FEPE NEWS

57th FEPE Congress in Barcelona: Bookings are now open!

We are now taking delegate bookings for the 57th FEPE Congress, which will be held between Wednesday June 1st and Friday June 3rd 2016 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Fira Center, Barcelona.

The link for the booking form can be found on the FEPE Homepage, at www.worldooh.org

We will be having 2 days of presentations and panels, with high calibre speakers from across the world, all of whom will be bringing their unique viewpoints on the Out of Home industry.

This year's congress in Budapest was FEPE's best attended yet, with over 300 delegates attending from 39 countries, both new records for us. There will be an exclusive exhibition area attached to the main congress hall, and spaces are now available to reserve. If you are a supplier who wishes to get your product in front of an audience of global OOH decision makers please email us soon so we can hold a space for you.

As usual we have negotiated a special delegate rate for the hotel rooms and delegates are able to pay by credit card or bank transfer, which we hope will make bookings easier for some overseas delegates.

Early bird registrations will be open until the end of February, which will allow delegates an extra €100 reduction regardless of FEPE membership status. Delegate fees are unchanged from last year (and several years before) at €1100 for members and €1600 for non members, plus the additional early bird reduction.

We will be announcing the Gala Dinner and Friday night social venues soon, along with our first confirmed speakers.

The content programme will also be in a different format from the Budapest. As we keep evolving as an industry we feel the need to reflect these changes with more engaging content and congress audience participation.

Further details will be announced here, and in future newsletters.

You can find the link on the FEPE website homepage, here

Full details of the Congress will be in next week's newsletter

Germany: blowUP media acquires German market leader in large-format advertising on German autobahns

blowUP media GmbH has acquired B.A.B. MaxiPoster Werbetürme GmbH. The company specializes in large-format advertising on German autobahns (expressways), and is the market leader in the segment. With its high-visibility towers located near autobahns, which are free from advertising, the company generates more than 70 million contact opportunities per month in the target group of working-age drivers.

The MaxiPoster network currently comprises twelve towers along Germany’s most frequented autobahns.

The construction of another advertising tower is planned for the first half of 2016. The objective is to establish a significantly larger, nationwide tower network in Germany, and to add new towers on an ongoing basis. Markus Stahmer, Managing Director at blowUP media GmbH in Germany, will manage the operations.

blowUP media anticipates synergies for its own giant poster business in Germany thanks to the acquisition, and is strengthening the foundation for the company’s own development with the long-term MaxiPoster locations and the “autobahn” touchpoint.

One focus will be on expanding blowUP media’s national and international agency business through MaxiPoster’s business model, which is based on regional direct customers.

“Through a unique form of giant poster advertising along autobahns, MaxiPoster has carved itself a media niche in Germany’s outdoor advertising market that is already firmly established in other European countries. The company offers attractive development opportunities for the further expansion of our existing successful giant poster business.

Our objective is to ensure that advertisers put an even greater emphasis on large-format outdoor advertising, and to further expand autobahn advertising as a medium,”

says Katrin A. Robertson, CEO of blowUP media Group.

Germany: Ströer selects Prismaflex for its digital pilot project

In November Prismaflex installed 6 Prismatronic LED displays in the streets of Wuppertal, Germany, for the Ströer group.

Digitisation is underway throughout Germany

A pilot project for the Ströer group: the first LED screens were installed in Wuppertal. Premium technology The 11m² 16:10 resolution Prismatronic displays have been produced using the very latest in LED technology.

The screens were manufactured by PrismaChina, the group’s new China-based production site then integrated and controlled in France. They incorporate our exclusive BBM software for enhanced monitoring solutions and improved operations management.

Greater proximity communication

The dynamic displays were set up on strategic high-traffic sites to maximise impact and visibility. Display content switches between advertising, editorial content and local news bulletins (upcoming events), weather forecasts… all created in collaboration with the communication services of the town.

Why Prismaflex?

