EUROPE NEWS

FEPE: WCRS Innovation Director Dino Burbidge joins FEPE International Creative Awards judges

WCRS Director of Technology and Innovation Dino Burbidge is joining the judges for this year’s FEPE International Creative Awards. For the first time these will be divided into Classic and Digital.

The Creative Awards will be revealed at this year’s FEPE International Congress in Stockholm from June 7-9.

Burbidge led the WCRS team that, along with Ocean Outdoor, won FEPE’s Creative Award at the Congress in Barcelona in June last year for the ground-breaking digital Women’s Aid campaign. This went on to win a Gold Lion at Cannes later that month.

FEPE will also make awards for Technology, Leadership and Lifetime Achievement at the Stockholm Congress.

Prior to joining leading London creative advertising agency WCRS Burbidge worked at a number of leading digital agencies, technology and entertainment companies. He has led projects for the BBC, Disney, Microsoft and Mind Candy. Latterly at WCRS he has specialized in out-of-home.

Burbidge says: “As a full-service agency, out-of-home plays a crucial role in our marketing strategy. It provides a hugely valuable dimension to the way businesses communicate with audiences.

“But great creative will always be at the core of what we do and the FEPE Creative Awards set the global benchmark.

“It’s a great honour to join the judging panel and I look forward to helping to determine the best-in-class out-of-home. I’ll be looking for a mix of the classics… right place, right message, right time but with a focus on effortless simplicity and innovation.”

FEPE International Executive Director John Ellery says:

“Dino is both a radical thinker and proven practitioner in the world of contemporary advertising. His commitment to the potential of out-of-home is beyond doubt and he will bring a fascinating perspective to both of these important awards.”

All the FEPE Awards 2017 will be presented during the next FEPE Annual Congress (June 7th - 9th) in Stockholm at the Gala Dinner, to be held on Thursday June 8th 2017.

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

FEPE members are invited to put forward your nominations for the Creative awards as well as the Technology, Lifetime Achievement and Leadership Award.

Visit the FEPE homepage to download the nomination form.

Nominations should be sent to Executive Director, John Ellery at john@worldooh.org by February 15th.

UK: Why 2017 will be transformational for outdoor

By Stuart Taylor

Advancing technology and better use of data are transforming digital screens that look good into personalised environments that directly engage and prompt consumers

2016 was arguably the outdoor advertising industry’s most newsworthy year to date. Exterion Media retained the seminal £1.1bn Transport for London ad sales contract, while almost every other contractor invested unprecedented amounts in digital screens of all shapes and sizes, not least Piccadilly Lights. The site is being transformed into one of the world’s largest screens, which will rejuvenate the iconic landmark.

We also saw the start of a street-furniture arms race. Clear Channel threw down the gauntlet at the start of the year, acquiring the Arqiva phone boxes to transform them into slick six-sheet kiosks.

UK: Posterscope round table discusses: How do we solve a problem like creativity?

Marketers, creatives and media owners were invited by Posterscope to discuss out-of-home creativity. Campaign’s Stuart Derrick listened in.

You don’t have to press advertising folk or marketers too hard to come up with their favourite poster campaign. Whether it’s The Economist’s clever copy, British Airways’ “#lookup”, numerous eye-catching Nike ads, Araldite’s iconic stuck-on car poster, or any number of mood-shifting political campaigns, out-of-home packs a memorable punch.

Gideon Spanier, Campaign‘s head of media, who chaired the debate on the state of creativity in OOH, kicked off the conversation with the recognition that, while the £1bn sector is in rude health, with revenue up for the eighth year in a row, there remains a concern that not all marketers and creative agencies are still inspired to create engaging OOH creative.

Sweden: Swedish pharmacy unveils digital ad panel which shames smokers by coughing at them

The proliferation of clever ad technology means that agencies can now deliver on zany creative ideas that previously had no business existing. The latest in smart digital out of home advertising is a digital billboard that coughs as smokers pass it.

The placement, by agency Akestam Holst for Swedish pharmacy chain Apotek Hjartat seeks to show the effects of nicotine on others, all as a means of increasing public health and promoting products that can help quitters.

A smoke detector on the panel in Stockholm will detect smokers and as a result spark a coughing fit, all “to help customers keep their New Year's promise” of breaking away from a cigarette habit.

UK: Exterion Media appoints Chief Technology Officer

Exterion Media has today appointed Josko Grljevic to the newly created role of UK and Group Chief Technology Officer. Grljevic will be leading the company’s transformation, as it continues the journey to becoming a Digital Media Company powered by data. He will be responsible for technology, new platforms and strategy to digitise the company’s business model.

