Brands are overlooking a growing and valuable audience that exists outside Australia’s traditional daytime peak hours, according to new research from JCDecaux, which argues the industry’s fixation on daytime schedules is causing advertisers to miss valuable consumer attention.
The out of home giant’s new report, The 5-9 Economy, found Australians are increasingly active, mobile and engaged between 5pm and 9am. JCDecaux also reckons that media budgets can stretch further during this period, with cheaper media placements.
That’s not all, however, the report also found that out of home advertising makes Australians feel safer at night.
A series of experts discussed the report’s findings at an event in Sydney’s Darling Harbour on Monday evening.
Australians, according to Tess Phillips, EGM of corporate affairs and government relations at JCDecaux, are “less stressed, in a better mood, and more receptive at night”.
Mayor of Burwood Council John Faker said outdoor advertising at night “adds to the soul of the city, we want to see the neon lights, we want to see that digital signage. It makes the place more vibrant and exciting, and people want to be there, and want to come and visit”.
Australia’s nighttime economy is also growing. In 2024, it was worth $188 billion, up from $134 billion in 2018 according to data from the Office of the 24 Hour Commissioner cited by JCDecaux.
Net revenues for Australia’s out of home market grew 7.41 per cent in Q1 2026 to $359 million, up from an adjusted $334 million in Q1 2025 according to the Outdoor Media Association. It also found OOH reaches 97 per cent of Australians weekly.
The most recent SMI data from April showed outdoor spend to be back 1.4 per cent year, though this was largely attributable to last year’s federal election inflating spend.
Karen Jones, CEO of Destination NSW, said brands and businesses who invest in nighttime communities and experiences will find audiences who “will spend their dollars”.
She said tapping in could also look like shows, musicals, concerts, art galleries open, sporting fixtures. “It could also be that people are eating in our restaurants over night time, or having drinks in our bars,” she said.
Speaking Naysla Edwards, VP of brand, marketing and member experience at American Express, B&T that the time was ripe for brands to engage in live music experiences.
“For example, large music events and large music artists coming into Sydney are sold out. Olivia Dean is coming, she’s sold out. Harry Styles is coming, he’s sold out,” Edwards said.
Cutting through with that audience at night is not easy, however. Edwards advice was to think creatively.
“Sometimes we get a little bit constrained by budgets or talent, and sometimes you don’t need a big budget or crazy talent to do some amazing work,” said Edwards.
One example she highlighted, was Australian adhesive brand, Selleys Liquid Nails’ OOH campaign via Howatson+Company, ‘If You Can Take It, It’s Yours’.
The campaign saw a series of real-world objects glued to a billboard. The public was challenged to pull them off.
At the 2026 Cairns Crocodiles Awards, Howatson+Company took home multiple wins including three Gold Crocodiles for the Selleys campaign.
“That’s creativity,” she told B&T. “You can tell it didn’t break the bank. But people are thinking how they can do something different and differentiate [themselves] from the rest. That’s what we need to do.
“At times, advertising, particularly [in] out of home, everybody uses the same words. Everybody’s saying the same thing. Everybody wants to create an emotional connection but sometimes we lose that authenticity of what the brand stands for,” Edwards said.
“Go back to your values, what your brand stands for, and you’ll get the most creative there.”
Edwards also spoke at Cairns Crocodiles last month. Read all about it here!
Edwards added that brands should consider how they can help make Australians feel safer at night with their outdoor work.
Edwards highlighted in places that can feel dimly lit or unsafe, people are more likely to take notice.
“When I read the report from JCDecaux, I loved it. I’m speaking here as a woman, and sometimes I leave work late and I’m walking home and pass the out of home at the bus shelters which all illuminated. It actually gives me comfort,” she told B&T.
“If it’s giving me comfort, I can imagine it’s giving comfort to my daughter, my husband, my friends and my co-workers.”
B&T also spoke with Sydney’s first 24-hour economy commissioner and former MD of Timeout Australia, Michael Rodrigues.
As commissioner, he drives NSW Government initiatives to revitalise the state’s after-dark culture.
He said brands not investing in the nighttime economy are “missing out”.
“The night is as vivid as the day in many ways, and the audiences that move through the evening include those that are out for a good time, as much as people who are servicing the margin economy, and so it’s a substantial market,” Rodrigues said.
“Thirty per cent of our workforce works between 6pm and 6am so if you’re not putting your message in front of them, you’re probably missing out.”
He said there needs to be “a strategy and route” when it comes to out of home advertising.
“You need to make informed decisions and include considerations around nighttime culture,” he said. “Audiences should be part of that consideration set, whether you choose to use digital media, outdoor media, print or TV—there are so many choices, but you should at least make it part of the consideration.”
