FEPE Out of Home News 1st October 2015

FEPE Out of Home News 1st October 2015

 

EUROPE NEWS

Belgium: Swiss Agency Rod Kommunikation wins FEPE International Best use of Out of Home Award at EACA Euro Effie Awards 2015

A special FEPE International Award for the Best use of Out of Home was presented to Swiss agency Rod Kommunikation and the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health for their “LOVE LIFE – no regrets” campaign.

FEPE International Executive Director, John Ellery, presented the award during the Euro Effie Awards Gala in Brussels’ Cercle de Lorraine business club on Tuesday.

The Award recognised their exceptional use of Out of Home as part of an integrated multimedia campaign to raise awareness of HIV and safer sex.

The Out of Home executions were displayed around the country making the campaign the most talked about in Switzerland and Lichtenstein in 2014.

In only a few weeks the campaign became the number one topic in regional media and was also discussed in other countries. After three months the campaign generated publicity worth 5.2 million Swiss Francs from a budget of only 730,000.

80% of the target group became aware of the campaign and its message.

The website received over 300,000 hits and the commercial was viewed over one million times. More than 150,000 people said yes to the love life manifesto - HIV is back on the agenda in Switzerland and Lichtenstein.

FEPE International General Secretary, Mark Flys, said: “This campaign is an outstanding example of how great creativity and skilful use of the Out of Home medium can combine to reach people and change behaviour.

We hear much these days about how advertising can be a force for good in the world and the LOVE LIFE campaign absolutely exemplifies that. FEPE International is proud to be associated with such a compelling and effective Out of Home campaign.”

The Euro Effies Awards are produced in partnership with Euronews and supported by the European Publishers’ Council, FEPE, Procter & Gamble, AdForum, WARC, Viva Xpress Logistics, Nielsen, Bacardi-Martini and creativebrief.

UK: Kinetic Worldwide introduces programmatic OOH service for UK and US

Kinetic Worldwide plans to launch a programmatic offering for both static and digital OOH assets in first-quarter 2016. Kinetic states it aims to offer “greater efficiency, more precise audience targeting and enhanced real-time optimization opportunities."

The variety of non-digital media assets in OOH makes it more difficult to implement programmatic buying but Kinetic believes they can take on this challenge.

Paula Fernandez, Kinetic’s global head of data, tools and research, said innovation cannot be limited to digital when most OOH assets around the world are currently static.

“That’s why we are implementing a variety of automation methods, so we can make buying the entire assortment of formats out of home media offers more efficient and effective,” she said.

Kinetic is working with outdoor media partners worldwide to guarantee full buy-in from all relevant industry stakeholders.

“By automating the transactional part of media buying, we enable our team to focus on what can never be automated: high-level strategy, creativity and client service,” said Mauricio Sabogal, Kinetic’s Global CEO.

Separately, Kinetic just launched Kinetic Future, a new division offering media, creative and strategy to sustainability-focused clients. This division will advance sustainability in four key areas: social responsibility, the environment, professional development and company culture.

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UK: Mexico Tourism Board Turns St Pancras into Exotic Paradise

The Mexico Tourism Board has taken over the Immersion Zone at St Pancras International Station as part of a major tourism push.

Planned and booked with JCDecaux Direct Sales and Creative Solutions team, the campaign will last for four weeks, transforming the high-footfall St Pancras Immersion Zone into an exotic paradise for passengers.

Vinyl wraps covering the walls display some of the beautiful scenery that Mexico holds, while the creative on the floor has transformed the walkway into a lake.

Digital 6-sheets are playing several creatives, featuring different vacation stories which show off the country’s beauty hot-spots such as waterfalls, beaches, ancient heritage sites and exciting nightlife.

Ambiance sounds are also being played in combination with the visuals to enhance the fully immersive experience.

In addition to this, thousands of stunning model butterflies have been attached to the walls, which travellers can pull off and take away with them.

Steven Dennison, Head of Creative Solutions, JCDecaux UK, said: “The St Pancras Immersion Zone is perfect for this campaign. It creates a fun and immersive experience for passengers and brings a little bit of Mexico to the heart of London.”

Eduardo Regules, Public Relations Executive Coordinator; Emmanuel Rey, Marketing Director, Mexico Tourism Board and Ceci Garnica, Creative Director, MSL PR Agency, said: “The Immersion Zone in this iconic station in London is part of an exciting campaign targeting the British public and tourists visiting London. The Live It To Believe It campaign showcases the diversity and richness of several destinations within Mexico and is part of the celebrations of 2015: The Year of Mexico in the UK”.

