EUROPE NEWS

UK: 'Media Eyes' billboards track consumers' ages in Birmingham

Giant "smart" outdoor screens, which track the ages of passers-by and select ads based on their profiles, have been unveiled in Birmingham.

Digital outdoor ads specialist Ocean Group has partnered with Network Rail to bring the screens to Birmingham New Street Station.

Known as Media Eyes, the screens will survey passers-by's demographics and select the most appropriate adverts for their current audience. The smart screens can also display community content and emergency information if required.

The deal sees the first major contract win for Ocean Group since last year's acquisition of Signature Outdoor, and its first landmark deal with Network Rail.

The deal was negotiated by Signature Outdoor for Ocean Group. Three LED screens measuring, 30 metres by seven metres, are set to launch at the end of September at the rail, retail and business hub.

The addition of the screens is part of a £200 million investment in the redevelopment of Birmingham's infrastructure.

Tim Bleakley, the chief executive at Ocean Group, said: "This multi-million pound investment is a significant addition to the Ocean portfolio in a prestige transport and retail environment.

"The Media Eyes will allow advertisers to reach premium rail passengers, business and retail audiences in one of the UK’s fastest growing cities."

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UK: Heineken launches new Strongbow Cloudy Apple cider

Heineken unveils a major Giant Poster campaign for its new Strongbow Cloudy Apple cider across the blowUP media UK network.

The campaign, for 'the premium Strongbow take on cloudy cider', is designed to highlight the quality of the brand to today's busy millennials, who are increasingly difficult to reach through other media.

The campaign is live on a total of 15 blowUP media sites in the UK's largest cities, with four sites in London, two each in Birmingham and Manchester, and further sites in Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol and Edinburgh.

All Giant Poster locations dominate drinking hubs and ensure the appropriate audience is targeted.

The blowUP media sites range in size from 107 sqm at Birmingham Broad St to 640 sqm at City Gateway Landscape, and will deliver more than 12.5 million impacts over the campaign period.

The media agency is Starcom MediaVest and Posterscope is the OOH specialist.

Simon Russell, Sales Director of blowUP media UK, comments: "Our comprehensive network of Giant Posters will create maximum impact for the brand among the key millennial audience when they're out with their friends and ready to enjoy a drink or two."

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UK: Obituary - Carl Skinner

The UK OOH industry was shocked and saddened to learn of the untimely death of Carl Skinner last week.

Carl was a larger than life character who had over 30 years experience in OOH, firstly as a buyer with Harrison Salinson (now Posterscope), then with Portland Outdoor (now Kinetic) before moving on to many other roles across the industry, lately in China and Taiwan.

I personally worked with Carl at both Harrison Salinson and Portland and he could infuriate and entertain in equal measure. We butted heads regularly but all who knew him will agree that he was the most enthusiastic and pro-active OOH person they knew.

Carl died suddenly last weekend on a rare trip back to the UK and his funeral and wake will be held in London next week.

He will be missed terribly by his many, many friends in the UK and around the OOH world.

Mark Flys, FEPE International

UK: Live Data Transforms Digital Out-of-Home Screens Into Real-time Marketing Platform

A new DOOH campaign by First TransPennine Express is helping air travelers to make train connections by posting live train times on digital out-of-home screens at Manchester Airport.

First TransPennine Express provides transportation along three main routes across the north of England with more than 330 trains a day stopping in major cities that include Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. The DOOH campaign “Bags of Trains to Loads of Destinations” features colorful brand characters, was developed with Eye Airports, a UK airport advertising specialist, and ADXBA, a digital solutions provider.

First TransPennine’s campaign can be seen on Eye Airports’ light boxes and digital out-of-home advertising network as passengers walk from their flight to baggage claim areas. The campaign reminds travelers that First TransPennine Express is quicker and more cost-effective way to get to and from the airport than using cars or taxis services.

“Taking the train from Manchester Airport is a quick, convenient and relaxing way to complete your journey using our regular and comfortable services to destinations across the North West, Yorkshire and Scotland,” said Caroline Anchor, Head of Marketing at First TransPennine Express.

