FEPE NEWS

57th FEPE Congress in Barcelona: One or Two Exhibitor spaces still available

One or two exhibition places are still available at the Crowne Plaza.

The Exhibition area is directly outside the main Congress hall, and will be the location for all coffee breaks over the two days of the Congress and also the welcome drinks party and buffet on the Wednesday evening.

This is a unique environment for an exhibitor to showcase their product or service to a very high level of OOH professionals and decision makers from around the world. It is worth noting that last year's congress in Budapest had delegates from 39 different countries, and there will be a similar breakdown in Barcelona.

Please get in touch soon if you wish to investigate taking advantage of this great sales opportunity.

The FEPE Congress hotel, the Crowne Plaza Fira Center, is now fully booked. However, we have secured another overflow location within walking distance of the Congress, (which is also filling up!). A 4 Star Hotel, the HOTEL CATALONIA BARCELONA PLAZA located in Plaça Espanya. Rooms all include breakfast and Wi-Fi for a similar price.

We are now finalising the last details of the 2016 Barcelona programme. A pdf version will be available to download in the near future.

Christian von den Brincken of Ströer will be moderating our panel on Smart Cities, with a panel including Brian Dusho of Civiq, Daniel Parisien of General.run and Bill Derrenger, Vice President of Southern Europe, Clear Channel. Mr Beat Schwegler of Microsoft has also agreed to join the Smart Cities panel.

Speakers and panel members already confirmed are Kester Fielding of Bacardi and Stephen Sargeant of Diageo, Tom Goodwin, James Murphy, Michel Sara, Mark Boidman, Bob Wootton, Annie Rickard, Shinji Abe and Ichiro Jinnai of Dentsu, Benjamin Milne of Posterscope Japan, James Mitchell, (Mcgarrybowen) Nancy Fletcher, Rosanne Caron, Noomi Mehta, Alan Brydon, Mark Craze, Tim Bleakley of Ocean Outdoor and Charmaine Moldrich.

FEPE Board members including Matthew Dearden, Christian Schmalzl, John Ellery, Shaun Gregory and Brendon Cook will also be moderating panels and facilitating sessions along with FEPE President Antonio Vincenti.

The Gala Dinner will be held at the Codorniu wine making facility, just outside Barcelona. Codorníu is synonymous to the history of a family of winegrowers which goes back to the XVI century. It is the oldest family business in Spain and one of the oldest in the world. It now has 450 years of history behind it.

The 57th FEPE Congress, which will be held between Wednesday June 1st and Friday June 3rd 2016 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Fira Center, Barcelona.

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

Further details will be announced in future newsletters.

UK: Storm Launches Storm The Mile

Clear Channel’s super premium digital brand, Storm, has unveiled their first site in Leeds, Storm The Mile.

Storm The Mile, which is Storm’s fourth site outside London following the launch of Storm Mancunian Junction in Manchester last month, becomes the latest landscape screen to join Storm’s expanding nationwide portfolio. Storm The Mile is located on the A64, a busy commuter route targeting over 1 million road users per month, travelling outbound and coming off the M1 and M62.

The site faces 3 lanes of traffic and has exceptional sight lines, meaning full and uninterrupted visibility for vehicular audiences. The screen itself, which is 26% larger than a 96-sheet but with the same proportions, is set within a unique lighting wall, complete with a totally bespoke integrated control system. This allows advertisers to customise Storm The Mile with stunning moving lighting effects, marrying the architectural design and latest technologies closely associated with Storm sites.

Storm The Mile also features Storm’s signature digital name plates, giving brands the opportunity to take full ownership. A single sided landscape screen, Storm The Mile further strengthens Storm’s growing nationwide portfolio and cements their position in the North. Leeds is a top 4 UK retail destination with an annual retail spend of over £2 billion and a catchment of over 5.5 million shoppers.

Aimee McKay, Managing Director at Storm, said:

“Leeds is one of the UK’s key cities, and we’re delighted to be introducing the first Storm site in West Yorkshire, Storm The Mile. This site features totally unique moving lighting capabilities and I’m extremely excited to work with brands to create some of the most creative and impactful Out of Home advertising anywhere in the UK.”

Source

UK: Agencies Form 'Smart Alliance' To Facilitate Global OOH Campaigns

Three out-of-home ad-buying specialists — WPP’s Kinetic Worldwide, Latcom, and Mediakeys — have formed a new venture called the Smart Alliance, designed to enable easier implementation of global OOH campaigns.

Calling it an industry first, the group said that clients will be able to buy media across 250 markets from a single location via the alliance. The platform's operations will be managed via a global hub based in London that will be overseen by former Kinetic CEO of World Markets David Payne.

