Out-of-home ramps up research vision

Out-of-home research body Postar has handed Ipsos Mori a six-year multimillion-pound contract to broaden its activities across all out-of-home platforms for the first time.

The new Postar research, which will report its first results in the second half of next year, will provide a unified currency for audience measurement across all major out-of-home platforms. Buses, rail, taxis, retail and leisure will be measured by Postar for the first time, alongside all roadside formats and the London Underground. Additionally, Postar’s audience research sample size will be trebled to 20,000 people.



Central to the new Postar research activity will be the use of GPS satellite-tracking technology. Consumers will be given hand-held GPS devices that will track their exact movements. The resulting record of participants’ journeys is expected to significantly increase the accuracy of Postar estimates of consumers’ exposure to out-of-home advertising. GPS technology will be provided by Czech company MGE Data.

Other media have been enhancing their research activities in recent months. In December, Barb appointed TNS to handle its research until 2010, with a focus on measuring emerging viewing trends such as time-shifted viewing, video-on-demand usage and PC downloads.

James Whitmore, managing director of Postar, said the enhanced research anticipates the continued growth of digital out-of-home and is designed to incorporate emerging out-of-home formats as they enter the market.

He said: “We want to expand because of the medium’s growth. It is not just growing in terms of revenue, but also in terms of formats. Out-of-home used to be about roadside, but now it is increasing in other areas.”

The new research system will also integrate with other key industry research systems such as Target Group Index (TGI), which studies consumer groups’ preferences, and IPA TouchPoints, which measures consumers’ exposure to specific media.

Whitmore added: “We’re integrating Postar with other research because this will further deepen information for clients looking to target very specific customer groups.”

Jeremy Male, chairman of the Outdoor Advertising Association, said the revamped Postar research will provide a much greater level of detail than before for agencies and clients.

He said: “The story of digital was not being fully told in the past and, with the new Postar research, it will be from now on.”