“We aim to find ways to make travel easier for our customers and we are pleased to do this by providing travelers at Manchester Airport with useful and timely information.” Once at baggage claim, ADXBA’s live data feed enables arriving passengers to view their next train to a wide range of destinations.

The digital out-of-home screens provide passengers with up-to-the-minute information from a UK national rail database. The program has been designed to allow enough time for passengers to walk to the station and catch the next train after collecting their bags. The campaign also prompts passengers to save time by downloading First TransPennine Express’ mobile app to buy tickets and check train times from their mobile device while waiting for their bags.

Full article here

Switzerland: APG|SGA opens bookings for 2016 out-of-home media range with inno-vations in the digital sphere and enhancements to tried-and-tested products

With the start of the new booking period on 5 October 2015 and the publication of the 2016 pocket planner, APG|SGA is introducing numerous innovations, expanded services and a broader range of high-quality analogue and digital advertising media.

2016 will be an exciting year for outdoor advertising as, in addition to lots of tried-and-tested products and services, APG|SGA will be offering advertisers a whole host of new developments and innovations in its product and service range:

Expansion of Shopping ePanels. The network range in shopping centres will be systematically expanded. As well as the existing Shopping ePanels in 12 shopping centres, new products will be added at Pilatusmarkt Kriens, the Rheinpark St. Margrethen shopping centre, Centre Manor Marin and Belair Centre Yverdon-les-Bains.

Digital products at a further 7 stations. The new range from 1 January 2016 will include a total of 43 Rail eBoards, 60 Rail ePanels and 12 Rail Beamers at 20 Swiss stations. The range is being expanded on a huge scale, with the installation of more Rail eBoards at Geneva Airport, Fribourg, Brig, Chur, Olten, Biel/Bienne and Aarau stations. The majority of the new Rail eBoards are located immediately adjacent to SBB's new digital general display boards and will reach a growing audience of commuters and travellers. Four additional Rail Beamers (12 square metres) will be put into operation at Zurich Löwenstrasse station, and two at Berne station.

City ePanels and City eBoards in the heart of Zurich. In the city centre ShopVille-Zurich main station, APG|SGA's customers have a total of 8 City ePanels (80-inch) at their disposal. Starting in the spring of 2016, two new City eBoards (7 square metres) will be installed. The City ePanels and City eBoards will be situated in the best locations to attract passers-by, and are an ideal enhancement to the existing portfolio of digital products at Zurich main station. ShopVille-Zurich main station is open all year round, with approxi-mately 180 shopping and catering outlets.

More discounts. The discount system in the digital sphere has been harmonized. In addition to the annual revenue discount (JURA), digital campaigns in street, station, event and shopping locations will benefit from a digital sliding-scale campaign discount (KSR). For combined KSR campaigns involving analogue and digi-tal products, the discount for digital KSR will be 10 percent higher.

Book your own posters. «posterdirect.ch» brings local and regional advertising messages closer to their target group. The planning and booking tool allows access to more than 60,000 poster sites – quickly, easily and around the clock. The Credit card payment» option will be introduced in the first half of 2016.

Linking up with mobile devices. «Double Impact» is the smart way to link posters and advertising for mo-bile devices. The function now enables target group selection by age and gender in real time. Double Im-pact» displays a MobileAd with an advertising message to smartphone users in the geo-localized environ-ment.

Startower at new locations. At more than 20 carefully-chosen locations throughout Switzerland (13 of them in Zurich) the over 4.5 metre-tall, illuminated Startower F400LT attracts attention with its rotating motion.

All our products in your pocket. APG|SGA has put together everything you need to know about the start of the booking period for 2016 and the innovative Out of Home medium in the handy pocket planner. The com-prehensive, printed planning tool also contains detailed information about analogue and digital ranges under the Airport, Mega Poster, Mountain, Rail and Traffic segment brands. The pocket planner can be download-ed as an ePaper in four languages at www.apgsga.ch/en/pocket-planner

AMERICAS NEWS

USA: The State of Out of Home Advertising, 2015

By Nurlan Urazbaev, Editor-in-Chief, Digital Signage Pulse.

As an industry observer, I have witnessed an explosion of market data testifying to the growth of out of home (OOH) advertising in the past couple of years. To make sense out of all this new information, I have tried to summarize it and put it in perspective in this article.