The hub will be dedicated to optimizing delivery on behalf of the alliance while each company maintains management over strategic planning and client operations in their home regions. The Alliance will utilize Kinetic for North America, China, India, and Northern Europe; Latcom for Latin America, Spain, and the Caribbean; and Mediakeys for Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, and Australia.

“Smart Alliance creates the perfect platform for us to deliver increased efficiencies to all our accounts and to continue expanding our international footprint,” said Mauricio Sabogal, global CEO of Kinetic Worldwide.

Source

UK: Primesight unveils its largest ever digital roadside screens

Coca-Cola, Vodafone and Sky are among some of the first brands to advertise on Primesight's first digital 96-sheet roadside panels.

The 10 new screens - the largest out-of-home format - will join 52 existing D48-sheets and form part of Primesight's wider strategy to reach 100 digital roadside sites by the end of the year. The latest additions are expected to give an 'audience impact' of almost 9.5 million, with Mondelez, BMW, Eurostar and British Airways also on board at launch.

"We're thrilled to be building on last year's success in rolling out Network with this new D96 panel, the largest and most ambitious format of its kind," said CEO Naren Patel.

"Primesight is focused on offering a broader array of DOOH solutions to help drive the market forward and offer even bigger, more creative and dynamic solutions for clients." Vanessa Eagle, business director at Posterscope, said:

"In this dynamic and evolving media market, the continuous development of new digital products makes OOH an exciting area for advertisers to invest. "Our clients demand more flexibility, more contextual advertising and more opportunity to innovate and cut through. Large Format Digital OOH sites such as the Primesight Digital 96s deliver on these demands and we are delighted to work with Primesight for the launch of their new national packs."

The news comes as Primesight takes control of Manchester Airports Group's ad contract for the next five years, which covers four UK airports at Manchester, London Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth.

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UK: London Digital Signage Week

There is something for everyone during London Digital Signage Week which kicks off next Monday May 16 and continues through to Friday May 20.

With The DailyDOOH Media Summit, now in its third year (Tuesday) keynoted by Clear Channel UK's Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Speake and the NEC Display Solutions Showcase (Wednesday and Thursday) now in its eighth year the week's worth of events certainly has a feel of 'heritage' about it these days.

New this year are a VIP Drinks Reception sponsored by Samsung (Tuesday evening) and what is claimed to be the world's first workshop on Programmatic Buying and Marketplaces (Wednesday afternoon).

This year the week even has its own web site and you can see the full list of events here http://london2016.digitalsignageweek.com

Ireland: Advert screens to be erected in D4 as part of Dublin Bikes deal

Cycle service could be reduced if panels in Donnybrook and Ballsbridge are not allowed

Four commercial advertising screens, more than three metres wide and almost six metres tall, are to be erected in the southeast of Dublin city as part of the Dublin Bikes arrangement. Sites at Donnybrook Road, Shelbourne Road, Pembroke Road and Charlemont Street have been chosen for the screens to fulfil Dublin City Council’s side of the Dublin Bikes deal with advertiser JC Decaux.

The council said that if it did not allow the new structures the bike rental scheme could suffer a reduction in service. In 2006 the council signed a contract with JC Decaux, one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising companies, for a bike rental scheme, public toilets, maps and signposts.

In exchange the company would have the right to advertising space at a number of locations around the city. The original tender was for 120 structures and 450 bikes, but following an appeal to An Bord Pleanála the number of advertising panels was reduced to 72. To retain all the bikes, the toilets were taken out of the deal.

Full article here

UK: JCDecaux Q1 2016 trading update

• First quarter 2016 adjusted revenue up 15.3% to €748.5m
• First quarter 2016 adjusted organic revenue up 10.5%
• Adjusted organic revenue growth in Q2 2016 expected to be around 3%

Paris, May 10th, 2016 – JCDecaux SA  announced today its revenue for the three months ended March 31st, 2016. Following the adoption of IFRS 11 from January 1st, 2014, the operating data presented below is adjusted to include our prorata share in companies under joint control, and therefore is comparable with historical data. Please refer to the paragraph “Adjusted data” on page 3 of this release for the definition of adjusted data and reconciliation with IFRS.

Adjusted revenue for the first quarter increased by 15.3% to €748.5 million compared to €649.0 million in Q1 2015. Excluding the negative impact from foreign exchange variations and the positive impact from changes in perimeter, adjusted revenue grew by 10.5%. Adjusted advertising revenue, excluding revenue related to sale, rental and maintenance, increased by 10.9% on an organic basis in the first quarter of 2016.

Please note that the geographic comments below refer to organic revenue growth.

