A Transformative Change In Jeddah's Out-of-Home Media Scene

Extraordinary! A term regularly used to describe the growth and progress taking place within the Kingdom that is positively influencing facets of everyday life in line with Vision 2030 objectives. Rarely can one be absent for a period of time without noticing the changing city skylines and various urban projects helping pave the way forward for a growing population and dynamic marketplace.

One such change witnessed in the city of Jeddah is the out-of-home (OOH) landscape. The past 2 years have been subjected to a radical transformation making it one of the most digitized outdoor markets within the region. Each passing month has given way to the installation of new or refurbished formats, an integral investment as part of a larger strategy designed to future proof the growing local advertising market.

Yet, there is a particularly unique format that has dominated conversation and undoubtedly raised the bar in terms of industry novelty, visibility, and expectation.
Designed and managed by Saudi Signs Media, Digital Steel Bridges are simply unmatched having created a show stopping option to effectively deliver a campaign message characterized as memorable and impactful.

Expanding entire widths of respected highways while serving as a safe crossing for pedestrians (with elevator access), these gigantic structures measure up to 160 meters in width x 10 meters in height. With over +450m² worth of true LED space situated atop and directly in the line of sight of motorists, advertisers are afforded an unrivaled opportunity to creatively express their brands communication within a 10 second slot per loop over a 20-hour period each day.

However, the inherent power of these structures stems not only from structural size, distanced line of sight and consistant exposure, but is magnified by their strategical placement along the busiest city routes which lead motorists to major commercial & residential vicinities.

If you live or visit Jeddah, it immediately becomes apparent that the key road arteries connecting the city are situated parallel to one another (covering the western, central and eastern areas) and predominately routed in a north/south direction. To date, 12x Digital Steel Bridges (24 LED faces) have been installed in addition to 1x Static Steel Bridge (2 faces) that is front lit in nature.

Together, these 13 magnificent structures are found along the following roads:

North ⇄ South Routes
•   King Abdulaziz Road
•   Al Andalus Road
•   Al Madinah Al-Munawarah Road
•   King Fahad Road
•   Prince Majid Road
•   Al Makarunah Road (static format)

Western ⇄ Eastern Route
• Palestine Street

From a creative standpoint, the space and flexibility provided is extremely favorable. Yes, it’s vital that key brand and promotional attributes be communicated, but in which context is an element we encourage advertisers to test and explore.

Creating contextually fitting messages related to day parts (mornings, afternoon, and evening), days of the week (weekdays vs. weekends) and/or use of localized grammar help contribute to creating greater relevancy for local audiences.

A secondary option advertisers can opt in for is the allocation of custom messages intended to be used on a chosen panel or group of panels. Benefit from proximity targeting for nearby store locations or promote different priced product/service packages best suited for the socio-economic area in which presence is distributed. Essentially, dynamic creativity has become an available currency advertisers can capitalize on based on business insights and needs.

To date, local response to the presence of these structures has been positive among audiences having felt highly engaged, captivated and informed of the brands and promotions appearing on the bridges as per market research conducted by Kantar; General media consumption habits and exposure to OOH in Jeddah, December 2021.

Their contribution to the city of Jeddah is undeniably both impressionable and recognized as having helped modernize the city’s landscape, improved public safety for road crossing pedestrians and made audiences keen to see more. The successful roll out and installation of such large structures is both a market first and testament to the company’s vision of transforming the outdoor advertising scene helping provide local and regional advertisers with a state-of-the-art medium suited for any communication objective.