A study has found that outdoor advertising is on par with TV and online for ad recall and converts more efficiently, given time spent with the medium.

APN Outdoor’s new study, the Attention Economy, shows that people spend more than 17 hours outdoors (excluding work and study) per week, versus 27 hours watching television and close to 20 hours online, however, in terms of ad recall, outdoor wis among the highest performers of all mediums, with 72 per cent of respondents recalling outdoor ads, compared with 77 per cent for TV and 64 per cent for online.

The Attention Economy study also revealed that people feel positive about outdoor advertising, which converts to higher attention levels for outdoor and the lowest levels of ad avoidance for all mediums.

In addition,  Australian transit advertising was found to have the highest ad recall of any outdoor format.

Transit consistently over performed in terms of ad recall and engagement.

Whilst Australian transit media is often thought to be synonymous with commuting and public transport, the Attention Economy study found that the vast majority of Australians who are spending time outside of their home, in and around metro areas, are coming into contact with transit media extremely often.

Given the multitude of formats and positions available on vehicles themselves, transit media targets a broad audience – not just those catching the bus or tram.

Transit audiences are on board vehicles, hopping on, passing by on foot, shopping in the area, running errands nearby, overtaking on bike, or driving behind.

Janine Wood, GM marketing at APN Outdoor, said the company devised the Attention Economy study to help clients plan media campaigns.

“With this in mind, we ensured that the study wasn’t limited to just Outdoor, but instead put Outdoor in context to all other mediums,” said Wood.

“Though not surprised, we are very pleased with the results the Attention Economy delivered because they validate our industry’s claim that outdoor is right up there with TV and online in terms of performance.”

APN Outdoor’s Attention Economy Study is the largest of its kind ever undertaken in the outdoor industry across Australia and New Zealand, including 6600 participants. APN Outdoor partnered with Millward Brown to carry out the study.