What would our cities and highways look like without them? If a picture says more than a thousand words, streets, towns, and highways will be unimpressive and ordinary without those captivating pictures on billboards to brighten them.
Outdoor or out-of-home advertising (OOH) fills this magical space.
It reaches people when they are outside, using physical spaces and structures in public areas to promote products, services, or brands. This happens using billboards, transit ads, street furniture, and interactive installations.
It is a powerful tool with an extraordinary appeal that digital advertisements often lack. From billboards and bus stops to digital displays, these methods offer unique opportunities to capture peoples’ attention, making them a reliable choice for advertising.
The OOH advertising market in Nigeria is growing due to changing customer preferences, the adoption of new trends, and favourable factors of market behaviour. With the country’s continued urbanisation and economic development, the market is expected to expand further in the coming years. Advertisers in Nigeria, therefore, continue to innovate and adapt to users’ growing preferences to engage effectively with their expected audience.
A recent marketing report revealed that 70 percent of people remember what they see on billboards. In addition, the OOH advertising market was valued at over $40 billion in 2024.
The data becomes even more interesting when Statista’s predictions are considered. “Ad spending Nigeria’s Out-of-Home Advertising market is forecasted to reach US$174.00m in 2025,” the data company said.
“In a global context, the highest ad spending is expected to be generated in the United States (US$9,889.00m in 2025). Nigeria’s out-of-home advertising market’s average ad spending per capita is projected to amount to US$0.74 in 2025.”
While there are two types of outdoor advertising – traditional and digital – the choice of OOH can depend on several factors, including budget, location, and target audience.
Analysts say the out-of-home advertising market in Nigeria has experienced significant growth and development in recent years, driven by changing customer preferences and new trends.
“Nigeria’s improving infrastructure, particularly in major cities, has made it easier for advertisers to install and maintain outdoor advertising displays. The government’s efforts to attract foreign investment and promote economic diversification have also contributed to the advertising industry’s growth,” Statista said.
One of the digital out-of-home advertising companies pushing the limits in Nigeria is Loatsad Promomedia Limited. The company is known for its wide-ranging network of billboards and specialises in high-visibility locations such as airports and other key urban areas.
It offers premium advertising solutions tailored to various clients. Loatsad Promomedia is committed to excellence and ensures well-thought-out placements that drive brand visibility across Nigeria.
Loatsad did not invent advertising, but it creates concepts you won’t forget in a hurry, even if I’m the one saying so. It has built a unique collection of specialised outdoor and digital products, ranging from giant-sized billboards to automated standalone boards, that stand out and provide impactful advertising in the areas that matter.
Oluwaseyi Tinubu and Aderenle Olusoga founded the company on October 10, 2013. Although Olusoga has left, the company aims to solve outdoor advertising challenges, change the narrative in the advertising sector, introduce uniquely creative structures to the industry, and establish a well-known advertising company in Africa.
In an interview in 2021, Seyi said advertising in Nigeria eventually became too static and predictable, necessitating digital disruption and the bold creativity Loatsad has brought to the sector.
“Advertising in Nigeria became so static when people just put a pole and expected clients to come and pay. What happens to creativity? What happens to innovation? When you travel around, you’ll see. So, what you assume is new here is all over the place overseas. What we’ve done is to allow people to think out of the box… So, if you sleep, my generation would come and take over the industry. But if you work with us, we’ll build something everyone will benefit from. The space is big enough for everybody,” he said.
Alliance Media says digital billboards allow advertisers to display dynamic, specially designed content. This flexibility enables advertising campaigns and allows brands to engage with users in real-time.
Based on that justification, Loatsad, for instance, said it intends to reproduce its iconic advertising structures in emerging states such as Bayelsa, Delta, Ekiti, and Kwara States, ensuring broad coverage and impactful brand visibility nationwide. It also plans to leverage cutting-edge technology to revolutionise brand communication through state-of-the-art digital LED displays and grow its digital marketing capabilities through exclusive commercial partnerships.
Indeed, the OOH advertising industry is growing. However, that growth further points to the role of regulatory agencies and individual advertising self-regulation (SR). Apart from the activities of regulatory agencies, the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), for instance, said it supports the principle of self-regulation as administered by various responsible authorities operating in the advertising industry.
Industry watchers say combining technology and better awareness of the power of publicity means more significant growth in the sector, especially in cities and urban areas.
Nearly five years after Seyi threatened a generational takeover if old players “slept,” we know they either didn’t sleep – or perhaps it woke up!
–Uzochukwu, writes from Lekki, Lagos.
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