Hardly any signs of crisis

Ströer has been growing continuously for more than 7 years. The media group explains its success by its “ OOH plus“ strategy, among other things. This strategy combines the out-of-home core business with digital and direct media: new growth drivers that demonstrate their strengths in times of crisis.

The Cologne-based advertising and media group Ströer gave a summary of the year 2019 before Corona: 29 quarters of uninterrupted growth, both organic and through acquisitions. The growth drivers were determined by fundamental changes in the advertising market. Print has been losing market share for years and even TV is losing importance in the media mix, while online is flat for the first time. The clear winner, meanwhile, is Out-of-Home. In the fourth quarter of 2019 alone, OoH at Ströer grew almost four times faster than the overall advertising market.

The Group attributes this success to its „OOH plus“ strategy. It combines out-of-home with the associated business segments Digital (DooH), Programmatic Content and Direct Media. The latter includes the product groups Dialog Marketing and Transactional.

Success factor DooH thereby represents the highly profitable growth driver. Ströer now generates almost one in five OoH Euros with DooH. In the indoor area, primarily at railway stations and in shopping centres, existing networks have been “ densified “ over the years. Consequently, higher reach can hardly be realized. Digital roadside LED screens at busy roads and traffic intersections are therefore the current trend. More than 140 large digital screens were installed in 2019. Many thousands are to follow in the coming years.

The selling of digital advertising space is becoming increasingly programmatic. In 2019, Ströer generated almost a quarter of all DooH sales via screens that were booked automatically via corresponding platforms. The demand is strong. Even though there is much talk about targeting, DooH remains a broadcast/one-to-many medium. Only a small percentage of sales are „targeted campaigns“ in one form or another.

Dynamic campaigns are popular

Ströer has seen great interest in dynamic campaigns that can be broadcast almost in real time via public video. Already a long-established standard in online advertising, the interest in „live campaigns“ is now also growing significantly with DooH. The corona crisis, which is putting a lot of pressure on the outdoor advertising market, has therefore not negatively affected Ströer so far. Bookings for digital out-of-home were at a record level at the beginning of the year. This is partly due to the fact that more than half of all Ströer’s advertising customers are regional and local companies. DooH is booming and, according to the media group, is the last medium to be removed from the media plan in times of crisis. The outlook for 2020 therefore remains positive. Ströer expects a sales increase of 3 to 7 percent for the group as a whole – and much higher for DooH.