FEPE OOH News 14th June 2018

FEPE OOH News 14th June 2018

 

EUROPE NEWS

Sorrento Congress: Biggest and best ever!

The 59th FEPE International Congress in Sorrento last week was the biggest to date with over 400 delegates from all over the world including a major delegation from China for the first time.

Was it also the best?

Reflecting a global industry isn’t easy, especially as FEPE (probably uniquely among such advertising associations) represents all sides of the industry: media owners, agency specialists and the many technology companies and other suppliers now occupying this desirable space.

Two main themes emerged: early in proceedings FEPE President Tom Goddard of Ocean Outdoor and former Posterscope Global President Annie Rickard both emphasised the need for collaboration ahead of competition, the need for the industry to find a way of combining the various digital platforms on offer to offer advertisers a seamless way to reach a global audience.

This is an ongoing theme at FEPE and Goddard said it was time for real progress to be made.

Elsewhere the linked challenges of programmatic and automation in digital were discussed, notably by Talon Outdoor CEO Eric Newnham and Ströer Co—CEO Christian Schmalzl who made it clear that there was much work still to be done before automation in particular played a major role. Newnham emphasised that it was vital for people with Out of Home experience to drive these changes otherwise they might be hijacked by others and the industry could be presented with systems it neither wants nor needs.

There was much to celebrate too of course. The FEPE Awards (see here) are bigger and better than ever, with many outstanding entries in the twin creative categories of Classic and Digital. Outstanding talents from the industry were celebrated including, for the first time Rising Stars. The late Dennis Sullivan was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in what was an emotional moment for everyone.

BT Chief Procurement Officer Hari Sundaresan, responsible for billions of pounds of expenditure on cables and kit as well as marketing, gave a fascinating insight into how his company worked; in particular that it sought to work in partnership as far as marketing and media were concerned.

World Federation of Advertisers President and RBS CMO David Wheldon gave a masterly tour d'horizon of the many issues facing the marketing industry globally including the vexed question of media rebates. Referring to a conversation with America's Association of National Advertisers about media owner rebates to agencies, he recalled asking politely: "Don't you know how the media industry works?"

The extraordinary impact of the OOH medium was amply demonstrated by Ocean Outdoor’s Tim Bleakley in his presentation on the iconic new Piccadilly Circus Lights in London and by Wang Huanzhang, General Secretary of China’s Outdoor Advertising Branch, as he showed delegates the extraordinary visual spectaculars now seemingly commonplace in China’s major cities.

A linked theme, which will doubtless return, is the ongoing challenge of persuading creative agencies to to make better use of the digital medium’s massive potential.

Congress also heard updates from Japan, Fabrizio Du Chène de Vère of IGP Decaux in Italy, a true FEPE pioneer and Gabriel Cedrone, CEO of Grupa Vallas a major media company with a presence in 12 Latin American countries and also the US and Canada.

Gabriel is the first President of the Association Latino Americana Out Of Home (ALOOH), the new trade body for Latin America. He joined representatives from other National Associations meeting outside the Congress programme at the National Associations Meeting to introduce ALOOH, a major step forward for the OOH industry and FEPE worldwide.

As significant as the Congress programme was the new forum for exhibitors - at Sorrento in record numbers - introduced by a “Speed Dating” process whereby FEPE directors, the leaders of major companies and others spent ten minutes with each of the exhibitors discussing their products and services. The event, which was introduced last year in Stockholm, proved hugely popular with other delegates joining in as they arrived in Sorrento.

All orchestrated by FEPE Executive Director Bob Wootton, armed with a whistle. If FIFA runs out of whistle blowers in Russia then Wootton’s their man. There was much more besides in a packed Congress programme plus, of course, the many invaluable networking opportunities for a global industry coming together, uniquely at FEPE.

So was it the best FEPE Congress so far? We’d like to think so but need feedback from delegates to discover what the most important people think.

Next year FEPE celebrates its 60th birthday, in Dubai from May 1 to May 3. We hope it will be be bigger and better than ever.

Sorrento: FEPE International announces 2018 Awards winners

International Out of Home Association FEPE International has announced the winners of its 2018 Awards, presented at its annual Congress in Sorrento on June 7.