Grljevic is currently Strategy & Performance Director for Barclays PLC. His 18-year career spans the UK and internationally, with a proven track record for delivering multi-channel solutions across a range of sectors, including retail, financial and logistics. Prior to Barclays, he was instrumental in the overhaul and re-engineering of Trainline.com, essentially creating a world class platform, delivering almost £2bn of ticket sales. The company was acquired by KKR in 2015. Grljevic has also helped deploy some of the most ambitious IT transformations, namely at Tesco.com and Woolworths Australia. He has lived and worked in South Africa and Australia, and has an Honours degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Shaun Gregory, CEO of Exterion Media, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome Josko to the Exterion Media team. Our company is entering a new phase, as we digitise ourselves both operationally and the way in which the medium is bought and sold. The sector is changing very fast, and we want to continue leading that change, essentially providing best in class solutions for our people and customers. Josko’s appointment validates our ambition, and he has the necessary background and experience to help put technology front and centre within our business.”

Grljevic said: “Joining the Exterion Media Team was too good an opportunity to miss. The business has clearly changed a great deal, and now leads a very exciting and thriving sector. Shaun and the team have a bold ambition for the business, and one that has the potential to redefine the sector.” It’s hugely exciting, and I cannot wait to get started.”

Grljevic will commence his role on 8 February 2017.

UK: JCDecaux renews IAB UK membership reaffirming commitment to growing its digital business

JCDecaux has announced the renewal of its membership of the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB UK). The move signifies the extensive work completed over the past year towards becoming recognised as a digital media owner and reflects the company’s continuing ambition to further boost its digital presence.

As a core element of its membership, JCDecaux will be participating again in IAB UK’s Digital Upfronts in October 2017, a showcase of premium digital advertising opportunities from some of the UK’s leading content creators, media owners and tech companies.

JCDecaux is already the market leader in digital OOH with a 54% share of impressions. Over the past 12 months the company has undergone a digital transformation with extensive investment and a goal of doubling its current digital impressions to reach #onebillioneyeballs by the end of 2017. The OOH media owner’s weekly digital reach now stands at 30% and its national digitisation plan forecasts a 50% weekly reach by the end of 2017.

JCDecaux’s digital Out-of-Home network is fuelled by data utilising its bespoke media planning and buying tool SmartBRICS, as well as its SmartCONTENT ad serving platform which puts the right creative, in the right place at the right time.

The IAB UK membership has so far seen JCDecaux making the most of the IAB’s market leading research, education and events, and it will continue to do so throughout the next year as the company continues to upskill and bring new talent into the business.

Spencer Berwin, co-Chief Executive Officer at JCDecaux UK said: “The renewal of our partnership with the IAB UK means that we will be continuing to work together to set the digital agenda. As the leading digital Out-of-Home media owner, this partnership is a perfect fit for us.”

IAB UK’s Chief Executive Officer, Jon Mew said: “It’s fantastic to have JCDecaux – the company that owns over half the digital Out-of-Home market – on board and supporting the IAB UK for another year. It represents a significant vote of confidence from the digital Out-of-Home market to have a media owner of their size and scale partnering with us. We are excited to see JCDecaux back on stage at the IAB Upfronts in 2017, and to seeing new and innovative initiatives from within this channel.”

UK: Carat MD Matthew Landeman talks street

Campaign asks judges of the Campaign and Clear Channel Outdoor Media Awards what inspires them most about outdoor

If there is one defining characteristic the digital economy has brought to the media landscape, it is profound and rapid change. Of the "traditional" media channels that have had to adapt to make the most of the opportunity this new paradigm brings, arguably out-of-home has transformed more than most.

Indeed, the medium has markedly changed, both in terms of its physical manifestation and how it is used to engage with audiences and build brands. In this new world, OOH can be a dynamic platform upon which data is layered to create experiences for consumers that not only build emotional connections, but also serve a clear purpose and utility.

UK: Clear Channel International debuts programmatic offering

Clear Channel International has launched what it claims to be the first out-of-home programmatic buying tool now available in Europe, with brands including Deliveroo and Mercedez-Benz on board at launch.

The solution is currently live in Belgium with advertisers including Mercedes-Benz, Beobank and Deliveroo and will be further rolled out to the UK in March, when advertisers will be able to buy ad space on Clear Channel UK’s digital out-of-home (DOOH) estate, Storm.

This will be further followed by ad space on its digital retail portfolio across shopping malls and supermarkets, as well as its digital roadside network Adshel Live.

