Expenditure on outdoor advertising in the first half of 2002 grew at a real rate of 14 per cent year-on-year, according to a study conducted by MediaNation subsidiary i- Result Outdoor Services. The fastest growing categories were real estate, services and leisure and entertainment, while the telecoms, foodstuffs and appliance sectors recorded falls of 8-15 per cent. However, China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile bucked the trend as they battled for market share in the newly deregulated telecoms sector.
The general manager of i-Result, Johnny Lo, commented that the upturn in fortunes for the outdoor sector was the result of advertisers looking to expand geographically and target a wider demographic base. "They are finding that the marginal return on spending in television and newspapers is becoming less significant the more money they spend on those media," he added.