Four of Canada’s major players on the video board side of OOH have released some new third-party research that indicates a high-level of awareness of this medium, positive perception of the medium, and above-average recall of the advertising. The research was handled by Starch Research on behalf of the Outdoor Broadcast Network, Tribar Industries, and Wild on Walls of Toronto and Lightvision Media Network of Vancouver – all of which specialize in large-format, full-motion LED video boards.

‘Really what we’re doing is taking traditional outdoor advertising to the next level and I was quite encouraged by peoples’ attitudes towards the medium in general,’ says Peter Irwin, president of the Outdoor Broadcast Network.

He says a lot of what the companies suspected about the medium was validated by the research but he was surprised at the level of consumer receptivity, the positive attitude that people have towards the boards. ‘What we offer are video boards that provide an opportunity to leverage technology and engage the viewer in a way that delivers a high-level of awareness and high levels of receptivity.’

Some of the key findings of the study are:

* Awareness of this medium is high at 82%. Of those aware of the medium, 77% have seen video boards in the past week.

* 69% have a favourable impression of the medium overall, agreeing that they enliven the areas in which they appear (77%), communicate useful information (65%), and provide a better way to communicate information than static billboards (67%).

* Recall of advertising on video boards is on average 51%, significantly higher than industry norms.

* Those aware of video boards index higher in many key demographic areas including education (139), age (2 to 54 – index 115) and technology usage; (Internet access 137, cell phone 153, portable digital music player 185).

A pilot study was conducted last fall and the first wave of the research was completed in December 2005. Regular waves of research will be ongoing.