Germany: CentrO Mall Focuses On Shopper Experience By Adding LED Displays

Unibail-Rodamco Germany improved the shopping experience at CentrO Mall in Oberhausen, Germany, by adding 10 curved LED displays.

Daktronics designed, manufactured and installed all of the displays this past summer to provide flexibility in content from advertising messages and marketing campaigns to ambient lighting and full feature clips on nearly 250 square meters of digital canvas. "Consumers expect more from shopping centers today than a mere retail destination," said Olivier Nougarou, CEO of Unibail-Rodamco Germany.

"We would like to surprise our visitors again and again, arouse their curiosity and give them the opportunity to go on a discovery tour. The unexpected digital signature provides us an exceptional platform to attract the attention of customers and inspire them with impressive experiences."

Europe: Every Euro spent on advertising 'boosts GDP sevenfold'

Every euro spent on advertising generates a seven-fold boost to GDP, according to a pan-European Union report by Deloitte.

The Value of Advertising report was funded by the World Federation of Advertisers and claims to be the first EU-wide report to isolate the economic and social contribution of advertising and its ability to drive economic growth across the UK.

It attempts to express the impact of advertising at a time when the World Federation of Advertisers is concerned the economic benefits of advertising could be diminished. Among its concerns is the European Commission’s latest draft of the ePrivacy directive that could significantly disrupt the online ad market by reducing spend.

USA: How Location Is Revolutionizing Digital Out-Of-Home

At CES, Kinetic's Britta Klosterberg talked about the future of OOH — as it's impacted by everything from AR to self-driving cars.

Hot technologies at CES, from self-driving cars to increasingly smart wearables, are already influencing consumers’ expectations for connectivity — and how they interact with screens, period. But even in the midst of this change, execs argued that “traditional” out-of-home advertising isn’t going anywhere; it’s just set to become more interactive.

“Some say that because of in-car [or mobile] entertainment, digital out-of-home is going to lose relevance, as people will be looking down. I disagree,” Mauricio Sabogal, Kinetic’s global CEO, told GeoMarketing last week. “Because of this, we will now be leasing the back space of billboards to actually install antennas to leverage inventory across the Internet of Things — it’s just going to be 100 percent interactive, as the outdoor screen will be able to interact with the in-car screen.”

USA: Dancing in the Streets with JCDecaux and Boost Mobile

Bored at the bus stop? In December, Boost Mobile, in collaboration with JCDecaux North America, launched a Virtual Reality campaign at a bus shelter in Chicago taking commuters on a trip to a block party in an Unlimited World.

The display within a downtown Chicago transit shelter connected TV to digital to experiential in a unique way. Developed with creative content and media agency Schiefer Chopshop (SCS), Orange County, Calif., the project expanded upon Boost’s “We Are Where You At” campaign by enclosing items representing Boost brand ambassadors from TV spots as well as a set of Samsung Gear VR goggles and a Samsung S7 phone.

USA: OUTFRONT Media's Senior Leadership Is Recognized For Technology Innovation

OUTFRONT Media has announced that two of its senior leaders were recognized for their work in the advancement of programmatic media buying.

Joel Melby, Chief Technology Officer, has been awarded an ABBI (Audience Based Buying Innovation) Gold Award from the Global Audience Based Buying Conference and Consultancy (GABBCON). Melby was recognized for his lead work on an industry standard, Automated Linear Broadcast Cross-Device (ABCD) Specification that enables audience-based ad-buying focused on television and video.

His contributions will be utilized by GABBCON for standardizing audience based media buying and will also help inform OUTFRONT's ON Smart Media platform with a standard for audience-based buying in OOH. Melby began writing the specification with his former employer,clypd, a Boston-based startup which built a programmatic TV platform for broadcasters, cable programmers and Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs), and continued to work on it over the past year.

Australia: Aussie OOH growth continues apace

The Australian Out-of-Home (OOH) industry reported a seventh consecutive year of revenue growth in 2016 and its top executive is bullish about the prospects for the year ahead.

Figures from the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) indicated a 15.8% increase on net media revenue year-on-year, taking the industry's income to a record high of A$789.5m, up from A$682.1m in 2015. And within that total, Digital OOH has been taking a growing share, rising from 36.0% in the first quarter to 40.2% in the final one.

Roadside billboards constituted the single biggest OOH category, generating A$296.4m of revenue during the year, with other roadside (including street furniture and bus/tram externals) adding A$230.4m. Transport outdoor sites, including airports, brought in A$136.3m, while retail outdoor added a further A$126.4m.

