暁夫 近藤

In general, consumers do not have complete knowledge of business establishments: they often lack information on factors such as the business contents of establishments, the price of their goods, and their location. Therefore, companies and business establishments undertake activities to convey information about their location and business contents to their consumers. In this paper, the author adopted the outdoor advertising campaigns in the Chukyo Metropolitan Area as a case study, and examined the spatial characteristics of information distribution by the business establishments in the area. The author researched outdoor advertisements that were placed along major roads in the northwestern Chukyo Metropolitan Area in the field survey. As a result, about 18,000 outdoor advertisements and 7,000 advertisers (business establishments) were identified. Retail stores and personal service business establishments account for majority of the outdoor advertisers. On an average, the spatial range of outdoor advertising campaigns is 5.5km from the advertiser. Most advertisements can be found at a distance of around 1km from the business establishment. And the outdoor advertisements were placed in accordance with the log-normal distribution that is associated with the distance from the advertiser. Leisure establishments and hotel businesses tend to advertise in a wider spatial range among the industries. On the other hand, dental clinics, eateries, and barber shops advertise in a small spatial area. The business establishments, located in DID (Densely Inhabited District), have a tendency to advertise in wider spatial areas than other establishments. The spatial ranges of outdoor advertising campaigns differ among industries as well as the location of the advertisers. When considering all advertising activities as a whole, we can found a common spatial pattern in outdoor advertising campaigns. The possible reasons for the identified spatial pattern are explained as follows. Although, each company advertises in different areas and spatial ranges, we can identify a common spatial pattern on outdoor advertising. It is said that advertisers rarely position advertisements in the immediate vicinity of their business establishments, and place the most advertisements at some distance from them. We can also identify spatial boundary ranges for the advertising campaigns undertaken by each advertiser, like, for example, trading areas. And most outdoor advertising campaigns are organized spatially to induce consumers to the business establishment. As a result, it is possible to identify the common spatial pattern among the outdoor advertising campaigns as a whole.

The investigation of the spatial characteristics of consumption is one of the main issues in economic geography. However, as compared with the general field of study, there has been very little research on the spatial characteristics of promotional activities for consumers. In this paper, the author examines the spatial characteristics of outdoor advertising campaigns as an example of promotional activity.<br>The field survey was conducted along major roads, measuring up to 103km, in the Tango region in northern Kyoto Prefecture. A total of 1, 021 outdoor advertisements and 491 advertisers were identified. Regarding the location pattern of outdoor advertisements, the following findings were confirmed. There are few advertisements in the urban center, while many advertisements can be found on the outskirts of cities. In addition, a number of advertisements can be observed outside the urban area.<br>With regard to the advertisers, the following two trends were clarified: 1) The spatial range of outdoor advertising campaigns differs among industries. Advertisers of halls for ceremonial occasions, real estate agents, tourist facilities, and general merchandise stores are more active in outdoor advertising. The spatial range of their advertisements can extend up to a distance of nearly 10km from the location of the business establishment. On the other hand, those of convenience goods shops, catering establishments, and gas stations extend beyond 5km from the location of the establishment. 2) Business institutions tend to be more active in conducting outdoor advertising campaigns in unfavorable environments such as remote areas or areas on the outskirts of cities where daily customer interactions are relatively fewer.<br>Outdoor advertisers tend to be located on the outskirts of the cities, where they can easily display their outdoor advertisements. Therefore we can conclude that the distribution of outdoor advertising indicates a concentric pattern, corresponding with the urban spatial structure.