UK: UK's first 'smart Wi-Fi pavement' to be installed in Chesham

Chesham high street will be the first in the UK to get its own smart Wi-Fi pavement, providing download speeds of up to 166Mbps

The UK's first "smart Wi-Fi pavement" is to be installed in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, providing over 21,000 residents, businesses and visitors with free superfast public Wi-Fi from under their feet.

The smart pavement will cover Chesham’s high street and parts of Lowndes Park, according to Virgin Media, which is installing the network, and will provide download speeds of up to 166Mbps – seven times the average UK broadband speed.

Local people will reportedly be able to download an episode of Coronation Street, Strictly Come Dancing or Gogglebox at the bus stop with a download speed of less than 35 seconds, assuming a file size of 634Mb.

The network is provided by Wi-Fi access points concealed under manhole covers in the pavement, as well as other "street furniture" such as lamp posts. The manhole covers are made from a specially developed resin that allows radio signals to pass through it.

This allows users to pick up ultrafast Wi-Fi at distances of up to 80m from Virgin Media’s high street cabinets, according to Virgin Media. Users will be able to connect to the network by selecting “Virgin Media Wi-Fi” within the Wi-Fi settings on their device. Virgin Media mobile customers with an Android device will also be able access it through the Virgin Media Wi-Fi Buddy app.

"Not only is this the first time we’ve built metropolitan Wi-Fi directly from our street cabinets, it is also the UK’s first deployment of a Wi-Fi connected pavement. It is literally public Wi-Fi under your feet," said Gregor McNeil, managing director of consumer at Virgin Media. "We want to build more networks like this across the UK and encourage more forward thinking councils just like Chesham to get in touch.”

Virgin Media said it chose to work with Chiltern District Council, and Chesham in particular, as the local authority is actively engaged with the local people in trying to find ways to enhance the area for both residents and businesses. Chesham is demographically representative of the UK population as a whole and is of a size that allows a quick deployment of services across the whole town, rather than specific locations.

In addition, there is a significant presence of independent businesses in the town centre that allow for local-level discussions when piloting new ideas and technology.

Full story here

Estonia: Estonian Health Minister proposes curb on alcohol advertising and Happy Hour ban

Estonia's Minister of Health and Labour, Jevgeni Ossinovski, has decided to substantially curb alcohol advertising and is seeking opinions on a bill that would ban audio and video alcohol commercials, allowing only a static image to be shown.

The bill would also call for the restriction of “happy hour” in establishments where alcohol is served. "We know from statistics and research that consumption of alcohol can be reduced by raising the price and restricting advertising and accessibility,” said Ossinovski.

“Different measures including increasing the excise duty on alcohol have been used, but alcohol consumption in Estonia has practically not declined from 2009 to the present day.” "Consequently, previous measures have not been sufficient. Therefore we have decided to significantly step up restrictions on both alcohol advertising and accessibility of alcoholic drinks.” Under the bill, only black-and-white static images would be allowed in TV and internet commercials.

Only product information and a health warning could be read out without any musical accompaniment.

Outdoor advertising of alcohol would also be banned.

The minister further proposed to ban the sale of alcohol at gas stations from 2017 and happy hour at restaurants and bars. The requirement for sales personnel to establish the age of alcohol buyers is to be toughened.

The amendment would also introduce the possibility of purchases for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the ban on selling alcohol to underage individuals and for identifying the sale of illegal alcohol.

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UK: OmniServ, Wildstone Airports and Heathrow in global media first by offering immersive brand advertising on inter-terminal buses

The new offering will give brands the opportunity to reach a captive audience in an immersive, never seen before, media environment

OmniServ, a subsidiary of ABM and the UK’s leading airport service contractor, has developed a new partnership with London Heathrow Airport and Wildstone Airports to start selling media across its inter-terminal bus fleet, offering brands an untapped opportunity to engage with a captive audience.

The first-of-its-kind offering will enable brands to completely immerse into the environment and create an impactful presence across the entire fleet of 26 buses. The media toolkit boasts exterior wraps through to interior furnishings, flooring, digital screens and seat-back tablets.

The partnership offering can also include value-added services such as permanent uniformed staff on board to help passengers with destination information, and the ability to fulfill shopping needs, product demonstration and sampling.

