Philippines OOH Advertising: An Overview
The capital of the Philippines, Manila, has over 12,800,000 residents. It is the second largest city of the Philippines and is one of the 16 cities of Metro Manila. Manila is the world’s most densely populated city with 111,002 people per square mile. It is home to the world’s oldest Chinatown known as Binondo, established in 1594. The city also has a large expat population of Americans, Spaniards, and Koreans. It is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world.
There is an expectation of the Philippines to be one of the world’s top 10 contributors of new adspend in the next three years. In 2018, the total share of Philippines OOH spend was at 11 to 12%. The ratio of traditional and digital OOH is at 78:22 which means that traditional OOH is still going strong. The country has also experienced 8 to 10% price inflation since 2017. Overall, the growth of Philippines OOH industry is expected to reach 12%.
Digital advertising, especially mobile, will be the key player responsible for overall ad growth in the country. There is an expectation that digital adspend will increase to 22% while mobile adspend will increase to 77%. Meanwhile, the traffic in the Philippines is still prevalent especially in Manila. Every major highway in Manila has traditional billboards present. A popular road named Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) is one of the best locations for OOH media with over 300,000 vehicle passing it daily.
Based on Kantar’s first quarter Philippines OOH report, adspending in the first quarter of 2018 decreased 6% compared to the previous year. In actual money terms, billboard operators lost Php100 million (US$2 million) in revenue. On the other hand, advertisers are more willing to spend on digital OOH due to its measurability, richer executions, and ability to engage consumers and drive action.