Prismaflex International already has a strong footing on the German market via its subsidiary Distec and has a number of years’ experience of producing LED advertising solutions and provides innovative DOOH product ranges combining outstanding quality and compliance with all major international standards and requirements including EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) – just some of the reasons for choosing Prismaflex and Prismatronic.

UK: KAYAK.co.uk launches first ever commercial tram wrap on Greater Manchester’s Metrolink with Exterion Media

KAYAK.co.uk, the travel search engine, has deployed the first ever commercial tram wrap on Manchester’s Metrolink with Exterion Media - Europe’s largest privately held Out-of-Home advertising business.

Planned and booked by Blue 449 and Kinetic, the campaign will be running across Greater Manchester’s Metrolink network from 6th January 2016 for 6 weeks, reaching key stops throughout the city centre and surrounding districts.

With the aid of its mascot sheep and the strapline: “Stop searching. Start finding on KAYAK.co.uk”, the campaign ‘dominates’ the tram with a creative that showcases how KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites to help you find and book the flight or hotel that suits you best.

Loella Pehrsson, Regional Director UK, Ireland and the Nordics at KAYAK, said:

“Here at KAYAK, we promote travel planning and what better way to do this than with OOH – a medium that captures audience attention when they’re out and about, at their most alert and open to influence. Greater Manchester’s Metrolink tram wrap provides an exciting new canvas for us to showcase our future-facing brand and we’re delighted to be the first commercial partner.”

Jason Cotterrell, Managing Director at Exterion Media UK, said:

“Set in the heart of one of the UK’s largest cities, this is a truly impactful OOH proposition that offers extended level engagement and increased brand awareness for advertisers. The Metrolink tram wrap offers advertisers a new creative platform to target the diverse and influential audiences in Greater Manchester and we are thrilled that such an innovative brand as KAYAK is capitalising on this opportunity.”

Peter Cushing, Transport for Greater Manchester’s Metrolink Director, said: “The Metrolink network currently covers 57.5 miles and 92 stops across seven lines in Greater Manchester, while hosting 32 million passenger journeys a year. This makes campaigns such as this an ideal way to connect with local audiences in the heart of their communities.”

Part of a wider OOH campaign with Exterion Media, KAYAK has also deployed a mix of traditional and Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) assets across the London Underground.

KAYAK is an independently managed subsidiary of The Priceline Group and allows users to search and find flights, hotels, rental cars and vacation packages.

UK: Happy Birthday Mr Ellery!

FEPE Executive Director hits another milestone...

Between Christmas and New Year our own Mr Ellery celebrated a personal milestone, his 70th birthday.

In true Ellery style, a James Bond 007(0) themed party was held for 60 of his closest friends in his favourite local restaurant and a great night was had by all of us who attended.

(I even won the triva contest without resorting to mobile phone google once!)

Happy Birthday Guv'nor, from us all!

Mark Flys and all at FEPE International

Netherlands: Innovative research provides insights into Out of Home environments

Kinetic Netherlands has, in cooperation with outdoor media owner blowUP media, made innovative progress in the field of Out of Home media measurability. blowUP media is an Out of Home media owner offering premium large format digital screens, state-of-the-art banners and Giant Posters. Combining different market research methods and techniques, Kinetic has gathered insights into one of the most important blowUP media sites: The Wow® in Rotterdam.

The Wow® digital screen is located directly in front of Rotterdam Central Station and delivers great impact and high traffic numbers. Yet, it was difficult to determine this 'raw' reach and the exact value for advert slots per week, per day and per hour. In addition, there were some other challenges when profiling the screen. Therefore, Kinetic started an experimental journey using several innovative research methods to gather more information. Dennis Kuperus, CEO Kinetic Benelux and Nordics, comments: "Our main goal is to optimize the advice we offer our clients by providing more sophisticated and profound media planning strategies. These innovations will deliver a range of relevant insights of which we are sure will result in more effective digital campaigns on The Wow®."

Kinetic and blowUP media are the first to have combined various new techniques to quantify the Out of Home advertising medium, which resulted in several insights. In the next paragraphs the different methods and learnings are discussed.