OOH Defies Traditional Media’s Downward Trend

As most traditional, and lately even online media, are going through a rough patch, OOH advertising keeps gaining strength.

The latest numbers from Kantar Media and Miller Kaplan show US OOH ad revenue growing for the 21st consecutive quarter year-over-year.

Mergers and acquisitions in the sector have reached record volumes. The technology side of the digital out of home (DOOH) business – digital signage – has been expanding at 15-22 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate), rivaled only by mobile marketing tech.

As Media Post reported last week, “Over the last few years, OOH has managed to defy the downward trend affecting other traditional media, thanks in part to the rise of DOOH displays.”

Other reports confirm that gains are driven mainly by digital and mobile-related advertising. This is all the more impressive, considering less than two percent of roadside OOH is digitized to date.

New Data on the Effectiveness of OOH

OOH and DOOH campaigns are increasingly proving their effectiveness either via traditional metrics (panel research) or new, high-tech methodologies (electronic viewer detection and mobile engagement). The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) has compiled a comprehensive collection of research data on the value of OOH.

Full article here

Peru: JCDecaux acquires 70% stake in Eye Catcher Media in Peru

JCDecaux SA  announces its acquisition of 70% of Eye Catcher Media, Peru's leading advertiser in transport and shopping centres.

This acquisition reinforces JCDecaux's presence in Peru, where it won the advertising concession for Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima in December 2014.

Founded in 2006, Eye Catcher Media is a family-owned company that has grown to become Peru's leading advertiser in transport and shopping centres, with over 3,500 advertising panels in the Lima Metro, at 12 airports in the north of the country (Aeropuertos del Perú S.A.) and in Peru's main shopping centres. Through this transaction, JCDecaux is consolidating its status as the number one outdoor advertising company in Latin America and its position in the region's sixth- largest advertising market.

This new platform will enable JCDecaux to accelerate its business development in Peru, where the outdoor advertising market is expected to grow by an average of 4.5% per year over the next three years, according to ZenithOptimedia. The acquisition also gives JCDecaux a strategic profile in Lima, Latin America's fifth-largest city with a population of 9.6 million.

The founding shareholders of Eye Catcher Media, Luiz Felipe Mauger and Miguel Claux, will retain a 30% stake in the company. Luiz Felipe Mauger and Miguel Claux, Eye Catcher Media shareholders, said: “We are very proud that Eye Catcher Media will be joining the number one outdoor advertising company in the world. With its skills and expertise, we can offer our clients very high-quality services, introduce new formats and innovate in both traditional and digital formats. As the undisputed leading advertiser in transport and shopping centres in Peru, we are pleased to join forces with JCDecaux."

Jean-Charles Decaux, Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said:

"The acquisition of 70% of Eye Catcher Media is a key step in our expansion in Peru, and I extend my thanks to our partners for their confidence in us. Thanks to this transaction, JCDecaux, which already has a presence in Lima's airport, will position itself among the most dynamic advertising activities in the country. We are pleased to be able to draw on the skills of Andrea Faria, Eye Catcher Media General Manager, and her team, which will offer new and innovative communication solutions for advertisers and their brands. Together, we will continue our development in this high-growth market and expand JCDecaux's presence in Peru."

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USA: Blue Bite Announces the Launch of esca®, the First All-Encompassing BLE Beacon Solution

Blue Bite announces the launch of esca®, the first all-encompassing BLE beacon solution that leverages a powerful, cloud-based dashboard, innovative dual-mode hardware, and expansive developer resources. Built on nearly a decade of experience in managing mobile touchpoints, Blue Bite's esca platform introduces a new way to deploy, manage, and analyze beacons.

Engineered from the inside out, esca beacons simultaneously broadcast both iBeacon and Eddystone protocols, allowing customers to deploy a single piece of hardware that performs multiple functions. With iBeacon, esca beacons can provide contextual data and push notifications to mobile apps, even while in the background. iBeacon is compatible with both iOS and Android, as well as through Blue Bite's easy-to-use framework, escaKit. With Eddystone, esca beacons extend the Physical Web, a Google initiative for reducing the friction of delivering web-based content to end-users. (The Physical Web made its debut in Google Chrome for iOS in August 2015, allowing millions of end-users to start interacting with the Physical Web).