STREET FURNITURE

First quarter adjusted revenue increased by 14.5% to €333.4 million (+9.7% on an organic basis). Europe (including France and the UK), Asia-Pacific and the Rest of the World delivered strong growth. North America showed good growth. First quarter adjusted advertising revenue, excluding revenue related to sale, rental and maintenance was up 11.6% on an organic basis compared to the first quarter of 2015.

Full figures here

UK: Posterscope Wins 3 Clear Channel Outdoor Planning Awards

On the 5th May, the OOH industry gathered at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Clear Channel Outdoor Planning Awards. A major event in the outdoor media industry calendar, the awards recognise outstanding strategic planning across six categories.

Posterscope were delighted to come away with three awards and one highly commended place. The winning campaigns were:

Best use of data and insight – Bethesda, Fall Out 4 – Posterscope/Target Media/Locomizer This category recognises campaigns that demonstrate the best use of digital in Out of Home.

Best use of multi-media – Dixons, Curry’s PC World Spare the Act – Posterscope/Blue449/Liveposter This category rewards the most outstanding integrated and multi-platform campaign that uses significant Out of Home advertising and at least one other media platform.

Best use of continuity and long-term brand-building – Camelot, Always on OOH – Posterscope/Vizeum/Liveposter.

Long-term planning strategy is recognised in this award.

Highly commended – Santander also came highly commended for best use of digital.

Posterscope was also shortlisted in:

Best use of innovation – Bahio, Ai – Artificial Intelligence – Posterscope/M&C Saatchi/Clear Channel

This category rewards the application of innovative and creative thinking to a campaign.

Best use of multiple formats – Microsoft, Surface Pro 4 – Posterscope/Empower Media/M:United McCann

This category is for campaigns that successfully utilise two or more distinct formats as part of an Out of Home-only campaign or within a wider multi-media initiative that has a substantial Out of Home element.

Source

AMERICAS NEWS

USA: Executive Spotlight Q&A: Sean Reilly, Lamar Advertising

At the helm of one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in America, Sean Reilly leads with an adventurous spirit and an emphasis on maintaining a community-focused attitude among employees, inspired by Lamar’s roots as a family business, started in 1902. Since succeeding his brother Kevin Reilly Jr. as CEO in 2011, Reilly has led the company through tough times while maintaining focus on fostering growth. Reilly always stays ahead of Lamar’s competition by focusing on new technologies like solar panels and 3-D printing, while also eyeing new markets to organically grow the company’s presence in airport advertising. His next big challenge: managing growth and leading the way into a new era of outdoor advertising. In addition to his Lamar responsibilities, Reilly—a former state representative from 1988 to 1996—feels a deep responsibility to support Louisiana higher education and plays an active role in speaking up for LSU as the state’s flagship institution.

What is the most difficult part about holding the title of CEO? And what is the best part?

The hardest period I’ve gone through as a CEO was the Great Recession in 2008. It was a tough time for everybody, not just outdoor advertising. We had to manage the company through the rough times including layoffs—that was the most difficult. We came out stronger than we went in and today we are in a great place. I think the best part is interacting with a fantastic team. We have great people at Lamar. Watching them grow into their roles and seeing every day what they put into it—that is the best part of the job.

What has been the biggest change in your industry during your time as CEO? How did it impact your company?

Lately, there have been some wonderful breakthroughs in out-of-home, the most significant of which is digital technology. In 2005, we deployed the first digital billboard ever at I-10 and College Drive, and now we have over 2,500 digital billboards. I could take a photo with my iPhone and have you in front of 60 million eyeballs in about five minutes. It is really cool, and what we are doing for our customers is to integrate everything they do in the world of social and mobile search on iPhones into their outdoor campaigns—we integrate their feeds from Twitter and Facebook accounts. If they are having a fantastic experience with one of their customers, they can use us to tell the rest of the world. That whole digital dynamic is fascinating and wonderful. It is great for our business, and it is great for our customers. After we perfected the business model, lots of other outdoor companies adopted it. And you know, if you do get out front, customers will take note. We want to be known as being very creative. Again, if our customers can dream it, we want to be able to make it happen for them in a really big, real way, and that is fun.

Full article here

USA: Daktronics Integrates Venue LED Lighting Into Game-Day Experience

Daktronics, has integrated control of a venue’s solid-state LED lighting with its Show Control System. With the ability to send and receive lighting triggers, Show Control is able to incorporate LED lighting into the game-day experience to compliment the content running on any video display in a facility. In March, this feat was accomplished at Globe Life Park, home of the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.