Innovative research method

To measure the reach of the site, a wifi grabber was installed above The Wow®, aimed at the square in front of Rotterdam Central Station. The wifi grabber emits a wifi signal which 'catches' any mobile device that appears within a predetermined area around the screen. This provides a reliable insight into The Wow®'s reach. Data was validated by conducting manual head counts using a webcam; this showed that the wifi grabber could pick up a constant percentage of the actual passers-by on a five-minute basis.

Audience measurement 2.0

The unique part of this measurement method is the real-time level data. Besides offering a general reach figure, it is possible to obtain numbers on a daily basis, based on a part of the day and even per hour. This is relevant information to both advertiser and media owner in terms of pricing of specific timeslots, day or night. Another 'next-level' opportunity enabled by this wifi tracking technique is determining at which moment a first contact (unique reach) is being created. Because the wifi grabber can read and identify the mac-addresses of mobile devices, it can indicate the contact frequency for unique devices and determine when new devices are being reached. This also offers added value to both advertiser and media owner when determining campaign and pricing strategy.

Mobile data

Another innovative method that was used to understand the location for blowUP media, is the read-out of mobile advertising impressions of passers-by on the square. This indicates crowd density and movement behaviour of people who visit the city and come in contact with the screen. Fewer ad impressions ensure a higher awareness for the environment. This provides relevant insights into the implications of combining Out of Home and mobile advertising. For example, the combination offers more value during the weekend than it does on weekdays.

Diverse public

The fourth point of analysis, which is added to the research, is the screen's urban environment. Rotterdam Central Station is the gate to the city and offers many hotspots. Kinetic has now actually - visually - demonstrated this by heatmapping the screen's environment and clustering point-of-interest-categories. The areas with the highest density of hotspots close to The Wow® are identified based on various themes, such as "business/work", "cultural/tourist highlights", "shopping", etc. This information, in combination with the other insights, helps blowUP media to show that many different target groups can be reached during the various timeslots.

Useful insights

This research offers valuable insights, which both Kinetic and blowUP media can use to optimise their services. Ernst Vos, CCO blowUP media Group, comments: "Our iconic locations have always found their place in a media strategy based on an emotional index and experience. But within the digital expansion of the OOH market, our clients' demand for real-time validation and pricing is becoming more and more evident. Kinetic's new research techniques will help to add comprehensive information to the value of our super premium Out of Home portfolio. The next step will be the implementation of these tools to facilitate market and trade processes and make digital Out of Home advertisements even more effective in the Netherlands."

Source

UK: Resolutions for outdoor advertisers

From making better use of data to learning more about audiences through AI, Posterscope's Nick Halas says there are 10 things the OOH sector should focus on this year.

Outdoor advertising is evolving faster than ever before. Never has new technology been driving such massive change, not only in how we display ads, but also in how we plan campaigns.

Out-of-home (OOH) is still able to reach audiences at scale as the proliferation of digital infrastructure, planned using big data, now gives advertisers the added opportunity for personalisation and relevance.

People nowadays expect services, in particular communications, to be more tailored to what they are, what they're doing and what they're thinking. Unsurprisingly, doing this with OOH tends to drive better outcomes and we are starting to build up a robust body of evidence that validates this.

We've found this to be equally true for classic OOH as well as digital. To take full advantage of everything that OOH can offer though, advertisers will need to be sure to stick to a number of commitments, or resolutions if you will:

1. Make better use of data

Consumers increasingly expect services or messages to be tailored to their personal tastes and preferences. Real-time triggers such as weather and traffic data enable OOH ads to react to the world around them, while mobile data helps advertisers understand the sites and apps people use in particular locations. Advertisers can now even use social media data to plan campaigns around where relevant conversations are taking place, as demonstrated in a recent campaign we worked on for the hit video game Fallout 4. Advertisers in 2016 need to be using data to increase personalisation and deliver the right message, at the right time, in the right location.