OmniServ engaged with Out of Home media specialists Wildstone Airports for this new initiative, bringing on board the expertise of Managing Director Paula Oliver, who brings unparalleled expertise in the development of ground-breaking airport advertising.

The new advertising format lends itself to British brands looking to showcase the idea of “connecting people” or international brands looking to reach a multi-cultural audience.

The new fleet of 26 state-of-the-art buses were unveiled by OmniServ at Heathrow Airport in December 2014. The digital capabilities on the buses can unlock a wealth of potential for brands in utilising NFC technology, ibeacons and digital screens.

The inter-terminal bus service, which departs approximately every 10 minutes, connects all four terminals at the UK’s busiest airport transporting approximately 8.5 million passengers per year through the airport with an average dwell time of 13 minutes.

Paula Oliver, Managing Director at Wildstone Airports, commented: “It has been a pleasure to work with OmniServ and Heathrow Airport on this project to deliver this completely unique and immersive opportunity. As the UK’s premier hub, Heathrow Airport provides an exclusive and highly desirable international audience. We love the interactivity which is possible within these buses, however are also really excited about the exterior vinyl wrap which will provide a brand with huge advertising canvases, constantly in motion around the airport,”.

Ernie Patterson, Chairman at OmniServ, said: “OmniServ and Heathrow Airport have enjoyed a long-standing partnership across many aspects of airport operations. We’re incredibly excited at the prospect of opening the door for new revenue generation for the airport by expanding into operational service channels that were previously untapped. This marks another step to ensuring all key touch points in the customer’s connection journey at Heathrow provide a quality, enhancing experience.”

UK: Mediatel's Avril Murray joins Exterion Media

Recruitment of ex-Mediatel exec Avril Murray as new Head of Client Sales augments investment in talent at all levels Exterion Media has announced the latest addition to its executive line up, Avril Murray, who has been appointed as the company's new Head of Client Sales.

Murray, whose career in the client sales sector spans more than 20 years, has been recruited to enhance Exterion Media's client services and account management offering. Her role will focus on servicing large clients and advertisers to ensure Exterion Media’s latest offerings are integrated into their plans.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming Avril to Exterion Media,” Managing Director Jason Cotterrell said, “We are a partnership organisation, and her vast experience in the sector will greatly benefit our Client Service and EM Future teams through building a great depth of proactive, forward-looking relationships with clients and agencies.

“Avril’s role will be central to enhancing the client sales team’s current strategy, ensuring brands are fully aware of the benefits and successes of Out-of-Home within the changing media landscape, and use this insight to generate maximum impact with their campaigns. Her wealth of knowledge in understanding how consumers are accessing media and advertising content will be a priceless asset for the team in building bespoke activity for clients and agencies, and unique experiences for consumers.

“This appointment demonstrates our philosophy of investing in the best people for long term benefit. It also reinforces the investment we have made across our sales network, including our direct sales channel Exterion Media Local, which is the biggest local team of any UK Out-of-Home company, and has delivered 45 per cent growth on the London Underground estate in the past three years.

“We will continue to invest significant sums in recruiting and retaining the best talent to help us stay ahead of our competitors. Our people remain the most important part of our ability to deliver on our promises,” Mr Cotterrell added.

Murray joins Exterion Media from Mediatel. She previously held senior client roles with BBC Worldwide and Trinity Mirror Group. She will be working alongside other recent Exterion Media hires, which includes ex-MindShare executive, Suzy Jordan.

"This is an exciting time to be joining Exterion Media,” Murray said. “Hosting some of the most exciting locations in the Out-of-Home industry, Exterion has a platform that brands can work with to create outstanding and memorable campaigns. I’m very much looking forward to leading the sales team and taking the client experience to the next level.”

Murray begins her new role in early November.

AMERICAS NEWS

USA: Marketing Evolution Helps Out of Home Industry Gain the Benefits of Big Data & Programmatic Automation

Marketing Evolution was hired by OAAA to make OOH advertising easier to plan, buy and measure.

"We decided to work with Marketing Evolution because they are a leader in ROI optimization and attribution analysis, they work with four of the ten largest OOH advertisers, and their experience in helping the digital industry plan, buy and measure ROI could be directly applied to the OOH industry," said Nancy Fletcher, President and CEO of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA).

