EUROPE NEWS

UK: Clear Channel hires Microsoft's Damon Westbury to lead international sales

Outdoor media owner Clear Channel Outdoor has appointed former Microsoft marketer Damon Westbury as its international sales director.

Reporting to the chief sales officer, Stefan Lameire, Westbury will be responsible for building relationships and strategic partnerships with media agencies, advertisers and others in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

This is the second major appointment in a matter of weeks for Clear Channel, who appointed ITV's director of commercial marketing Sarah Speake to be its UK chief marketing officer in January.

Westbury spent eight years at Microsoft, where he initially led FMCG advertising sales from 2006, rising to head of industry sales and then the post of global agency and accounts director from 2009.

He was previously a client sales director at Handbag.com from 2003 to 2006. Early in his career Westbury was the head of sponsorship sales at Carlton Interactive and the head of client sales at Fox Kids Europe.

Westbury said: "With CCO’s significant international scale and a fast growing, premium and innovative digital portfolio, I look forward to building on our relationships and partnerships with the world’s leading advertisers, media agencies and OOH specialists."

Roddick took the post of chief revenue officer at Clear Channel's Australian outdoor joint venture business Adshel.

Lameire said Westbury's "huge cross-media experience and industry knowledge mean that he will be able to credibly articulate the powerful potential of out-of-home – particularly in its ability to reach the mobile consumer".

The Clear Channel Outdoor Planning Awards are open for entries until Friday, with £30,000 of free ad space for clients up for grabs and £1,000 to take home for winners.

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UK: FEPE 56th Annual Congress in Budapest: Early Bird bookings are open until end of February

Bookings are now fully underway for the 56th FEPE Congress, titled "Your Audience is Waiting", which will be held between Wednesday June 10th and Friday June 12th at the Intercontinental Hotel, Budapest.

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

Last year's congress in Vienna was FEPE's best yet, with over 300 delegates attending from 31 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.

We have also decided to lower the price for exhibition spaces this year, to offer best value to our industry suppliers.

The Thursday night Gala Dinner, in keeping with the FEPE tradition of finding special locations, will be at the Buda Castle, (see photo) one of Budapest's foremost buildings, and the Friday night social evening will be at a dinner cruise down the river Danube, taking in all the sights of Budapest for 3 hours.

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 are now 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.

You can register by following the link on the FEPE homepage and FEPE members all receive an additional €500 discount so if you are considering attending with colleagues and are not a member, please get in touch so we can organise the most cost effective package for you.

Speakers and other details will be announced in future newsletters.

Europe: Clear Channel Outdoor Hits Pause On European Assets Sale

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings is taking its European outdoor advertising business off the auction block, at least temporarily, due to the weakening euro. The news report didn’t indicate when the assets might go up for sale again, although it is presumably contingent on a stronger euro. The news was first reported by Reuters, which cited a number of unnamed sources familiar with the process.

CCO parent company iHeartMedia was looking to sell its European division for over $2.5 billion, but the prospects for a deal dwindled as the value of the assets, denominated in euros, have declined in dollar terms. The euro has steadily declined in value over the last year, from around $1.39 in May 2014 to just $1.13 today — its weakest showing in 11 years. Over a quarter of this decline came in the last month alone.

There is a good chance of further drops amid mounting anxiety over a potential Greek exit from the euro, as well as stalling economic growth in core Euro zone countries, including Germany and France.

Recent moves by the European Central Bank to begin quantitative easing — i.e., buying bonds with newly created money — is adding more downward pressure on the currency.

Last year, JCDecaux was said to be interested in acquiring Clear Channel’s European assets, but so far nothing has come of this potential consolidation play. During JCDecaux’s most recent earnings announcement, the company’s chairman and co-CEO Jean-Charles Decaux blamed a decline in European billboard revenues on the “lack of consolidation in most European markets,” suggesting JCDecaux may still be in the market for Clear Channel’s European assets whenever they come back on the auction block.

Back in 2013, JCDecaux made a bid for CBS Outdoor’s international properties, but later dropped out when CBS refused to break up the assets for separate sales, which JCDecaux demanded in order to avoid regulatory issues.

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UK: Brands and agencies thrash out how to break down barriers in DOOH and unlock the value of ‘right-time’ data-informed creativity

Investment is flowing into the digital out-of-home (DOOH) space, with more than £75m expected to be invested in the infrastructure this year, yet it’s clear there are some major barriers to overcome if it’s to receive the place it deserves on the media plan.

