Outdoor launches online photo database of UK sites

by Ben Bold, brandrepublic.com, Monday, 18 December 2006, 8:00am,

LONDON - The Outdoor Advertising Association has launched an online photo library stocking more than 12,000 images of outdoor ads, which companies can use to track developments and see what their competitors are doing.

The archive dates back to August 2003 and will be updated with about 400 images every month. The OAA is employing a firm to travel the length and breadth of the UK to photograph various sites.

The site is free to access via the OAA's website. Pictures can be searched by product category, advertiser, brand, format and campaign period.

Development of the initiative has taken about a year and was overseen by the OAA's chief executive, Alan James. He said that the site will carry images of about 90% of the UK's major outdoor campaigns and 75% of the total poster sites.

"The search facility allows both advertisers and agencies not only the facility to see what is happening within outdoor as a whole, but also what their competitors are doing, where and when," he said.

The site also provides OAA member media owners with a facility to showcase their landmark sites. The organisation is also planning to expand the library to include digital screen creative.

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com