Outdoor advertising as a commercial determinant of urban space
This interdisciplinary research adopts a systems perspective to investigate the outdoor advertising industry and the role it plays in urban public space.
Duration: Ongoing
Funder: Nottingham University Business School
Partners:
Dr Robert Cluley, University of Birmingham
Key people:
Dr Elizabeth Nixon
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
This research relates to the following SDGs
Research summary
Outdoor advertising - promotional messages displayed on billboards, bus shelters and panels - is a growing and influential presence in urban public space. Many of these advertising panels are being upgraded to energy intensive digital screens at a rapid pace. There are now more adverts and more advertising sites in the UK than ever before.
Though criticisms of outdoor advertising are not new, local communities, activist groups and scholars from different disciplines are raising serious concerns about the potential harms of digital outdoor advertising to children’s health and the natural environment. More attention-grabbing than poster billboards, digital screens can also be programmed to display adverts at certain locations and times of day to ensure maximum exposure to the target audience, such as families going to and from school.
Local and small-to-medium businesses rarely advertise on out-of-home advertising panels. The advertising space is predominantly bought by extremely well-resourced multinational corporations. Moreover, a recent study has shown advertising panels are concentrated in more deprived areas. This means that people living in more difficult socio-economic circumstances are more likely to be exposed to adverts for harmful products, such as fast food and alcohol. In some regions, councils form a partnership with the media owner to procure transport infrastructure in exchange for the right to sell the sides of the structures to advertisers.
This research examines out-of-home advertising via a systems perspective to investigate it as a commercial determinant of urban public space. It draws on expertise from marketing, public health, urban geography, and children’s rights to develop a strong participatory evidence base from which to identify interventions that prioritise public and planetary health.
Further information
For more information please contact Dr Elizabeth Nixon.