2. Start treating OOH as the new shop window

The speed and nature of service and brand communication are changing. Starbucks coffee can be pre-ordered before you arrive, so that it's ready to go, and everything from an Amazon Prime package to a pack of Oreos can be delivered to customers' desks within an hour. As customers continue to make orders before being near stores, advertisers need to be treating OOH as they would a shop window, enabling it to act as a real-time trigger for customer appetites.

Full article here

Ireland: Danske Bank Dominates Ireland's First Roadside Digital OOH

Danske Bank has kicked off the New Year with a take-over campaign on the brand new roadside digital Out of Home media screen in Belfast.

The screen is the first roadside DOOH display of its kind to launch in Ireland, both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and marks an exciting development in the local OOH media landscape.

The exciting addition to the OOH media market, measuring almost 30 square metres, is situated on Shaftesbury Square in the heart of Belfast City. Launched by media owner Blazin Digital, the vibrant display delivers over 75,000 impressions daily, targeting several lanes of traffic travelling across the City via the major junction.

Danske Bank is the first advertiser to feature on the media platform with a dominating campaign promoting its digital banking solutions and customer satisfaction.

Speaking of the launch of the Danske Bank digital campaign, Nicola McCleery, Head of Marketing of Danske Bank said, "We are really excited to be the pioneering partner for Ireland's first roadside digital screen. It's a fantastic and fitting media first for Danske, promoting our own digital offering and our strong customer satisfaction levels. It's a great platform for Danske to get noticed in the heart of the city and create awareness for our wide range of digital banking channels and of course, wish everyone a Happy New Year!

The campaign was planned by OOH specialist PML Group Northern Ireland and media agency Carat Manchester, with creative by Elm House Creative.

Darren Jackson, Director of PML Group Northern Ireland, commented,

"The buzz around digital OOH media continues unabated across the globe. Within Ireland, it has seen great success in retail, commuter and airport environments; however the time is now right for the advantages of flexibility, creativity and impact that DOOH brings to be delivered to roadside campaigns. We are excited by the launch of the digital screen in Belfast and delighted to have worked with Danske Bank to deliver the ‘market-first' DOOH campaign for the brand."

Source

AMERICAS NEWS

USA: Outdoor billboards to trigger ads for smartphones

Brands will be able to use all of Kinetic Worldwide’s billboards globally to push messages to peoples’ smartphones.

The outdoor specialist’s global chief executive Mauricio Sabogal told The Drum the launch would transform all its “out of home media into interactive media”.

While billboards have been able to talk to smartphones for some time, it’s the scale that’s the selling point for Kinetic now as it increasingly sees itself asked to pitch for fully integrated accounts given the ubiquity of mobile out and inside homes.

The way it works is each screen is fitted with a hidden code, which is generatec and served dynamically using outdoor media firm’s Endeavour’s platform. What the platform does is allow for both traditional and digital creative to be tagged with one of the codes to allow passerbys to do everything from redeem loyalty points to buy goods. The codes can also be updated throughout a campaign in order to offer different call to actions or serve alternative content.

For brands, this means they can update their own apps with the code reader so that people don’t have to download another app in order to interact with the screens.

Sabogal’s dream is that eventually all billboards work with phones in this way not just those owned by Kinetic. “We want to syndicate this as a standard,” he continued. “This is my invitation to my competitors to use the same method so that the consumer knows that every time they pass a billboard there is something for them.”

Source

USA: Lamar Acquires 5,500+ Clear Channel Outdoor Signs

As reported last week, Lamar Advertising has acquired Clear Channel Outdoor’s out-of-home assets in five midsized U.S. markets for $458.5 million, the outdoor advertising companies revealed Friday.

The transaction covers over 5,500 billboards and posters, including 132 digital displays, in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; Cleveland, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Memphis, Tennessee; and Reno, Nevada. The deal will bring Lamar’s total sign holdings to around 320,000 displays across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, including around 2,000 digital displays, and is forecast to add around $79 million to the company’s total revenues this year.

