Development of an Outdoor Audience Measurement System for Australia

Developed by: Veitch Lister Consulting
Client: Various
Country: Australia
Agent: Veitch Lister Consulting
Project year: 2009

For the past two years, Veitch Lister Consulting (VLC) has been leading a consortium to develop an Outdoor Advertising Audience Measurement System for Australia. The system, which is underpinned by multi-modal travel models running in OmniTRANS, estimates the audience for advertisements placed on road side billboards, on bus shelters and buses - and within airports, shopping centres and train stations.

Pedestrians, car drivers, car passengers, and transit passengers are each assigned within OmniTRANS, with full path information recorded (using VLC plugins for OT). This path information is coupled with trip matrices (by purpose, mode and time), and Census data, to estimate the scale and demographic profile of the audience for each unique advertising location.

OmniTRANS was the clear platform of choice for this project for two main reasons. Firstly, the ability to extend and create new functionality was a key requirement of the project. This was achieved using Ruby classes and C++ plugins. Secondly, the OmniTRANS framework (particularly the dimensions), provided an efficient and reliable way of organising large amounts of travel information.

The system, which is being developed for the Australian Outdoor Media Association (AOMA), will enable advertisers to develop advertising campaigns which target specific spatial, demographic and socio-economic groups, enhancing the competitiveness of the Outdoor Advertising Industry in Australia.

The system will cover Australia's five largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

For more information, please contact Erik de Romph.