Marketing Evolution has completed a white paper detailing how the OOH industry should integrate digital behavioral audience data, geo-location and first party data into planning software. The paper details how to deliver programmatic automation, apply best practice insights for OOH creative, and improve ROI measurement. The white paper is available at:

Marketing Evolution is now working on phase two of the engagement, which is delivering a programmatic protocol for the OOH industry. A committee of the OAAA is engaged in reviewing and testing the protocol.

According to Rex Briggs, CEO and Founder of Marketing Evolution, "The explosion of big data and ROI analysis in marketing means there are huge advantages to advertisers and media owners from programmatic automation. The benefit to marketers and agencies include the ability to buy the best match of location, audience, predicted impact and ROI impact with a couple of clicks in software. It is a huge time and cost savings that makes OOH far easier to plan, buy and measure.

For the OOH media owners, they can open up new markets because they can be easier to plan and buy. It means they can work synergistically with digital audience targeting, and mobile's geo-location targeted marketing. For consumers, it means more relevant messages. We love helping marketers, media owners, and consumers achieve a win-win-win."

Those interested in a preview of the Out-of-Home industry programmatic protocol can contact Marketing Evolution's Programmatic Media Coordinator, Christie Crockett at christie@marketingevolution.com, or CEO Rex Briggs directly. Marketing Evolution helps clients and partners increase marketing ROI.

Marketing Evolution has the most broadly independently validated ROI methodology. The patented Cross Media Attribution Modeling is better than digital only attribution, because it finds the synergies between TV, Search, Display, Direct Mail, etc. It is better than region-based mix modeling because it is customer-centric. Customer-centric analysis benefits include:

(1) 20x more data to read impact of specific media placements, and specific messages
(2) more targeted - delivering ROI down to individual customer segment levels and
(3) more real-time, delivering ROI at the campaign level - while campaign is running, enabling mid-course adjustment.

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USA: Brian Dusho to join CIVIQ Smartscapes as President, DOOH

CIVIQ Smartscapes LLC, a leader in interactive smart city communications solutions, today announced Brian Dusho has joined the company to serve as President, Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH). In this role, Brian will lead sales and business development for the company with an emphasis on DOOH strategy and opportunities.

“We are excited to welcome Brian aboard during this period of rapid growth for the company,” says Brad Gleeson, CIVIQ Smartscapes Chief Commercial Officer. “His leadership experience and accomplishments within the DOOH industry will help support and grow our partnerships as we expand globally”.

“I’m thrilled to be joining such a talented team to lead the next generation of global communication and technology”, said Dusho. “The process of turning urban landscapes into smartscapes provides sustainable economic impact and valuable services to everyone, and CIVIQ Smartscapes is one of the true pioneers in this space”.

Brian will be focusing on driving sales and developing partnerships within the digital out-of-home marketplace. He brings a strong background in the DOOH industry, having served as founding member of BroadSign in 2003 and president and CEO of the company from 2009 to 2014. In addition to this, Brian has a further 10 years of experience in a variety of executive management positions in the professional AV and integration industry. A passionate and active force in the industry, Dusho has served on the board of multiple industry organizations, such as Digital Signage Federation (DSF), and the Digital Place Based Advertising Association (DPAA). He is frequently asked to speak on issues affecting the DOOH industry.

“Brian is an active and passionate force in driving the industry forward, and CIVIQ Smartscapes provides an innovative platform to continue that passion,” said Gleeson.

USA: Digital Will Account for More Out-of-Home Ad Spending in 2015 and Beyond

Digital ad placements now constitute 40 percent of out-of-home ad spending and could account for more than half of out-of-home ad spending by 2018, according to a new forecast from eMarketer. “Advertisers are increasingly moving their spending from traditional media to digital formats, and outdoor ads are no exception,” reports eMarketer. “Advertisers in the U.S. will spend $2.96 billion on digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising this year.”

For clarification, eMarketer defines Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) paid media as advertising delivered via internet-connected digital screens outside the home. It was formerly referenced simply as “Outdoor Advertising.” “Digital screens outside the home carrying paid media are proliferating, from large digital billboards along highways to interactive touchscreens in restaurants, bars, malls, airports, taxi cabs and many other locations,” said eMarketer analyst Bryan Yeager.

“Advertisers will direct spending into DOOH media as more inventory comes online, buying becomes more flexible, automated targeting and measurement capabilities improve, and OOH media firms increasingly push advertisers toward their digital offerings,” Yeager added.

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Canada: New Interactive Mapping Tool now covers 90% of OOH inventory

The Out-of-Home-Marketing Association of Canada (OMAC) is pleased to announce that it has released an update to their interactive mapping tool.