“This capability is the very beginning of a trend that’s coming to live sporting events,” said Daktronics Vice President of Live Events Jay Parker. “Incorporating the venue’s general lighting into the game-day production increases the fan experience and opens up a wide variety of possibilities for sponsors by matching lighting elements with video display content. As venues make the lighting switch to LEDs, more and more opportunities will present themselves to connect the capabilities of LED lighting into the game-day production.”

Daktronics worked with leading companies in the sports lighting market to establish two-way communication between select DMX-based lighting servers and Show Control.

“We have developed a lighting control plug-in for Show Control’s integration engine making it possible to access and operate stadium or arena lighting within any given game-day element,” said Tony Kuck, Daktronics control systems product manager. “The two-way triggering allows for ultimate flexibility in the control of video displays in conjunction with LED lighting solutions.”

The opportunities this capability represents range from further highlighting key moments in a game to incorporating colour washes that match a sponsor’s branding during their advertisement. The lighting can be triggered to enhance every homerun, slam dunk, touchdown or goal.

Canada: Astral Out of Home to Install 20 Digital Faces on Québec City's Réseau de Transport de la Capitale Transit Shelters

Astral Out of Home announced recently that it will install 20 digital faces on Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) transit shelters by June 30, 2016.

The move confirms Astral Out of Home's leadership position in the digital out-of-home market, and offers enhanced experiences to Québec City's transit system customers. "Astral Out of Home's continued focus on innovation reinforces its commitment to leadership in the Québec and Canadian digital out-of-home markets," said Luc Quétel, President, Astral Out of Home.

"The installation of these digital faces is part of the new measures announced when we signed the partnership with the RTC last June, all designed to enhance the user experience within the network."

Equipped with 84-inch (213 cm) LCD screens, the transit shelters in Astral Out of Home's new network will offer advertisers the opportunity to broadcast their campaigns with the exceptional image quality made possible by 4K HD technology. The screens will be programmed on demand and controlled remotely from the state-of-the-art Astral Out of Home control centre. Spread out across several strategic locations, the digital faces will be able to run six messages in a loop, with each message displayed for eight seconds.

Astral Out of Home is proud to provide its advertisers with more flexibility, instantaneous reactiveness, and dynamic content than ever before. The 20 new digital faces will be completely operational by June 30, 2016.

Full article here

USA: The Hunt for Distractions: Inside the vehicle

By Ken Klein EVP, Government Affairs OAAA I ran into a policy analyst (April 27) for the huge AAA auto club based in southern California. She said two things of note:

A California lawmaker had invited AAA to join his effort to restrict digital billboards based on safety, but AAA declined because the science didn’t show a problem.

I should read AAA’s latest distraction report from its Foundation for Traffic Safety (based in Washington, DC).

I did. It’s not about signs.

The latest AAA report is about distraction inside the vehicle. In-vehicle information systems (IVIS) create “moderate to high level cognitive workload” for drivers, said this research, conducted by experts at University of Utah. Further:

• Practice does not eliminate interference caused by in-car info systems.
• Older drivers have more trouble figuring out in-car gadgets compared to younger drivers.
• After drivers interact with in-car info systems, it takes 27 seconds to return to normal levels of performance.

“At 25 MPH, drivers would have traveled more than three football fields in this interval.” Thank you, AAA policy analyst. The AAA safety study reminded me what Peter said about distraction a few days ago: Billboards aren’t the problem. Peter is Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), the top Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.

Like the AAA motor club, the congressman is worried about information overload inside the vehicle, with more gizmos on the way. DeFazio’s home-state DOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) wants to “change cultural norms when it comes to distracted driving.”

Full article here

AFRICA NEWS

Nigeria: Bad Season for Outdoor Advertising

This is certainly not the best of times for the outdoor advertising industry. Asides shrinking economy, government activities through legislation and indebtedness to the industry are crippling the business. Despite a debt totalling about N1b from Buhari/Ambode campaigns during the last general election, outdoor advertisers are being slammed with high charges by the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA), which is even collecting charges from empty billboards.

This development has pitched practitioners against government, as they insist on not paying for empty billboards that are not generating income. They also refute government claims that practitioners owe on billboard location, saying such demands could drive them out of business. According to the advertising practitioners, the increased charges by LASAA comes on the heels of cut in advertising budget by companies in response to a recessing economy.

These challenges are becoming obvious in the industry. Today, a trip round major cities reveals that many of the billboards, including the electrically propelled ones are empty. Nothing is being displayed on them, a sure sign of changing times for the industry.

Interestingly, all this is coming at a time, when there is agitation for the state to defray its debt, incurred during the last election to advertising practitioners. Findings revealed that operators in the sector are aggrieved that the Lagos State Government is not willing to pay the debt it incurred through one of its agencies-- the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA).

Full article here