Six-sheets trailing in poster boom

Six-sheets are lagging behind the performance of the rest of the booming poster industry, claims outdoor company Poster Publicity. It bases its findings on figures from Outdoor Advertising Association.

For the first six months of 2000, outdoor revenue climbed 30 per cent to &£58m. The 48-sheets are selling eight weeks in advance, leading to a reduction in unsold stock compared with the equivalent period in 1999. Average occupancy is at 90 per cent.

Poster Publicity also claims that 96-sheets are selling well in advance, with 90 per cent occupancy achieved.

But six-sheets are only selling five weeks in advance, with an increased number of sites unsold.

According to Poster Publicity, one reason for this slowdown in sales is the medium’s huge growth in the recent past. In 1992, six-sheets totalled 21,881 panels. Today it totals 53,286, an increase of 144 per cent, according to Oscar/Postar.

Poster Publicity communications director Rachel Stott says: “The outdoor market is enjoying a genuine boom as advertisers recognise its broadcast qualities and cost efficiency against other media.”

But she adds: “Six-sheets appear to be suffering because of the rapid expansion in the market. Advertisers are deterred by the need to buy more and more sites to achieve a satisfactory share of voice.”