Creative Awards

These are divided into two categories: Classic and Digital.

The Classic award goes to music streaming company Spotify for its US campaign featuring a number of alternative playlists, produced in-house.

The FEPE judges felt this humorous campaign showed the Classic Out of Home medium to maximum advantage: funny, relevant and demanding attention.

The Digital award goes to Japan National Tourism Organisation for a campaign from Enjin Tokyo who worked with Clear Channel France to show the full potential of the digital Out of Home medium, realised with flair and technical ingenuity.

Runner up in both categories was agency adam&eveDDB’s campaign for the launch of the Volkswagen Ram SUV, ‘Born Confident.’

FEPE Executive Director Bob Wootton says: “You could hardly have three campaigns showing off both Classic and Digital OOH to better advantage.

“Spotify, as with last year’s Classic winner from Twitter, shows the way cutting edge companies are revitalising the Classic medium by using it as a means to talk directly to their customers. Japan National Tourism Organisation shows there are few, if any, limits to what digital OOH can create.

“VW’s Ram campaign is also worthy of note. It shows how, in the hands of a highly capable ad agency, Classic and Digital can work in concert to create an important launch campaign with huge impact.”

The FEPE International Technical Innovation award goes to Daktronics for its ground breaking work on Ocean Outdoor’s new Piccadilly Lights. These have transformed one of London’s iconic locations into a compelling and hugely popular showcase for advertisers and the OOH industry as a whole.

The FEPE Leadership award goes to Naren Patel, CEO of UK OOH owner Primesight, for his outstanding work over many years in helping to lead the OOH industry into a new and exciting future.

The FEPE Lifetime Achievement award goes to the late Dennis Sullivan who played a leading role in creating the UK’s first specialist outdoor planning and buying agency Portland Outdoor. Portland then merged with Poster Publicity to create the world’s first international OOH planning and buying agency with billings of $250m.

Dennis, a hugely popular figure at FEPE Congresses, died unexpectedly in 2017 aged 69. The award was accepted at Congress by his partner Gilly Love

Rising Stars

2018 sees the inaugural FEPE Rising Star award, for people in the industry aged under 30. This year there were two winners Tess Phillips of Australia’s OMA (pictured left) and Stephanie Gutnik of Broadsign (pictured right).

FEPE International President Tom Goddard says: Daktronics’ work on the Piccadilly Lights has set new standards for technical innovation in OOH, as I know well from my role as chairman of Ocean.

“Naren Patel is an inspiring leader for the OOH industry at a time of massive change when such leadership qualities are more essential than ever.

Dennis Sullivan was such a leader too and one of the true pioneers and advocates of the industry when it was establishing itself as a force on the world stage. Our regret, obviously, is that Dennis cannot accept this highly deserved award in person. He is much missed by all of us.

“The new Rising Star award is a timely acknowledgement that change is today’s story in OOH and young people in the industry are driving that change. They’re the future of this great medium and Tess and Stephanie are two hugely impressive representatives of this new generation.”

UK: Ocean Outdoor acquires Scottish OOH company Forrest Media

Ocean Outdoor has significantly expanded its national reach with the acquisition of Glasgow-based Forrest Media, handing it new markets across Scotland at a stroke.

Augmenting its existing presence in England the out-of-home specialist will use the acquisition to further its ‘Digital Cities for Digital Citizens’ growth and consolidation campaign spearheaded by Ocelot Partners, the acquisitions vehicle which itself bought out Ocean in March.

Ocean chief executive officer, Tim Bleakley commented: “Forrest are the champions of Out of Home in Scotland and it’s a business we have long admired. This is a hugely exciting time for both companies and the sector. We are combining Scotland’s most iconic assets with Ocean’s unique technology and award-winning brand.”

Forrest Group founder Chris Trainer added: “Ocean are a fantastic market leading business and the combination today with Forrest Media now delivers a truly national ‘footprint’, which we believe will have very significant benefits in our industry, with great opportunities for the whole team.”

