Just a few weeks on, the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a devastating blow to the so-called "out of home" sector, a once resurgent industry dependent on busy roads, packed urban centres and transport hubs.

Udo Mueller, the founder of one of Europe's biggest outdoor advertising groups, has been forced to backtrack, with the crisis forcing Cologne-based Ströer to scrap its 2020 guidance and tell investors it would consider revisions to dividend payouts. Other operators have taken drastic action, cancelling dividends and drawing on revolving credit lines.

The defensive measures are likely to be the start of a wrenching period with a significant portion of the world's population largely confined to their homes.

Advertisers are pulling back on the $40bn they were predicted to spend on ads across big cities and transport systems in 2020.

Analysts at Macquarie Research note that about a fifth of global expenditure is generated by sectors, such as leisure and travel, that have been devastated by coronavirus. If those clients halve planned spending while others shave 10 per cent from campaign budgets, the overall hit would be about 18 per cent, they estimate.

Clear Channel, whose share price has tumbled 75 per cent in a month, said last week that it was tapping $150m from its revolving credit facility.

JCDecaux, the world's biggest out-of-home advertising group, last month unveiled sweeping measures which included cancelling the payment of dividends, cutting discretionary spending and reducing employee hours. The French group also withdrew guidance predicting a 10 per cent hit to revenues, issued at the beginning of March.

Digital technology has been the big growth driver for the industry in recent years, with expensive investments in high-tech billboards allowing eye-catching adverts to be sold and rotated much faster than physical posters.

But relatively new entrants are now exposed, especially in the UK, the world's most digitised outdoor advertising market.

full article: Advertisers suffer from lower spending