Confusion over the term ‘real-time’, conflict between creative and media buying agencies, lack of a DOOH-dedicated trade body, and the outdated method of buying, were among the issues tackled by agencies and brands at a recent roundtable debate hosted by Posterscope.

A broad spectrum of agencies, brands, outdoor media owners, and specialist start-ups gathered in London to thrash out what the remaining barriers are to take-up and how the industry must collaborate to unlock the real value of dynamic DOOH.

British Gas' Hive, 20th Century Fox, Denstu Aegis Network, Starcom Mediavest, M&C Saatchi, Microsoft, AOL, Liveposter, Ocean Outdoor, and Clear Channel were among those participating in the debate.

Movie studio 20th Century Fox is the fifth biggest OOH spender in the UK, and dedicates 40 per cent of its total budget to digital marketing. However, one of its biggest frustrations is the lack of flexibility around how to buy outdoor media, with the process still centring firmly on the traditional block buy, according to its marketing director Chris Green.

Full article here

UK: Capital launches live London OOH music feed

Capital is streaming tracks played on the breakfast, mid-morning and drivetime shows on digital Outdoor Plus billboards, to persuade commuters and workers to switch over to the station.

The ads give real-time updates on every song played by the radio station to 14 Outdoor Plus sites throughout the capital, including the Euston Road Underpass and Vauxhall Cross.

Live feeds will track songs played during the Capital Breakfast Show with Dave Berry and Lisa Snowdon, mid-mornings with Pandora and Drivetime with Greg Burns.

These are the busiest times on London's roads, with the highest dwell times.

Max Buckland, the head of marketing for Capital, said:

"Capital’s traffic and travel data supports our view that Outdoor Plus has the best coverage across the busiest traffic hotspots in London. "Capital plays the biggest and best hits, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and with this campaign we can ensure commuters don’t miss out on their favourite music."

The song information is relayed from Capital to the Outdoor Plus screens via CrowdScreen.

Jonathan Lewis, the managing director of Outdoor Plus, said: "Our digital offering is the most advanced in the market. "This innovative campaign from Capital is a showcase for how brands can use digital out of home in a clever way to create truly engaging advertising."

The campaign was booked and developed directly by Capital with Outdoor Plus.

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UK: Here’s looking at you, ad

Route, the audience measurement currency for out of home, has made a sound start since launching in 2013. So what are we learning? James Whitmore explains.

Video on the hoof; a quantitative conundrum if ever there was one. Whether it's YouTube, on-demand and catch-up video on mobile devices, pub TV or any other manifestation of the moving image consumed when away from hearth and home; measurement of the viewing audience has long been a thorny matter.

It's a hot topic. As yet there is no specific independent measure for mobile video in the UK. There are some independent voices such as BARB with project Dovetail. A barrage of data comes from proprietary sources such as the mobile phone companies and the owners of the delivery platforms.

In the US, comScore has just announced its intention to measure video on mobile devices. In a similar sphere, recently a consortium of European media owners announced it is to embark on a quest to produce the "first audience measurement system for digital out-of-home".

Part of the idea behind Route's conception way back in 2008, was that we should be able to provide audience metrics for advertisements that appear on digital signage. We are talking about anything that is present in a public space. Measuring people whether they are driving cars, waiting at stations, shopping in malls, dashing for a plane or any other form of human activity that is undertaken when out and about is the brief that we were given.

In essence, the answer to the question is that you must understand the direction that people are travelling and their speed. You can then calculate the time that a digital frame is in view. Eye-tracking studies will tell you the probability of seeing a digital screen. If you then input the characteristics of the advertising loop and the advertiser's share of time - voila, you have an audience.

For Route, the aspect of "viewability" is dealt with from first principles - we call it "realistic opportunity to see" or ROTS. An opportunity to see might conceivably be afforded to anyone who passes in the vicinity of a poster.

The definition of ROTS requires that the subject be travelling towards or past the poster frame and that the ad is both within the field of vision of the viewer (a 120° cone) and that he or she is within the visibility area of the poster (which varies depending on the size and angle of the frame). When the two conditions are met, i.e. it is both visible and viewable, we may be confident that there is a realistic chance that the advertisement will be seen.

The actual probability that an advertising impact has occurred is subject to a further layer of proof. Eye-tracking research is used to convert "realistic opportunities" to "likelihoods" of seeing. It is the likelihood of seeing that is the definition of an impact for out-of-home media.

Route's GPS travel survey and traffic models tell us how many, and what type of, people pass a site. They also state the directions of travel in relation to the poster, the speed of approach, the distance that is travelled when the frame is in view and thus the total exposure time to the object in question.