This update now includes the complete inventory of all OMAC member companies including their 2 newest members – Clear Channel Canada and Quebecor Out-of- Home. “This release reflects the current digital and static inventory of our member’s products and networks based on the COMB Data Report of July 2015.

Maps can now be produced for all OMAC members which include Astral Out of Home, Clear Channel Canada, Cogeco Metromedia, Lamar Transit, OUTFRONT Media, Pattison Outdoor and Quebecor Media Out-of-Home,” said Rosanne Caron; President of OMAC.

The interactive mapping tool allows users to select and view geographical coverage of multiple operators and products/networks in a single market, on one map. Dynamic maps are currently available for Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal markets and can be accessed from OMAC’s website.

AUSTRALIA NEWS

Australia: MOVE annual update reveals more audience growth for Out-0f-Home

MOVE launched its annual update yesterday, 19 October 2015, and for the fifth year running, since the launch of the Out-of-Home (OOH) audience measurement system, MOVE (Measurement of Outdoor Visibility and Exposure), OOH audiences have grown.

Audiences in 2015 have grown by 3.4% across all mainland capital cities. Audiences have also grown across the suite of OOH formats.

The 2015 MOVE update sees 300,000 more people, on average, in OOH environments each day. OOH can now reach 12.2 million people daily who are making 51 million trips across the five markets, an increased exposure for the vast majority of the 73,800 advertising faces measured by MOVE.

“We find ourselves in an enviable position, as fragmentation of other traditional media channels solidifies our position, because the undeniable fact is that our audiences keep growing. Growing audiences with the added values of immediacy and flexibility that digital growth offers us gives advertisers the opportunity for deeper audience engagement and the ability to reach 9 out of 10 people who leave home every day”, said Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of the OMA and MOVE.”

The 2015 annual MOVE update reflects new data in the system including: updated Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2013) population and employment levels across 17,800 separate travel zones; changes to transport infrastructure; changes to public transport routes; new signs and; updates to trip attractors in each travel zone including shopping centres and school enrolments.

Also included in this update is a new format, the measurement of Train Externals (advertising on the outside of trains).

Outdoor audiences have grown across the five mainland capital cities. Perth leads with an increase of 6.4% year-on-year, followed by Melbourne (+5.1%), Adelaide (+5.0%), Brisbane (+2.8%) and Sydney (+1.6%). Moldrich added: “It is the nature of the channel that our OOH signs are strategically placed in the most populated areas and along the busiest transport and public transit corridors.”

It is no coincidence that the industry is growing at such a rate as audiences grow. The third quarter 2015 saw the industry revenues grow by 16.8% year to date building on the unprecedented annual growth of 10% in 2014.

According to CEASA (The Commercial Economic Advisory Services of Australia), OOH accounted for 5.2% of the $11.6 billion advertising spend in Australia in 2014 (excluding classifieds and directories), up from 4.8% in 2013./p>

Australia: Australia's oOh!media launching new interactive retail digital signage screens

Australia's oOh!media has unveiled what it's calling "a world-first in out-of-home engagement" with the launch of its next generation of interactive retail screens that it said are "loaded with unparalleled sensory features."

The company said its new Excite retail screens provide engagement and networked national reach that give advertisers opportunities to interact with consumers in new ways.

The range of technologies combined within each of oOh!'s Excite panels include:

Multitouch screens;

Kinect 2.0 gesture control;

Voice-recognition technology;

High-definition webcams;

Wi-Fi; Audio; and Networking capabilities.

"For the first time, digital advertising will have access to all these technologies across a network that links advertisers and consumers through the integration of the creative with online, mobile and social channels," the company said.

Company CEO Brendon Cook said oOh!'s Excite panels move beyond converting traditional inventory to digital signs. "Digital technology has changed forever how we communicate. Today's announcement is a major step in oOh!'s digital strategy and accelerates the changes that digital technology is bringing to the out-of-home industry," he said. "Our proprietary content management system creates a partnership of technology and content that provides advertisers with new capabilities to connect with consumers and achieve nationally networked, mass-audience reach … The opportunities of how this can be used are limited only by the imagination."

The company is initially rolling out 50 new panels in centers across Australia, with the first advertisers to utilize the capabilities set to be Village Roadshow for its new release, the movie "Pan."