Accompanying the esca beacon is the esca dashboard which remotely controls beacon hardware via the cloud. Blue Bite's esca dashboard offers a complete end-to-end solution for deploying, managing, and analyzing beacons. All of this is included alongside Blue Bite's proven intelligent insight and analytics on user engagement. By housing management functions in the cloud, customers can do anything from assigning content, to deploying contextual data to applications from anywhere. This makes esca incredibly easy to deploy and does not require any prior bluetooth expertise. For those looking for more customizability, esca supports traditional management over Bluetooth with a connected phone, using Blue Bite's powerful esca management apps written for both iOS and Android.

Managing a fleet of esca beacons is also made easy through the integration of the esca dashboard with Google's Proximity API. This integration allows for anonymous collection of beacon health information by any app running Google's Nearby API, even if the app is not associated with the beacon. All collected information is accessed securely, using the latest authentication methods. This high level of security is mirrored in the beacon hardware as well, through the use of cloud-based passkeys and encryption.

"Esca is the most complete thought on what beacons do and how they should be managed," said Paul Knight, CTO of Blue Bite. "We put great focus towards developing both the beacon hardware and software together to provide a breakthrough experience for customers and end-users alike."

Blue Bite has deployed North America's largest network of mobile touchpoints with NFC and QR across transit shelters, airports, shopping malls, movie theaters, college campuses, taxis, wildpostings, mobile billboards and other venues. It plans to roll out its esca beacons to tens of thousands of venues in the coming months with its existing and new partners.

Blue Bite most recently deployed esca beacons for an out-of-home campaign with a major athletic wear brand for the release of their newest running shoe. The campaign features interactivity through the brand's fitness app as well as Blue Bite's Decode app and Chrome iOS.

"We are excited to add this revolutionary new product to our mobile portfolio," said Mikhail Damiani, Blue Bite's CEO & Co-founder. "While our platform has evolved to support multiple mobile technologies over the past eight years, we have extensive experience with Bluetooth. In fact, the 'Blue Bite' name stems from a play on the word 'Bluetooth.'"

Esca beacons provide unparalleled capability through a combination of a cloud based platform, industry leading functionality of iBeacon and Eddystone support, and best in class battery life – all in a beautifully compact housing.

For more information visit esca.io.

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USA: Kinetic Expands Media Planning Model to Reach Connected Travelers

In a nod to the increasing influence of mobile on the out-of-home marketplace, Kinetic Worldwide has announced a strategic hire at Kinetic Aviator, the company’s travel marketing unit. Janice Tan has been appointed as Global Head of Kinetic’s Aviator to lead the division. Kinetic is evolving the overall strategic direction of Aviator with a greater emphasis on mobile-enabled travelers, and to stay ahead of technology and consumer trends.

Tan joins Kinetic from IPG Mediabrands, where her focus was on building new category futures. She has spent the last 17 years understanding and working the ins and outs of integrated marketing communications. Tan has worked across a variety of full-service, media and creative agencies on brands that include Dell, HP, Microsoft, Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines, Air France, Four Seasons Hotels, Marriott Hotels and LVMH Group; she has led brands and agency teams alike through the transition from analog to digital.

“As experts on consumers on the go, it’s only fitting that we adapt our airport marketing model to extend to the full consumer travel journey,” said Mauricio Sabogal. “Just as the trip doesn’t begin and end at the airport, a brand message should be relevant and useful throughout the entire journey and beyond. With the technology available today and in the future and the data we have, we are able to help brands enhance the travel experience, connecting with consumers as never before. We’re excited to have Janice take the helm at a vital time in the evolution of the company and within the travel industry.”

According to Kinetic, Aviator was formed in 2011 as an airport marketing specialist and quickly expanded into one of the largest networks of its kind. Today, Aviator connects brands with consumers throughout their entire travel journey providing insight into traveler’s behaviors and attitudes, as well as innovative ideas to reach travelers through customized brand experiences. Mobile Devices Help Consumers Research Travel and Make Reservations

“I’m thrilled for this new challenge and already have ideas on how we can build upon our expertise in airport marketing to create a better, more seamless experience throughout the entire travel journey. Consumers are connected at every stage of their journey, giving us an opportunity to leverage our data, insights and technology to deliver a more personalized experience,” said Tan.

