.S., DOOH ad revenues rose 8.7% in 2013 from $2.17 billion to $2.37 billion, while globally, DOOH revenues increased 9.3% to $8.9 billion. While these are respectable increases, growth was slower than in previous years, in part because of continuing economic concerns in key emerging and developed markets, which hit established DOOH categories like cinema advertising around the world. 

Total global DOOH revenues increased 11.4% in 2012, to $7.88 billion, and 15.2% in 2011.

Looking ahead, this year PQ Media expects global revenues to increase 11.3% to around $9.9 billion in 2014. From 2014-2018 PQ Media forecasts a cumulative annual growth rate of 12.4%, bringing DOOH revenues to $15.9 billion by 2018. The report also forecasts strong growth in U.S. DOOH revenues in 2014, largely due to increased spending in the healthcare and political categories.

The underlying trends certainly seem to favor digital out-of-home, as the average consumer exposure to DOOH media continues to increase. From 2008-2013, the global average exposure to DOOH nearly doubled to 14 minutes per week -- and should edge up to 15 minutes per week in 2014, eventually reaching 21 minutes per week by 2018.

DOOH exposure times will increase in part due to huge sporting events and other outdoor activities. Indeed, one of the fastest-growing markets in 2014 was Brazil, reflecting the extensive deployment of digital signage and advertising associated with the FIFA World Cup.