Full article here

AMERICAS NEWS

USA: Titan and Metro Transit Renew Partnership

After a competitive process, Titan, the country's leading Transportation Sales company focused on providing innovative programs for municipalities and transit agencies, has been awarded a new five-year contract with two additional one-year options for the exclusive rights to transit advertising on behalf of Metro Transit. Titan has worked with Metro Transit for the past seven years.

As part of the new contract, which will commence on March 1, 2015, Titan will manage interior and exterior advertising on Metro Transit buses, trains, shelters, light rail platform kiosks and other properties, generating a minimum of $23,450,000 in revenue for Metro Transit over the initial five-year term. In addition, digital platform and shelter displays have already been explored, which will enable advertisers and brands to disseminate more dynamic content to the millions who ride Metro Transit each year.

Metro Transit, an operating division of the Metropolitan Council, is the transportation resource for the Twin Cities, offering an integrated network of buses, light rail and commuter trains, as well as resources for those who carpool, vanpool, walk or bike. It added a light rail line between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul in mid-2014 and is developing enhanced transit ways throughout the region. More than 289,000 people ride Metro Transit on a weekly basis.

"Titan and Metro Transit have a longstanding relationship working together to provide innovative media products and advertising opportunities to businesses that want to target the millions of people who ride Metro Transit each year," said Marcus Bolton, General Manager of Titan's Minneapolis region. "We look forward to building upon our past successes and incorporating more digital solutions to provide Metro Transit riders with more engaging brand experiences."

"Titan has been a great partner for the past seven years, and we look forward to continuing the relationship," said Bruce Howard, Director of Customer Services and Marketing for Metro Transit. "When reevaluating our needs, we looked for a partner that had a long history of working with transit authorities all around the country and that was integrating new technologies to ensure that both riders and brands find value in Metro Transit media. Titan emerged as the clear leader."

Titan was also recently awarded a new 20-year contract for the exclusive rights to design, install, maintain and sell advertising on 600 modern bus shelters in Philadelphia on behalf of the City Council. As part of the project, Titan will build 282 new bus shelters and replace 318 outdated bus shelters, a testament to their long-standing relationships with municipalities across the nation.

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Brazil: JCDecaux wins the advertising concession at the Rio de Janeiro International Airport

JCDecaux announced recently that, following a tender process, it has won an exclusive 10-year contract for the installation and operation of advertising solutions at the RIOgaleão – Tom Jobim International Airport.

From 1 March 2015, JCDecaux will participate in the airport's aesthetic and commercial transformation through the installation of innovative and effective advertising solutions. With just 16 months to go until the opening of the 2016 Summer Olympics, JCDecaux has the objectives of making RIOgaleão a premium international airport and offering a major communication platform for advertisers. JCDecaux's media offering for RIOgaleão will include cutting edge indoor and outdoor digital and traditional advertising displays, and a range of services to enhance the passenger's experience.

As the country's largest airport in terms of surface area (18sq. km - 7sq. miles) and second-largest in terms of international traffic (with a total of 17 million passengers in 2013), RIOgaleão, the only airport in Brazil approved to facilitate the A-380, is a high- profile airport infrastructure for the country. The airport was privatised in 2013 and, since August 2014, has been managed by a consortium comprising Excelente B.V, which manages Singapore Changi Airport, considered a benchmark in airport operation worldwide, Odebrecht TransPort, one of the largest companies in Latin America, and Infraero, which administers more than 60 airports throughout Brazil.

RIOgaleão selected JCDecaux's expertise to help position it as a global airport and achieve its significant commercial objectives. Alongside this, in the recent weeks, JCDecaux has won its first airport contract in Brazil and its second contract with one of Latin America's tenth largest airports.

Sandro Fernandes, Chief Commercial Officer at the Rio De Janeiro Galeão International Airport, said:

"We are very pleased to have selected a partner that is recognised worldwide for its commitment to high-quality and innovative airport advertising. As successfully demonstrated across seven out of ten of the world's largest airport hubs, JCDecaux will be an important ally for RIOgaleão in achieving our ambitious commercial objectives and becoming a benchmark in Latin America both in terms of communication for advertisers and passenger services.

This partnership takes us closer to achieving excellence in our passenger services, as shown by the new catering, retail and duty-free options and our new visual identity, which all contribute to enhancing the passenger experience in our airport."

Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said:

"We are particularly proud to be selected as the exclusive advertising partner for the RIOgaleão Airport, which is managed by a team of top airport professionals who are dedicated to meeting the challenges of hosting visitors and supporters from across the globe during the 2016 Summer Olympics. JCDecaux is delighted to assist the airport with this phase of significant growth in passenger traffic and commercial transformation, and aims to bring RIOgaleão all of our innovation and operational excellence, to ensure that the airport is a showcase for our expertise in Brazil.

This contract comes just a few weeks after we won the advertising concession at Lima airport in Peru, and once again demonstrates the trust placed in us by our partners to transform airport environments through innovative and premium outdoor advertising solutions.”

AFRICA NEWS

Nigeria: The Lagos Poster War

When, about a fortnight ago, a national newspaper reported the arrest of the head of an environmental protection agency somewhere in the South-Eastern part of the country by men of the Nigeria Police over the defacement of campaign posters of President Goodluck Jonathan, the embarrassing development appeared more like a fluke; a mistake by some overzealous policemen who were anxious to protect the interest of their “principal”, and ensure that his posters and other campaign materials are not tampered with in that part of the country.

However, subsequent developments in other parts of the country have since shown that the arrest of the environmental agency boss was not a one-off affair. Neither was it just a bid to ensure that the president’s campaign materials were not defaced or removed by opposition elements anywhere in the country.

Instead, what is becoming apparent is the attempt by some leading politicians and political parties to keep the outdoor, broadcast and social media campaign materials of candidates of their own parties very much in the public eye, while stifling the access of candidates of other parties to the same platforms.

It is in this regard that one must situate the ongoing war between the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) and the Federal Government on the matter of placement of posters in public places in Lagos. Also, the recent stoppage of the campaign texts of the leading opposition party by the communications regulatory agency, for which the party has said it would go to court.

Considering the desperation in political circles in the build up to the 2015 polls that are just about ten days away, it is understandable that politicians and political parties would want to pull out every trick in the box to gain advantage over their competitors. However, the ongoing altercation between LASAA and the Federal Government on the pasting of campaign posters, which is now widely known as “the poster war”, calls for the intervention of well meaning Nigerians to ensure that reason prevails. The rift between the two parties over outdoor advertising in Lagos, indeed, leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

First, the facts of the matter. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos alleged that LASAA was instigating the removal of its campaign posters from public places in Lagos State. Its spokesmen threatened to also remove APC posters from public places in an even greater dimension in the state. The Lagos Police boss followed it up with a threat to clamp down on anyone found engaging in the illegal pulling down of campaign posters in the state.

The Federal Government later joined the fray when the Federal Ministry of Works communicated to the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), its termination of its approvals for outdoor advertising sites for members of the organisation in Lagos, specifically, those on federal roads and their setbacks.

This directive is apparently an attempts b the federal authorities to keep posters of the ruling party in Lagos State, the APC, from important sites such as federal highways, while crying wolf over the removal of the posters of PDP candidates from unauthorised places such as street lamp poles in the tate.

Full story here

AUSTRALIA NEWS

Australia: Outdoor shines in summer

The Out-of-Home (OOH) industry today reported revenue of $42.7 million for the month of January, an increase of 15.9% from the same month last year.

The OOH industry finished 2014 on a record high of $602 million, a 10% increase from 2013.

Category figures January 2015:

• Roadside Billboards (over and under 25 square metres) $17.9 million

• Roadside Other (street furniture, taxis, bus/tram externals, small format) $12.4 million

• Transport (including airports) $7.8 million

• Retail $4.6 million

New Zealand: More Growth for Out-of-Home in 2014

The Outdoor Media Association of NZ (OMANZ) today announced a Q4 revenue total of $19,679,035, showing a year on year increase of 5.5% over the same period in 2013. The figure brings the year-end total revenue for 2014 to $71,236,380, which is 7.2% higher than the total for 2013.

OMANZ GM, Adam McGregor said, “2014 was very much a year of two halves with modest revenue increases in Q1 and Q2 making the half year position +1.5% year on year. Then Q3 showed some very impressive growth and a real buzz in the sector with revenue increasing by 21% over 2013. Now with the release of Q4 data we see a very impressive year-end position, particularly following the 13% growth delivered by OMANZ members in 2013. We’ve now seen 2-years of consistent growth in our sector, which bodes well for us achieving our aim to increase our market share to 5%.

According to Neilsen data the most notable increases in OOH spend in 2014 have come from advertisers within the telco industry, council and government agencies, grocery, breweries and media. In each case the increases have been in both revenue and share of spend. The picture across the top 20 advertisers is also encouraging, showing an aggregated 27% increase in revenue over 2013.

