Outdoor is often primarily associated with a long-term effect in terms of building and maintaining overall brand strength. But the new ROI study clearly shows that outdoor is also effective when it comes to short-term sales. We sat down with the man behind the study and asked him a series of clarifying questions.
#1: CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUY YOURSELF?
My name is Niels Egerup, and I am Group Director at Annalect. At Annalect, we continuously monitor media performance in relation to sales using what we call sales models. Since 2019, we have seen a very interesting development in outdoor, and I would like to tell you about that.
#2: What is the data foundation for the media analysis?
The analysis is based on more than 6,000 campaigns from 2019 through to 2024 and includes all relevant media across a number of sectors such as retail, automotive, telecommunications, travel & transport, finance & insurance, fitness & leisure.
#3: What is a sales model?
A sales model is a statistical model that shows the relationship between investments and returns. It uses various mathematical methods to calculate the effects of the different drivers that influence sales. In other words, it shows how much sales you get from every DKK invested.
#4: What is ROI?
“Return on Investment”, or ROI, is a measure of how effective a medium is at generating sales. It shows what you get back from each DKK invested. If ROI is 2, for example, you get your investment back twice.
#5: What is sales uplift?
Sales uplift is the sales that can be attributed to the individual media channels. It expresses how much sales increase in the periods when we advertise compared to what sales would have been if we had not advertised. In a sales model, we measure the so‑called short-term sales uplift that occurs during the campaign and in the days or weeks after – but not the long-term effects that gradually materialise over several months and help build or maintain the brand.
Short-term sales uplift is one part of the ROI calculation. The other part is the cost of the medium.
Niels Egerup, Group Director, AnnalectOutdoor (OOH) is the medium that has seen the largest increase, which means that outdoor is now fully competitive when it comes to generating short-term sales
#7: What is the main conclusion?
We can see that in the period from 2019 to 2024, ROI for outdoor (OOH) has increased significantly by 71%. Outdoor is the medium that has experienced the largest growth, which means that outdoor is now fully competitive when it comes to generating short-term sales.
This represents a completely different perspective on the outdoor medium compared to just 3–4 years ago. TV is not declining in ROI – in fact, it has increased slightly recently – but its overall effect has diminished in line with falling reach, which creates room for other channels.
#8: What are the primary reasons why outdoor has become almost “twice as effective” in 4–5 years?
We believe there are several factors behind this increase. One of the most important explanations is simply that campaigns have become larger, enabling a higher pressure in the market. The larger campaigns move outdoor to a more optimal point on the response curve, resulting in more effect per krone invested.
In addition, our changing media habits make outdoor a more important medium for generating reach – especially among younger target groups (15–29-year-olds), who are also over represented in major cities where most outdoor placements are found.
#9: What role does outdoor play in the media plan now vs. 5 years ago?
Outdoor has the potential to become an increasingly important channel. It is perhaps the most difficult medium to opt out of and may, in the future, become one of the only true mass media.
We also see that outdoor is a highly effective medium for creating synergy across the media plan. We believe that more advertisers will include outdoor as a primary medium on the media plan in the future – and no longer just as an add‑on medium used only for selected campaigns, concludes Niels Egerup.
Niels Egerup, Group Director, AnnalectNiels Egerup – Biography
Position: Group Director, Annalect Denmark
Company: Annalect, part of Omnicom Media Group
Expertise: Data analysis, marketing technologies, AI and management
Professional focus areas:
- Leveraging advanced technology and data to develop value‑creating insights and strategies
- Integrating data‑driven decision‑making into marketing and business strategies
Niels Egerup plays a key role in helping companies optimise their communication and strategies through data‑driven analysis. He is known for his ability to navigate complex data landscapes and turn them into actionable business strategies.
Career: Niels Egerup has previously worked as Marketing Manager at Philipson Wine, Client Director at Intelligence Group, Subscription Director at Egmont Magasiner A/S, and Print Director at OMD Denmark A/S.
Education: MSc in Economics and Business Administration (International Marketing and Management) from Copenhagen Business School.
About Annalect
Annalect is the data, technology and analytics division within Omnicom Media Group. Annalect helps its clients make the right decisions within areas such as marketing, media, product development, forecasting and CRM. With a team of specialists in data science, technology and marketing, Annalect has developed a suite of decision-support solutions for analytical consulting, tailored using multiple statistical methods. Annalect works across all sectors with Danish, Nordic and international clients. In Denmark, the company has 55 specialists based in Copenhagen and Aarhus, while globally Annalect employs more than 1,000 people.
Læs mere her: https://annalectnordics.com/