Tan will be based in Singapore and will report to Kinetic Global CEO Mauricio Sabogal.

Source

AFRICA NEWS

Nigeria: ‘Harmonise outdoor advertising taxes’

The Lawyers in the Media (LIM) has called on state governments to harmonise the taxes paid by the Out door Advertising Agencies It made the call during the 55th Annual General Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja last week.

LIM Chairman, John Austin Unachukwu, said multiple taxation was harmful to the business of advertising. He praised LIM’s partners, the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OOAN), for their presence at the event. In a communiqué after the conference, the group said:

“The Federal Government cannot lay claim to the doctrine of covering the field in justifying its actions on the FOI as it is neither in the exclusive nor concurrent legislative lists; and as such can be legislated upon by the state and Federal legislature.

On the time for response to requests for information under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, the National Assembly should consider amending the seven-day frame to a more realistic time. The office of the Attorney-General charged with producing guidelines under the FOIA should give attention to monitoring compliance with the Act.

There should be harmonisation of laws on taxation of outdoor advertisement by different agencies and calls were made for the NBA to lead in this campaign. This is so as outdoor advertisement is located within the local government authority so only the local government is entitled to collect those charges."

"The fight against corruption cannot hold sway unless issues of the freedom of information are clearly ventilated.”

At the event were OOAN president Babatunde Adedoyin; former Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) Director-General Prof Epiphany Azinge (SAN), Mr R. N. Godwin, among others.

Source

Nigeria: Chijide: "I Have Taken Outdoor Advertising to a Higher Level"

After two terms of four years each as President of Outdoor Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (OAAN), Mr. Charles Chijide, bowed out in a blaze of glory with mountain of achievements. Chijide, who is also the managing director of Charella Outdoor Advertising Limited, in this interview with Kasie Abone, speaks on his scorecard, the future of outdoor and OAAN’s 30th annual general meeting

It is your last day as president of OAAN. How has it been?

Its been wonderful ! I thank God that we are seeing today, at least the completion and commissioning of this house, a landmark. Again, seeing that this election goes on free and fair. I pray that this executive will carry on from where I stopped because like this building I met it at a stage I completed it and we are moving in, so, let them continue on another giant stride in taking this association to the highest level.

At what stage did you meet the association and where are you leaving it?

I took the association from where it used to be to a higher level and that was my promise during my manifesto night that I have come to take the association to a higher level. And I am happy that I have moved the association from where I met it to a higher level. I must say it was God’s doing.

Could you be more specific what you mean by higher level?

Level of world acceptance. We are now affiliated to the Outdoor Association of America. We are now member of the Global Outdoor Association (FEPE). Now I am the president of West African Outdoor Association. These are the bodies I have taken the association to. It wasn’t really known globally until now that I have showcased them to the world. And every day we get report from the global bodies about our business. Also, I have been able to sign an MoU in training the association at North Dakota University.

Because of the success of this, the Minnesota University president invited me and said that he would want to have a business affiliation with OAAN, training OAAN in any other areas that we may deem fit. But North Dakota University has made it an annual thing that we continue training every year. In fact the next one is going to take place in Boston, Harvard and North Dakota University have discussed with Harvard University so that we have different views about the development of our business.

Next two year, we are going to do another one in Chicago University. Next one we are going to California. Just like that. I have planned it that this development will continue so that we will not stop learning. And if you train the leader you have trained a whole lot. We need to be informed; we need to be educated about modern ways of doing our business.

Also during my time we brought in digital display. And that is why you have LED displays all over. We built structures that light up the black spots so that criminals don’t have anywhere to stay. I must say I am a lucky man because all the achievement that I had made, without God on my side I wouldn’t have been able to do them. I made sure there was cordial relationship with stakeholders; I engaged the state agencies and calmed them down so that to stop the aggressive way of looking at our businesses. And we have continued to reach amicable resolution of issues instead off master-servant relationship that existed before, dishing instructions from their table without understanding our business.

