The Future of The City?…The City is The Future……..

Being one who’s spent a career in the Out of Home Media industry (OoH), I have been witness to an ever accelerating pace of change which has developed the sector to a position of dynamism, flexibility and creativity.

…..Then along came Covid19, a direct impact on our mobility, and inevitably a very uncertain period for the sector.

The immediate impact of lock down for OoH has been tough and as the year has progressed, we read of the long term impact to our lifestyle and habits as consumers; the inevitable decline of the commute;  vast swathes of empty offices; the accelerated decline of the high street and the shift to e-commerce; the end of foreign holidays and the return to the staycation. All of which casts further gloom on the  core strengths OoH sector – human mobility

I was therefore encouraged by a piece I read recently by Sir Norman Foster, arguing that we should not be too hasty to predict the demise of our great cities. Foster argues that our Cities and Urban infrastructure are constantly evolving and we only have to look back at certain major events through history to see how they magnify the trends behind that evolution;  for example, The Great Fire of London, and a subsequent move to stone buildings ; the Cholera epidemic and the introduction of sewers: the 1952 Great Smog and the passing of the 1956 Clean Air Act;  etc. etc..

Pre COVID-19, our major cities and towns were already being shaped by the demands of the modern world, intense urban living and the challenges to our global resources. 

There was already a shift to home working, a call for greener public transport initiatives, a cycle friendly environment, traffic reduction measures, shared ridership etc.  

Foster points to a future of “15 minute living” where work, sleep, shop, & entertainment could all be within close distance. 

OoH has always played its role in the evolution of the modern city , supporting the needs of public utility whilst offering revenue and cost efficiency municipalities. Out of Home is constantly innovating and contributing enormous value to our urban environments.

Rather than a posing threat, the possible changes in lifestyle and urban behaviours bought about by Covid19 , could actually present a longer term platform for OoH to capitalise on the great innovation of the last few years

• OoH products will continue to evolve around the needs and opportunity of The Smart City 

  • We are likely to see more OoH ‘built in’ to real estate and infrastructure projects 

  • The flexibility of Digital will be a key pivot in facilitating access to changing mobility

  • In emerging markets consolidation will speed up with increased digital investment

• OoH will continue to draw on its new flexible and dynamic approach to content

  • Data will provide enhance further our understanding of location creative targeting. 

  • Data smart planning platforms, such as Bitposter, will facilitate ease of client access 

• Mobility numbers will recover; slightly altered in form with different mobility trends

  • A shift to a staggered commute, localised office working,  

  • Mediabridge Mobility Tracker(www.mediabridgeglobal.com/covid) for more insight

Just as our major cities will always be evolving, so will Out of Home Media continue to play its part in that process. 

It’s been a tough year and may remain so throughout the early stages of 2021, but I see a strong recovery and even more exciting developments to come

- David Payne (Global CEO, Mediabridge)