South Africa: Posterscope's Future Defining Themes of OOH Conference

Out of Home is in the midst of a revolution that is changing how it is planned, bought and its interaction with people. Mixing all of these ingredients together moves OOH into an unseen and largely untested realm. Posterscope's international and local experts explore how many of our pre-existing rules, recommendations and benchmarks will be re-examined in 2017. Attendees will have access to networks with international and local OOH experts.

An open panel discussion will allow those in attendance to ask their burning questions, which will encourage open debate around the hot topics in OOH arena. To really get to grips with where the future of OOH is heading, this is a conference not to be missed. The conference will be taking place in Sandton, Johannesburg on 16 February. The early bird cost per ticket is R800 per person (incl. meals, refreshment and rooftop networking after party).

South Africa: Taxi branding in action

The commuter market is South Africa’s largest consumer segment comprising over 22 million people. Advertising on taxis should therefore be an excellent way to reach an extensive audience. However, this approach should not be a shot in the dark, but a calculated investment.

For this reason, as part of Primedia Outdoor’s investment in research expertise and innovative market intelligence, they set out to track and measure taxi movement over a three month campaign period between February and April 2016. In order to do this, each taxi was fitted with a tracking device, through which the study tracked 67 vehicles over a 3 month campaign period, in 3 different regions: 32 vehicles in Gauteng, 20 vehicles in KwaZulu-Natal, and 15 vehicles in the Eastern Cape.

The main objectives of the case study were (i) to determine campaign coverage and (ii) to quantify opportunities to see (OTS). With advanced geo-spatial analysis, Primedia Outdoor calculated OTS based on the movement of taxis within set out target coverage areas.

Russia: BroadSign Selected By Laysa Digital for the Largest Digital Out-of-Home Roadside Network in Moscow

Conversion begins with 33 digital billboards.

BroadSign International, LLC’s automated digital out-of-home software has been selected by Laysa Digital LLC for its transit network in Russia.

The initial conversion consists of 33 digital billboards on the busiest freeways in Moscow.

“We selected BroadSign’s platform as it is an affordable, professional tool that fulfills our needs of stability and robustness when operating such visible displays,” said Ruslan Jeludik, Managing Partner at Laysa Digital.

“We are excited to have an experienced DOOH partner like BroadSign and look forward to taking digital signage to the next level in Russia.”

Laysa Digital plans to grow its ad-based network of 5×15 meter LED roadside displays in Moscow and other key Russian cities. Clients include Disney, Mercedes, Sony, Asus, Kinder and MasterCard.

Russia: New blue big bus in Moscow

TMG the Russian national transit media leader, has announced that it has launched in full run advertising on its renewed fleet of 4000 Moscow «blue buses» that the company operates under the exclusive contract.

A new epoch of transit advertising has started as a follow up to the transport reform that took place in the 15 million Russian capital last year. Public transport was integrated in one system & is now represented by new well equipped blue vehicles. The route system has been also reorganized.

TMG reports all buses & new routes are now downloaded in the automatic project management system, as well as the fully updated media measurement data (OTS, GRP, frequency) supplemented by recently released TRP for Transit (ESPAR Analytics new research).

Lebanon: Pikasso D'Or Makes the Directory Big Won Report

The Pikasso d’Or results will be as of this year, included in the Directory Big Won Report, one of the leading worldwide creative ranking systems.

The Directory Big Won Report is an annual survey of the best agencies and the best campaigns of the year, as measured by the quantity and quality of awards won. The winners from at least 40 award shows around the world are entered into a database.

Points are allocated according to the nature of the award won, with more points for Gold, Silver or Bronze. In addition, more points are allocated to winners of global award shows such as Cannes Lions than winners of local shows. On average, around 12,000 awards are registered in the database each year.

From the data can be extrapolated the world rankings of the past year’s top countries for creativity; top holding companies; top networks; top agencies; top creative directors; top writers, top art directors and top designers. Rankings are produced by media channel – Design, Direct, Digital, Film, Outdoor, Print, PR, Radio etc. – as well as by country.

For more information visit: https://www.directnewideas.com/

“We are very proud that the Pikasso d'Or has achieved this international recognition after 23 years of honoring creative excellence in Lebanese out-of-home advertising. It's an endorsement of the professionalism of the Pikasso jury and will give the winners greater worldwide exposure. It will also allow the Directory Big Won Report to extend its coverage of creativity in markets it did not previously cover in such depth."

Andrew Rawlins | Secretary General of the Pikasso d’Or

FEPE OOH News 19th January 2017