EUROPE NEWS

UK: Annie Rickard Launches her own Consultancy

Annie Rickard, the former Posterscope Global President and Dentsu Aegis executive director, today announced that she is setting up a consultancy practice to provide advice and guidance to the Out of Home sector and the broader media industry.

"Since leaving Posterscope after many wonderful years working in media, I have been asked by a number of people to assist on various interesting projects. So I have as a consequence, decided to make myself available, to help with relevant tasks, where I feel I can add value and make a worthwhile contribution" said Rickard. 

The new entity will open for business this September.

Annie Rickard is a keynote speaker at next weeks FEPE Congress in Sorrento, which takes place on the 6th - 8th of June.

UK: Digital Out of Home company LiveDOOH to sponsor coffee breaks in Sorrento

Delegates in Sorrento will be seeing a lot of exciting digital Out of Home technology company LiveDOOH.

Chief Executive Dr. Keni Bernardin says: "We at LiveDOOH are excited to be part of this thriving industry right at the point where it is undergoing a groundbreaking metamorphosis. In the past year, we have already demonstrated how using smart and complex technology can help unlock yet unseen potential in DOOH advertising.

"LiveDOOH is about changing the way we conceive, plan and deliver creative outdoor content. We develop technology that is truly adapted to the needs and visions of the rapidly evolving out-of-home space. By offering powerful technological tools to media owners, retailers, agencies, full service providers, we allow them to follow their own strategies, be it programmatic buying or selling, large-scale process automation, data-driven yield optimization, seamless targeted playback, or just a user-friendly interface toward small and medium buyers.

"The Core of our technology puts us at the center of a thriving DOOH ecosystem in which diversity and flexibility demand more complex and forward-thinking solutions, to evolve it to its true potential."

"The FEPE Congress offers us an ideal stage, hosting the most innovative thinkers and decision makers from around the world. We are looking forward to exchanging ideas in the next few days, and to yet another inspiring Congress.”

France: JCDecaux gains exclusive media company access to CiR Global Airport Intelligence

JCDecaux SA has announced that it has signed an exclusive contract with CiR (Counter Intelligence Retail - an NPD Group company) to be the only media company to have access to the CiR's Global Traveller Statistics service.

The contract will run over several years, giving the JCDecaux Global airport division exclusive access to one of the most comprehensive sources of global air travel intelligence and data. The agreement with CiR gives every JCDecaux airport direct access to the global passenger and traffic information of 550 airports. In the context of a significant evolution of the air traffic, these data will be enriched and be given greater applicability through the integration of a traveller segmentation and detailed shopper profiles.

JCDecaux will also have access to a powerful 'Time of Day / Day of Week' module. This module provides a detailed forward-looking view of precise passenger numbers by terminal, by nationality, by day of week and time of day. With this intelligence, JCDecaux can offer its clients campaigns that precisely target both departing and arriving passengers based on their nationality, traveller profile and shopping preferences.

Obviously, Global Travellers' data comply strictly with personal data protection rules to safeguard citizens and users, which in Europe, for instance, will be strengthened by the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation. The JCDecaux airport business encompasses the globe with concessions in 218 airports, including 12 of the top 20 airports worldwide, representing more than 40,000 advertising panels across 38 countries.

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UK: Lego Star Wars rolls out DOOH campaign

Lego recently launched a DOOH campaign, inviting shoppers in the U.K. to create their own galaxy using digital Lego blocks, following the launch of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The company teamed up with Grand Visual and Initiative to deploy the campaign at Bluewater and Newcastle Metro Centre malls in the U.K., according to a press relase. Users could craft their galaxies and spaceships on an interactive display using virtual Lego blocks.

They would also earn higher scores depending on their building speed. The campaign also encouraged users to take a photo with their creation.

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UK: BT to roll out free phone calls and Wi-Fi across Birmingham city centre

Advertising will fund free phone calls and Wi-Fi services at six centres in Birmingham

BT is bringing an exciting world of free phone calls and Wi-Fi access to six sites in central Birmingham this summer. The new InLinkUK devices will be installed on pavements across the city centre and include a raft of new features undreamed of when classic red telephone kiosks were first designed 80 years ago.

They will include Wi-Fi with ultrafast speeds of up to 1 gigabit (1,000 Mbps) – far faster than most homes receives and with no data caps or ads.

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UK: The Golden Age of Outdoor

Ric Albert, creative director at Grand Visual, explains how film studios are raising the bar with exceptionally creative uses of digital outdoor.

