The next few weeks will see the confirmation of a date for the UK General Election, the build up and outcome of which will have a variety of impacts on OOH media. Political parties are traditionally heavy users of OOH and in previous elections OOH has been the lead medium used to get party messages to the electorate in an impactful way.

After the 2005 election, new legislation was introduced to cap the amount of spend each party could use for promoting their manifestos.  Following this change it is unlikely that we will see the same huge election budgets of 2001 and 2005 and this will mean that availability issues for OOH advertisers in the run up to the election are also less likely.

The incumbent party usually starts planning for a General Election at least 6-9 months in advance of the anticipated date, although it seems to be later than usual this time. This could be due to reduced investment as political parties have struggled to galvanise donations from supporters.  As a result parties will be concentrating their budgets much closer to the predicted election date.

Government organisations such as TFL and COI are not permitted to spend on marketing six weeks prior to an election date. So if the election is called for May 6th this will mean that these advertisers will not be able spend beyond the end of March and for a significant part of Q2. As heavy users of OOH, this could mean that spending is bulked up before the election is called, creating a stronger demand in OOH for Q1.

Political advertises are restricted by what formats and sites they can use.  Political messages are not permitted on local authority plant (Adshel/JC Decaux 6s), the London Underground or Network Rail property.  There are also political restrictions in place across large format sizes that are built on Network Rail or TFL land.  These limitations mean that as we get closer to an election we could see increased pressures on the large format market forcing other sectors to switch to underground and bus formats to fulfil their advertising needs.

As political parties have a limited range of OOH options, there is an inclination for them to book early to ensure that they achieve the sites and the periods they require. During the election of 2005, we saw long lead times for the large format market of 12 weeks or more for sites purchased.  It is very likely that these political parties are already planning for an election now to ensure desired campaign delivery.

The outcome of the election will have a huge bearing on the economy across the latter part of 2010 and into 2011. As it stands, the electorate is likely to vote for a change in Government. The Conservatives have already indicated an intention to curb some of the spending excesses of the Labour Government including “excessive spending on advertising and consultants” which will have a profound long term impact across media.

Whichever party assumes power they will be required to reduce government debt, but the key question is how quickly they will introduce measures and what will be the implications for the economy and the OOH media market.

The combined effects of the election, an economic recovery and the media stimulus of the World Cup in June and July, will be to offer some advertisers a unique opportunity. Staying on top of specific in-change opportunities and sell-outs will be essential in order to weather the storm of these unpredictable times.