After delivering a paper in IAA in Ghana I met the chairman of Posterscope and we agreed that we would have the normal conference they hold on out-of-home in Europe in Nigeria and she agreed. This year, thank God we have done the first one. And we have agreed that every year, we talk about the values of out-of-home in Nigeria. So, it has been a learning period.

Given the exposure you have given to How has OAAN impacted the industry?

The industry is well informed. Among the sectoral groups, OAAN is the best now. I mean, they know that OAAN has attained a level that they are envious of what is going on because they have never had it so good before. At least APCON can justify that that OAAN has gone to another level in the sectoral group. And the reform that came from APCON we were the first to support that vision. That was why immediately we started, we held a joint stakeholders’ meeting with APCON.

After the forum, we met with government to discuss about high rates and others. This shows that we support the reform to be able to guide and protect our business. Can you throw more light on your comment that OAAN members should dictate the tune of the business by adding value rather than play subservient roles? I mean the state agencies who dictate to them. They don’t do that anymore because they know that we would engage them. And we keep praying that they put the round peg in a round hole because it is when you appoint somebody who doesn’t know what advertising is that he does this draconian way of management, even taking the job of APCON.

Now we engage them; we educate them and tell them how the job should be done. The truth is that once you dialogue you will always get the better side on any issue.

Read the full interview here

Nigeria: Oshodin: Measurability, Consumer Insight Still Challenges in Outdoor Advertising

Managing Director, Posterscope Nigeria, Mr. Dan Oshodin

Redefining the Out-of-Home sub-sector is currently on the front burner of the advertising industry. In this interview with the Managing Director, Posterscope Nigeria, Mr. Dan Oshodin he spoke on the global trend in the industry and the need for practitioners to promote self regulation

Why is Posterscope just entering the Nigerian market. Were the opportunities in the market not compelling before now?

Nigeria is fast becoming a significant market for global clients who are demanding for consistent cutting edge service that compares with the standard Posterscope delivers around the world. That is one reason, but again with the change in the way consumers consume media today, especially when they are out of home, we believe we are at that stage where OOH can be measurable and efficient and be able to deliver the right message at the right time, in the right context, with relevance to the audience just as it is happening with digital media. No other company is better positioned and equipped to help advertisers understand and take advantage of these opportunities than Posterscope.

As a relatively new player in the Nigerian Out-of-Home industry, how has the agency positioned? Can it compete with market leaders?

We are pioneering change in the market. We are the first out of home communication agency in Nigeria. While we may be described as new in Nigeria we bring with us the experience, expertise and insight of Posterscope Worldwide. It is 32 years old, with over 800 specialists in 53 offices located in 32 markets around the globe. Our differentiating factor is that we better understand emerging technology and consumer behavior and how these two combine to create new consumers touch points for advertisers and their brands.

Does membership of the Dentsu Aegis Network confer competitive advantage on it?

Absolutely, it does. This is a network that has presence in five continents and whose values include being agile, pioneering, ambitious, collaborative and responsible. This is a network that was born in the digital age, one that invests heavily in people, systems, tools and integration with a rich portfolio of global clients and work that we can share, learn and apply.

Who are your clients in the Nigerian market? Were their businesses won through pitches or as a result of your affiliation?

We kicked off with clients that are serviced by our network agencies ie Carat and Vizeum and have also added some direct clients won via global pitches which had our local input. Total, the global energy brand is one of them.

What are the challenges facing Out-of-Home agencies in Nigeria and how prepared is the company to surmount these challenges?

Measurability and consumer insight are major challenges. And we are addressing this as a company and in partnership with key industry stakeholders. We are launching OCS soon in Nigeria. OCS is our proprietary OOH consumer insight survey. This is the first time a business will take this kind of initiative to address industry challenge by commissioning a study.

Full interview here

South Africa: Lee Curtis and the future of OOH

Lee Curtis was recently appointed as the new GM for Posterscope South Africa, a division of Dentsu Aegis Network.

Media Update recently caught up with him to talk about his expectations, his views on the local OOH industry and his future plans for Posterscope.

What are your thoughts on joining Posterscope?

Moving across to the agency side was something I started thinking of approximately a year ago and this was driven by a need to achieve a more holistic understanding of not just OOH but of the media industry as a whole. My years of experience in the OOH industry, as well as the opportunity of career growth made Posterscope a natural choice.