Lamar CEO Sean Reilly said he hopes to achieve earnings of $44 million a year from these properties in the near future, the previous peak of Clear Channel’s earnings in the same markets. Lamar funded the acquisition with $460 million in short and long-term loans.

Clear Channel is said to be contemplating divesting billboard assets worth up to $400 million in other markets, with possible buyers including Total Outdoor and Reagan Outdoor.

This is the latest in a series of moves to consolidation in the U.S. outdoor advertising business.

Back in 2014, CBS Outdoor, now known as Outfront Media, acquired most of the outdoor advertising assets of Van Wagner Communications for $690 million, creating the country's second-largest outdoor advertising company in terms of billboard assets, after Clear Channel. Also in 2014, Lamar made a number of acquisitions targeting regional outdoor advertising companies, including Marco Outdoor Advertising in New Orleans.

Overseas, CCO was considering the sale of its European assets for as much as $2.5 billion, but put the plan on hold, given the weakening euro. The company then separated its U.S. and international operations, fueling speculation it is planning to convert is domestic operations into a real estate investment trust.

Source

USA: OAAA Celebrates 125 Years of Serving OOH

2016 marks the 125th anniversary of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA). To celebrate, the association is looking back on OOH advertising and the trade organization that has helped drive its success for the last 125 years.

In the beginning, American roadside advertising was generally local. Merchants painted signs or glued posters on walls and fences to notify the passersby that their establishments up the road sold horse blankets, rheumatism pills, and other useful items.

The large format American poster (measuring more than 50 square feet) originated in New York when Jared Bell began printing circus posters in 1835, and in 1850 exterior advertising was first used on street railways.

But, it wasn’t until 1872 that the International Bill Poster’s Association of North America was formed in St. Louis, MO, officially establishing the OOH industry. In 1891, the Associated Bill Poster’s Association of the US and Canada was formed in Chicago, and was later changed to OAAA.

Read the full story here

AUSTRALIA NEWS

New Zealand: oOh!media expands to 30 shopping centres

oOh!media expands to 30 shopping centres across North and South Island oOh!media today announced it has secured further long term contracts with shopping centre owners of key retail locations in New Zealand boosting its offering to a total of 30 centres.

The contracts include new agreements with Tinline Property Group and Talavera Property Group, and the extension of existing agreements with AMP Capital.

oOh!’s New Zealand General Manager, Adam McGregor, said the contract wins would increase the quality and reach of the market-leading retail media solutions available from oOh! to advertisers across New Zealand. “As part of the agreements, we will be installing a mix of static and our state-of-art digital panels including large format EVOKE digital screens in three centres,” Mr McGregor said.

“These latest agreements are a fantastic addition to our world class retail media solution, allowing us to engage with even larger audiences in high-dwell time environments where they are in a receptive, purchase-ready mindset.”

“The agreements not only strengthen our reach in Auckland and Christchurch but extend our reach into the affluent Nelson region. “oOh! clearly delivers the most extensive high quality retail advertising solution in market with unmatched high definition full-motion video capability and interactivity. Our growing network covers the largest retail centres in the country and there’s more to come,” he said.

The shopping centres include:

• Botany Town Centre and Hunters Plaza in Auckland.

• The Palms and Barrington in Christchurch.

• Bayfair in Tauranga.

• Richmond Mall in Nelson

Australia: Esprit Digital Wins New £10M International Contract

Manufacturer of out-of-home digital display screen solutions, has won a £10m contract with the owner of Westfield shopping centers.

Esprit Digital has secured a £10m international contract, creating eight new local jobs, with the support of a significant funding package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. Esprit Digital, the British manufacturer of out-of-home digital display screen solutions, has won a £10m contract with

The Scentre Group, owner of Westfield shopping centers. The deal will see the business manufacture, install and fully maintain a network of 1,380 LCD displays across the retail group’s 37 Australian sites.

Established in 2003 by Peter Livesey, Esprit Digital manufactures high-end digital advertising displays, which are already installed in venues across Europe including London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, the London Underground and Paris Metro. Unique to Esprit Digital, the high-spec screens incorporate the latest advertising technology, such as image flow and synchronization.

