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The concept of outdoor
advertising dates back to
about 3000 BC, when inscriptions on obelisks
directed travelers. In the Middle Ages, bill posting was an accepted form
of advertisement in Europe. Most probably, outdoor advertising is
the first advertising medium ever used. But the peculiarity of
outdoor advertising is that unlike other advertisements, it cannot be
seen/experienced in isolation. It is experienced in public space, that
is, the experience is integrated with the overall street
experience. Outdoor advertising is woven into the entire fabric of urban
landscape, which cannot be isolated from the overall spatial cognition
of streetscape.
Outdoor advertising is defined as "things like a sign, standing
sign, placard, poster, leaflet, etc., which are seen in public space continuously
at all times or certain periods." The Outdoor Advertising Association
of America (OAAA) defines outdoor advertising as
"something corresponding with a certain standard, design and construction
of sign" and explains that outdoor advertisements appear in a variety
of places outside the home, including on billboards, bus shelters, buses
and taxis; in malls, airports and subways; and at sports stadiums and
arenas. OAAA puts these formats into four categories: Billboards,
Street Furniture, Transit and Alternative Media (www.oaaa.org).
Strictly speaking, advertisement means "impersonal
persuasive communication paid for the media space or
time". From this point of view, retail signs are
somewhat different because they are for self-promotion in their own space.
The basic distinction between outdoor advertising and other
types of advertising is that it is experienced in public space
during daily activities not on purpose of access to any media. (A public
urban space is any external or internal space that is accessible to any
general public without control or restriction,
regardless of ownership. Examples of public urban
spaces include malls, arcades, streets, avenues, boulevards, squares,
parks and promenades). In the modern age, the city has become the
most common space where people lead their everyday lives. In the city,
the most accessible space is `street'. Street also matters, in that it can
be a space for culture and interchange, where individuals move, cross
and articulate with each other. So the feature of street
environment becomes significant in discussing the quality of urban experience. |