The Excite screens are strategically placed in high-traffic spots — giving a wide berth for interactivity and crowd viewing, plus a long viewing time — such as the food courts in Australia's top shopping centers, the company said. Its newly appointed digital strategy director, Brendon Cropper, said the release of the panels was an exciting evolution of the out-of-home sector worldwide.

"We've spent more than $1 million in the development of the Excite panels which take the out-of-home industry to an entirely new level and set the benchmark for consumer engagement," he said. "We know that the offer of interactivity is appealing to consumers, from our experience with 33,000 consumers joining a touch-to-play game on the screens during a two-week campaign. We've packed in all the latest technologies we could to equip brands and their advertising agencies with the opportunity to be creative and develop interactive campaigns with both cut through and reach."

Source

AFRICA NEWS

South Africa: Digital OOH poised to move into the programmatic realm

Programmatic media buying, placement and optimisation for DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) is still in its infancy in South Africa and Africa, however it is cited as the next trigger to impact on Out-of-Home's growth, and contribute to the evolution of the communication industry. The term programmatic media (also known as programmatic marketing or programmatic advertising) encompasses an array of technologies that automate the buying, placement, and optimisation of Out-of-Home media inventory, in turn replacing human-based methods.

Key to the principle of programmatic media placement is relevant transactional, demographic or social (primary or secondary) data that is either proprietary or bought. The main benefits for programmatic systems and processes are relevance and efficiency.

Bazil Lauryssen, CEO of Continental Outdoor, and a panellist at the recent Thought Leadership Seminar hosted by Amplifi, (Dentsu Aegis Network's Media Investment arm), where content, multiscreen planning and programmatic were debated, explained that "Programmatic Advertising" impacts how Digital Out-of-Home is sold, how content is delivered and onto which DOOH platforms the relevant messages or campaigns are placed.

"OOH's inherent strength is that is able to broadcast a message quickly and effectively. With the added benefit of relevant placement of messages and creativity we will be able to provide more niched and targeted communication to consumers. The funnel is moving from broad-based mass Out-of-Home marketing to direct, customised and therefore more impactful campaigns."

Lauryssen continued, "The first advancement around Programmatic advertising will be evident once the Out-of-Home Measurement Council currency data is available to buyers and media owners providing data that will allow for effective and relevant buying, placement and optimisation of Static Roadside panels determined from brand and demographic data that shows affinity to variables such as income, brand usage, LSM, media usage, etc. This will be accessed through Telmar/Cuende's software called Quantum." He added that, "Aside from this, Continental Outdoor has already made digital OOH relevant by providing buyers with day-part networks that allow for appropriate messaging and creativity by time of day and geographic location."

Full article here

Nigeria: As OAAN Strikes New Deal with Lagos

OAAN President, Mr. Tunde Adedoyin

Raheem Akingbolu writes on what might be the outcome of the recent visit by the leadership of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, and the need for stakeholders in the out-of-home industry to leverage the compassionate approach of the current administration to redefine the association’s relationship with government.

These are the best of times for the players in the out-of-home sub- sector of the advertising industry in Lagos state. Until last week when the state government opened its doors to dialogue with the leadership of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), all attempts made in the last eight years to meet the state governor were rebuffed. This explains why members of the umbrella body considered the courtesy visit as a sign of good things to come.  

OAAN used the opportunity to call for better business relations with the state government for the mutual benefit of both parties. Its president, Mr. Tunde Adedoyin, who stated this said the association had always supported the government of Lagos State and will want a stronger relationship with the government, particularly the review of the rate being charged by the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) to save its members’ businesses.

Mr. Adedoyin said: “During the tenure of Mr. Makanjuola Alabi, a former Managing Director of LASAA, our members were charged very high rates to operate in the state, and in spite of several calls for reviews to be made, the situation has remained the same. Every company in the Outdoor Advertising business is practically trying to survive because we are all struggling, due to the heavy burden of the extremely high rates we have to pay.”

He commended the current Secretary to Lagos State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, who he said gave listening ears to the association during his tenure at LASAA.

The OAAN boss said over 70 percent of its bill boards were now vacant as advertisers were diverting their funds to other advertising media, adding that its members were forced to pay 50 percent surcharged on the vacant boards. OAAN Exco also used the visit to confer on Ambode the Patron of the association. In his remark, Governor Akinwumi Ambode thanked OAAN for honouring him which he described as a great privilege. He said the Lagos State Government was committed to partnering with relevant bodies to enhance business friendly environment in the state.

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