Why do you think you are right for this position?

With over 13 years experience in the OOH industry, Posterscope is a good fit for me. My last six years were spent with Primall, my knowledge of the shopping mall environment and media within this space allows me to bring a new dimension to the business. Also, my time on the media owner side was spent predominantly in the area of sales so this will aid me greatly in driving new business for which I will also be responsible.

What will your role at Posterscope entail?

I am responsible for the day-to-day management of the business, the management of the relationships of our teams with our partner agencies as well as focus on new business acquisition.

Do you have any expectations going in?

Being exposed to the dynamics of a global media agency Group and best practice international thinking and getting to understand what systems are in place and how the various Group companies work with each other is very exciting for me.

Full article here

AUSTRALIA NEWS

Australia: August a winner for Out-of-Home

The Out-of-Home industry today reported its eighth straight month of YoY growth, with net revenue of $51.2 million for the month of August, an increase of 5.5% from the same month last year, which posted a net revenue of $48.6 million.*

Year-to-date revenue has increased by 15.8%, tracking at $402.1 million, up from $347.2 million* for the same time last year. Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) year-to-date makes up 24.1% of total revenue, up from 15.8% of total revenue for the same period last year. The OOH industry finished 2014 on a record high of $602 million, a 10% increase from 2013.

Category figures August 2015:

• Roadside Billboards (over and under 25 square metres) $17.8 million

• Roadside Other (street furniture, taxis, bus/tram externals, small format) $15.6million

• Transport (including airports) $9.6 million

• Retail, Lifestyle and Other^ $8.3 million

* The figures have been adjusted for 2014 revenue to reflect changes within categories, allowing direct comparisons in revenue year-on-year.

^This rapidly growing category reports shopping centre panels as well as all place-based digital inventory including office media – covering inventory in lifts and office buildings, café panels and the inventory of the OMA’s newest member Media Health Tonic which includes digital screens in doctors surgeries and medical centres.

ASIA NEWS

India: AAAI and IOAA join hands to channel OOH advertising growth

The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA) have signed an agreement to better regulate OOH advertising in India.

The agreement was signed between AAAI president Dr MG Parameswaran and IOAA chairman N D Mehta, on 28 August in Mumbai. The agreement, Dr Parameswaran informed, will allow the outdoor advertising industry in India to grow 'in an organised and regulated fashion, to ensure that proper systems and processes are followed and timelines adhered to, as well as commitments honoured on both sides.'

The focus will be on regulating and disciplining advertiser behaviour in matters concerning outdoor trade, agency remuneration, corporate governance and adherence to payment deadlines, informed a joint statement. As part of the agreement, it is envisaged that the advertiser will not be allowed to shift their business to another agency until dues of the earlier agency are fully settled.

Mehta mentioned that IOAA on its part has also embarked on 'an ambitious project' to conduct viewership studies on OOH, initially in major cities.

'Further, it will ensure 100 percent listing of all sites with unique ID number in a scientific manner for the benefit of all concerned', the statement added.

The Indian OOH industry was estimated to be at Rs 22 billion in 2014, and expected to touch Rs 29.6 billion in 2017/2018 (FICCI KPMG Report).

Source

Pakistan: First country-wide OOH audience measurement tool launched in Pakistan

The first nationwide audience rating and planning tool for outdoor (OOH) media in Pakistan has been officially launched at a meeting held by Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS).

Pakistan becomes the fourth country in the world to have implemented this system. A brainchild of PAS, the initiative aims to establish a reliable and credible audience measurement and rating system for OOH media.

Used as a currency, it can help advertisers optimise their spend and measure the return on their investments. The project was overseen by a joint industry committee, the 'Outdoor Audience Measurement Technical Committee' (OAMTC) and awarded to MOVE consortium in July 2014.

After almost a year of field work and extensive research exercise, MOVE is now set to release data for 7,000 outdoor panels located across four cities: Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Qamar Abbas, Executive Director, PAS, believes that advertisers and their media agencies now have a unique opportunity to rapidly move to a new level in planning and buying of OOH, which is not only credible and reliable, but also scientific in its approach.

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