It’s a very exciting time for the Out of Home industry at the moment, OMANZ member operators continue to invest in a number of initiatives to improve our sector offering to advertisers. In 2014 we’ve seen new digital displays, research initiatives and developments in measurement and accountability and there’s more to come.”

Australia: oOh! Launches Brisbane's Biggest and Smartest Digital Billboard

The 2,045-square-foot digital billboard is the first of oOh!'s Signature Collection, a network of premium digital signs at famous locations.

Outdoor advertising has reached new heights in Brisbane's CBD with the launch of Queensland's biggest and smartest digital billboard on the iconic Story Bridge, according to oOh! Media.

The massive 190-square-meter (2,045 square feet) digital billboard currently displays good luck messages to the Socceroos as well as weather and day-parting messages, including an AM message of "Good morning Brisbane" before changing to "Good Afternoon Brisbane, Drive Safely" in the afternoon.

CBUS, Echo Entertainment – Moonlighting, and the Liberal and National Party are among the first to advertise on the new billboard, which will deliver a cumulative audience reach of almost 2.5 million contacts each month.

The billboard is the first of oOh!'s national Signature Collection, a network of premium high-end digitized billboards at famous locations. Other locations for the Signature Collection will include Adelaide's King William Street/Rundle Mall, Melbourne's Bourke Street and the Mitchell Freeway in Perth.

Brendon Cook, chief executive officer of North Sydney, Australia-based oOh!, said the out-of-home (OOH) sector has evolved into a unique platform where the delivery of the creative is complemented by the spectacular visuals created by digital technology on big screens.

"Through digital billboards and their capabilities, we're creating innovative solutions for advertisers that add to the strength of traditional static big billboards while utilizing the suite of capabilities that digital out-of-home now offers to build stronger engagement with Australians," he said.

"While OOH once had fixed posting cycles, we are now able to give advertisers a dynamic and flexible solution that takes advantage of OOH's ability to simultaneously reach a range of audiences across multiple environments and communities," he added.

Cook said that it's up to companies like oOh! to educate brands on the sophistication of 'new media' offerings in the OOH environments. "A great example of this is our recent Porsche campaign that pioneered car recognition with tailored dynamic ad serving where oOh! provided a solution to help create a unique customer experience for the brand," he said.

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MIDDLE EAST NEWS

UAE: Five Minutes With.. Georges Chehwane, Founder & Chairman, Plus Holding

Georges Chehwane, founder and chairman of Plus Holding, gives his insights into the UAE's outdoor advertising market and Group Plus Media's expansion plans.

How has the outdoor advertising market fared in the UAE over the last year?

2014 witnessed a remarkable increase in the advertising industry (especially outdoor and digital media). And with Expo 2020 in hand, a lot of brands are building their long term strategy, hence building up their exposure in the country.

Which type of companies are opting for outdoor advertising?

2014 is the comeback of the real estate and FMCG sector in the outdoor advertising market. There was a shifting from TV to Outdoor for FMCG (mainly Nivea, Uniliver, L’Oreal, etc) and while the real estate sector had disappeared for a while, its aggressive comeback on the outdoor scene is nothing but an indicator that the outdoor medium is a strong advertising tool and that the real estate sector is back on its feet again.The RTA submitted several outdoor tenders in 2014 which again proves the efficiency of the outdoor medium in a cosmopolitan city like Dubai, where you can use this medium to reach a large percentage of traffic.

The advertising industry is coming back fast and expanding in different ways, from street furniture to big scaffolding, 3D structures, digital screens and so on. Lots of opportunities and new ideas are being developed especially in the outdoor advertising sector to meet with client’s expectations and give them several methods to think outside of the box and be creative in their ads.

What are some of the best advertising methods for reaching a business audience?

In a city like Dubai, the target audience is varying with different nationalities and different languages. These different targets often watch different TV channels and read different newspapers; but they definitely all use the same road when going to work! When we say UAE, and precisely Dubai, top of our mind is the traffic. Thousands of cars pass by daily on the famous intersections and on major roads that our outdoor media cover such as Sheikh Zayed and Jebel Ali.

This is the most effective way to reach out to these clients who spend most of their time in their cars. Using our outdoor mediums from lampposts to 3D scaffolding and LED screens, we are setting them on the right track: this is the place to do more than just advertise, this is where they can create a dialogue and not a monologue and involve their audience by creating challenges; using intrigue, humour and being different.

Full article here