Ten years ago, digital out-of-home was in its infancy; a blank canvas yet to be painted with the exciting content we see today. Film marketing was still very much focusing on the traditional channels of TV, print and OOH; video-on-demand and pre-roll ads had only just started to appear. In fact, online was where film marketing first started experimenting creatively. However, as the functionality and scale of Digital OOH has expanded, so too, has the way in which entertainment brands use it.

Fast forward 10 years, and things have changed dramatically. Today, digital inventory has given OOH film campaigns a new lease of life, adding some movie magic to outdoor executions. Now marketeers can run trailers and video content on the street, introduce characters, plot teasers, or run live-action sequences, direct from the film to whet the public’s appetite. Digital OOH has become the ideal advertising channel for the entertainment industry.

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AMERICAS NEWS

Argentina: Latin America has a new OOH Association

Good news from Guillmero De Lalla, President of the Argentine Chamber of Advertising OOH:

We would like to inform you that after several months of work, communication and dialogue with different actors in LATAM, the Latin American Out of Home Association has been formed – ALOOH-.

ALOOH’s founding commission was formed by our Argentine Chamber of Advertising OOH representing the industry in Argentina, together with our partners of ASOMEDIOS in Colombia and other important companies in the industry in Mexico and Uruguay. From then on, in a second instance, is imminent the participation of Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador , with whom we maintain a fluid dialogue in these days.

In my character as General Secretary of ALOOH I share this excellent news for the regional industry and therefore for our global activity. For the first time in recent history, LATAM reaches an agreement on the regional level that allows it to dialogue in conjunction with international entities.

ALOOH will make its formal presentation to the global industry at the next International Congress of the FEPE in Sorrento / Italy. The International Out of Home Advertising Federation –FEPE- has been a fundamental support for the creation of this instance of local organization.

For the second year in a row, the Argentine Chamber of Advertising OOH has been invited to the preliminary meeting of the Congress with the full members (associations and regional and national entities) and in this case we will do it together with our new regional president Gabriel Cedrone of Mexico, to present ALOOH before the world.

The Presidency and the Vice Presidency of ALOOH will be in this first period in the hands of Gabriel Cedrone from Mexico and Tulio Angel Arbeláez from Colombia respectively.

Just to be able to measure the value of the constitution of the regional entity in terms of volume, we share some numbers: today ALOOH will represent more than 25 companies in the region, with 10 countries represented (4 of them as founding members) and permanent dialogue for the inclusion of others more.

It’s a pleasure to share this news with you in line to continue working in defense of the industry and its global integration.

USA: How Digital Signage Hardware & Software Decisions Made Today Will Impact Tomorrow

The digital signage industry is experiencing an exciting growth period at the moment, with the rising interest in “smart city” projects and a resurgence of advertiser interest in out-of-home.

The digital out-of-home (DOOH) market is projected to reach $26.2 Billion by 2023, largely driven by significant changes in all three of the major components of a signage network: hardware, software and monetization strategies.

Let’s Talk About Hardware

Digital signage hardware is getting cheaper, lowering the threshold for installing new networks in locations that weren’t previously covered. But even with the lower costs of individual hardware components, expanding and installing new networks are expensive endeavors, so media owners are naturally looking for ways to save money. Raspberry Pi and other low-powered hardware options offer the capability of putting up new networks with significantly less capital expenditure.

However, network operators should be cautious about relying on cost-savings too much as the deciding factor in hardware decisions. Many operators trying to save money at the installation phase find themselves handicapped down the line by hardware that isn’t reliable, breaks down often (with huge repair costs) and is limited in what can be displayed on the screen. It’s critical to balance cost savings with building reliable infrastructure that can support the dynamic content and transactions that will define digital signage over the next five to ten years.

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AUSTRALIA NEWS

Australia: Behind digital out of home's rapid and relentless rise

In its dogged quest to bring the medium into the digital age, the out of home industry is focusing on audience measurement and independent campaign delivery reporting for digital screens.

AdNews explores how a new measurement system should evolve. One of advertising’s oldest mediums, out of home (OOH), has been modernising at breakneck speed over the past few years.

When you drive on any city motorway, visit an airport, or catch public transport, chances are you’ll notice plenty of bright, luminescent digital screens at key intersections along your journey, and they’re sprouting up everywhere. Moving to digital has unlocked new opportunities for advertisers, but it also presents the OOH industry with a fresh set of challenges.

Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of Outdoor Media Association (OMA) and MOVE, said the next stage has to be “to prove the power and efficacy of that digital network to the people who buy it”.

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New Zealand: oOh! gives away $120,000 full motion digital campaign

oOh!media New Zealand is giving advertisers a chance to win a $120,000 full motion retail advertising campaign to celebrate the expansion of its full motion digital network into its newest media region, Wanganui.

The expansion follows on from Bayleys Property Services Ltd awarding oOh! the rights to deliver full motion digital and classic advertising at its Trafalgar Square shopping centre in the heart of Wanganui.

oOh! New Zealand’s General Manager Adam McGregor said the addition of retail advertising solutions in this new media region solidifies oOh!'s standing as the retail advertising experts and is now the clear leader in New Zealand Retail advertising, providing advertisers with powerful opportunities to engage consumers in a consideration mindset at the point of purchase, and beyond, with engaging full motion content.

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AFRICA NEWS

South Africa: State of the digital out of home nation address

Global investment in out of home (OOH) is forecast to grow around three to five percent and will reach an all-time high of $30 billion in 2018. Magna Global, the IPG Media Brands intelligence resource, says this growth is driven largely by the expansion of digital out of home (DOOH).

DOOH as a sub category of OOH will grow by 15%, up from 11% growth in 2017. In 2018 DOOH is expected to reach $5 billion and account for roughly 17% of total OOH spend (Magna Global). Almost one in every five dollars invested in OOH is invested in digital OOH formats.

At the core of OOH’s growth is continuous technological development, the increased versatility of content and message delivery across multiple screens and platforms, the ability to integrate with social media, and continued studies into the relevance and effectiveness of DOOH as a medium. Few would question that DOOH will also be the biggest area of growth across the South African OOH industry in 2018.

It is expected that we will see a significant increase in the number of DOOH panels across South Africa as digital formats and deliverables become more creatively inviting, affordable and accessible.

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MIDDLE EAST NEWS

Israel: Even in Internet Age, Ads on Sides of Buildings Are Big Business

In Tel Aviv, advertisers are even willing to cover a building’s renovation costs so they can get the city’s most coveted facades

From time to time an apartment building on the corner of Sderot Chen and Frishman Street in Tel Aviv will display a giant ad, eight meters wide and 10 meters high. Even if the age of the internet, outdoor advertising remains an attractive way to reach consumers.

Tel Aviv is the epicenter of outdoor advertising in Israel and in Tel Aviv the corner of Rabin Square is a star: Tens of thousands of people pass through the area every day and, if there’s a major event in Rabin Square, the lucky advertiser could get some free air time as well.

The homeowners benefit as well and so does the city, which collects a fee for outdoor advertising. Even though Mayor Ron Huldai often expresses concerns about the city “turning into a giant billboard,” regulations are weak and advertising agencies find ways to work around them.

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ASIA NEWS

Philippines: Micab taps Singapore-based media tech firm for in-cab advertising

Media technology company IDOOH International and ad-driven ride-hailing firm Micab Philippines have sealed a Memorandum of Understanding to deploy 5,000 digital media screens in Micab partner taxi fleets by next year.

Cebuano-developed Micab was the fifth Filipino-owned transport network company that was greenlighted to operate by Philippine transport regulators, following Uber’s departure from the country in April.

To sustain its operation and offer cheaper rates to commuters, Micab is reportedly tapping alternative revenue sources by displaying advertisements in tablets installed in partner taxis.

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Hong Kong: JCDecaux wins the renewal of its exclusive advertising contracts for Hong Kong MTR

JCDecaux SA has announced today that JCDecaux Pearl & Dean, a 100% subsidiary of JCDecaux (hereinafter called "JCDecaux Transport") has won the renewal of its exclusive advertising contracts with MTR Corporation for the operation and management of outdoor advertising across seven MTR lines** and the Airport Express.

These renewed contracts are effective since January 2018 for up to 6 years. JCDecaux Transport, the number one out-of-home media company in Hong Kong*** and 3 consecutive years award winner of the "Market Leadership Award" from the Institute of Marketing, has held the MTR advertising contract for over 35 years.

These seven lines reach 85% of the Hong Kong population of over 7 million in a month**** and dominate transport advertising in Hong Kong. This win not only maintains JCDecaux Transport's portfolio in Hong Kong, but also its market leader position in metro advertising in China. MTR advertising in Hong Kong is widely recognized as the world's leading metro advertising medium in terms of innovation, professionalism and service quality.

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