QMS recorded a 20% audience increase in February compared to January this year, and a 6% rise in the 2023 average across the City of Sydney’s 33 suburbs as a result of Taylor Swift’s tour, the Lunar New Year, and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.
The digital outdoor company reported a 21% lift for the Sydney CBD, as audiences in Newtown and Eveleigh jumped 81% and 26%, respectively. Other suburbs also recording double-digit rises include Potts Point (21%), Glebe (19%), Elizabeth Bay (16%), Woolloomooloo (16%), and Paddington (13%).
A high number of people who came from interstate for Taylor Swift’s Sydney concerts contributed to the strong numbers for the City of Sydney – up a strong 28% on the 2023 average and up 21% on January 2024.
Lunar New Year in Sydney’s Chinatown saw a 60% surge in audience numbers on weekend evenings compared to a week earlier and a 34% increase across the full weekend.
Mardi Gras had a similar impact, with audience numbers up 20% on the festival’s weekends, including a massive 76% jump in interstate visitors. The Oxford Street precinct saw the biggest gains, up 38% across the entire festival and up 74% in the evenings.
Olivia Gotch, QMS general manager, City of Sydney, said the “triple whammy” of Taylor Swift, Mardi Gras, and Lunar New Year showcased why Sydney is a major event capital of Australia.
“Our digital-first City of Sydney network sits right within the heartland of this event mecca, enabling brands to authentically engage with their customers across the most digitally-advanced, data-enabled out of home network in Australia. Its design, scale, reach and influence are world-class and, as the velocity of audience uplift shows, it is an incredibly powerful marketing channel,” she said.
The QMS City of Sydney digital street furniture network reaches 2.6 million people every week, two-thirds of whom live across the Greater Sydney region.