Lloyds Bank, under the Export Working Capital Scheme, provided Esprit Digital with a £1.1m trade facility in case of delays in the supply chain triggering delays in stage payments from the customer. Esprit Digital currently employs 15 staff and has existing operations in the UK and America. Following the contract win, Esprit plans to build an office in Australia to provide on-the-ground support, with an additional eight members of staff being taken on there.

Peter Livesey, managing director at Esprit Digital, said, “When we started the business in 2003, we had big international ambitions for the firm. Now, 12 years later, we are exporting to more than 10 countries. Our new deal is the next step in our international expansion goals. The most important thing for us when we approached Lloyds Bank was the confidence that if our sums were slightly out, or we were let down by a key supplier and had to pay performance penalties, our business could still grow. Our relationship team put together a tailored funding package with just that in mind.”

Source

AFRICA NEWS

South Africa: What's new in Prismaflex in South Africa this month?

Already extremely active on the African continent, Prismaflex International has developed an outstanding reputation there for its large and very large displays: trivisions, scrollers and LED screens.

Relying on its strengths, the Prismaflex South Africa subsidiary enjoyed great success at the end of 2015.

Printing

Many advertising campaigns were printed during November. Among them, great names and great achievements:

• Showmax

• Fan a sprite

• Stoney

• KFC

• Standard Bank

• TB campaign

For example, see below the innovative campaign of KFC.

New LED Displays installed!

A network of several P10 18m² has been installed for Insight, a major player of the OOH market.

Naledi elects Prismatronic for its digital communication.

The first P10 12m² LED display was installed in Lesotho.

MIDDLE EAST NEWS

Jordan: Pikasso Jordan is awarded the contract to run the advertising concession in Abdali Mall, Amman

Pikasso Jordan wins the contract to operate the exclusive advertising concession at Abdali Mall, the ultimate iconic shopping center in Amman which is expected to be operational by April 2016.

Abdali Mall is an innovative, design-led mall that incorporates open-air features, and introduces a variety of amenities. Abdali Mall will feature a dining plaza with casual and fine restaurants and cafes in addition to a food court area. The mall will also house a large number of local, regional and international retail brands, a dynamic family entertainment center, 9-screen cinema, and a supermarket. Facilities to enhance the customer experience include a five-level basement designed to access conveniently the parking, which holds for 2,400 cars.

As part of this contract, Pikasso is deploying the latest innovations in Digital Technology by providing the advertisers with ultimate opportunities to engage and create interactivity with their customers through 29 Digital 70” Screens enabling Touchscreen, Beacons and Face Recognition for special creative execution. Pikasso is also deploying a comprehensive communication platform inside the shopping mall with 11 Backlits Scrollers 2m2 Signs and 34 Backlits 2m2 Displays. The 2m2 and 70” Digital Screens are equipped with mTAGs offering NFC and QR Code technologies connecting Out-of-Home to mobile content.

Abdali Mall will be furthermore equipped with two exterior giant LED Screens placed on the mall skin, the first one opposite to the Boulevard, the other one opposite to Nabulsi street.

Abdali Mall Company General Director, Eng. Marwan Abu Hassan, said,

"Abdali Mall Company (AMC) is proud to welcome the partnership between Pikasso and Abdali Mall. We are very pleased with this cooperation. Pikasso will add to the technological elements already installed at the Mall, which we believe would drive more sales & enhance the overall shopping experience at Abdali Mall.”

Antonio Vincenti, Chairman and CEO of Pikasso, said,

“We are delighted to have been awarded this concession that allows us to strengthen even more our leadership of the mall advertising market. Abdali Mall will be our showcase to deploy all the latest Out-of-Home technologies that will offer the state-of-the-art engagement possibilities to the brands and services in Jordan with their customers”.

Pikasso is therefore actively participating to the prestigious shopping and leisure destination in Abdali, Amman’s new downtown.