Read more

Netherlands: Hillenaar Outdoor Selects Ayuda

The Netherlands’ fastest growing OOH operator selects Ayuda’s business software platform to run all digital and classic operations Ayuda Media Systems (“Ayuda”), the leading business software provider for out-of-home advertisers announced today at the 2018 FEPE conference that Hillenaar Outdoor, The Netherlands’ fastest growing OOH media company, has selected Ayuda’s platform as the backbone for all ad operations including digital ad serving, sales, back office operations and customer-facing engagement tools. Hillenaar’s expansive offering includes street furniture, bus shelters, and large format billboards in a wide array of digital and traditional formats. The first half of 2018 has already seen development of six new large format Digital Highway signs as part of Hillenaar’s focus on developing premium offerings at strategic locations, which now also includes Museum Square in the heart of Amsterdam.

CEO and Founder Jeroen Hillenaar, a well-known media industry entrepreneur, commented on the decision to partner with Ayuda: “Our core values are delivering flexibility, service, and highly customized campaigns. In Ayuda we have selected a strategic partner that not only powers all of our traditional and digital campaigns via their comprehensive software platform, but one that shares our culture of flexibility and service. In only a few months we are already benefiting from running all our sales, operations, and scheduling on Ayuda’s complete platform, and we have plans to offer our customers the possibility of booking their campaigns online.”

Daniel Fleischer, Ayuda’s Global VP of Business Development & Marketing, added: “Ayuda is honored to be providing our comprehensive platform to help fuel Hillenaar’s rapid growth. We’re very impressed at how quickly the Hillenaar team has deployed the platform – a testament to the same hard work and dedication for which they are recognized by the media buying community. Our focus is to not only make it easier for Hillenaar to scale operationally, but to bring innovation and facility to the local market. In this regard, Hillenaar’s extensive local market expertise coupled with Ayuda’s global experience form the basis of an exciting partnership.”

Hilenaar concludes: “Ayuda brings global expertise and knowledge to the space. I believe that Ayuda can help us to transform the Netherlands OOH industry and help us set new standards. We are looking forward to a long-term partnership where Ayuda will support us and help us grow our business for years to come.”

UK: JCDecaux launches OOH programmatic trading platform

Outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux has launched an automated planning and trading platform which offers out-of-home programmatic trading for media sellers and buyers.

The VIOOH, pronounced ‘View’, platform is said to offer a full stack for automated trading, data management, content serving, and ad exchange functionality. “JCDecaux is delighted to have initiated the launch of VIOOH, a best in class global automated planning and trading platform for the benefit of the whole sector,” said Jean-Charles Decaux, chairman of the executive board and co-CEO of JCDecaux.

“Independent, this new entity will see its shareholding structure evolve depending on discussions within the industry. The platform will provide advertisers and agencies with an enhanced value proposition for out-of-home allowing audience led planning and trading including the ability to plan the OOH digital screen alongside the mobile screen.”

The platform is being rolled out in the UK and the USA before also being introduced to Belgium, Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Singapore, Dubai, Norway, the Netherlands, and more markets.

Read more

UK: Tech - not a friend to all, but it is to OOH (mostly)

by Dominic Mills

It might be fiendishly complex, but the out-of-home sector must get its act together on the use of programmatic, writes Dominic Mills. Plus: a nail in the coffin for CMOs hoping to become CEOs, and a pivotal week for both Sorrell and WPP

I’m not sure what the collective noun for a group of OOH executives would be - a ‘pasting’ perhaps, or a ‘pastie’ - but I am just back from their annual global FEPE gathering in Sorrento last week where I chaired a couple of sessions. I know you’re thinking ‘tough gig, eh?’ but, honestly, someone’s got to do it.

Amidst the debates on data, value, measurement, smart cities, audiences and so on, one comment stood out: “Except for OOH, technology is not a friend to any classic media channel.” The author was Mark Boidman, a New York investment banker from PJ Solomon who specialises in OOH M&A who has also written a book on OOH called Times Square Everywhere - which I suppose gives him double-niche status.

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UK: Talon sharpens retail offer with hyper-local Compass unit

Out of Home agency Talon Outdoor is relaunching its hyper-local planning team as Talon Compass, aimed at bringing accountable planning and buying to clients wanting more bespoke or hyper-local services.

These will include retail clients requiring geographical and location planning. Talon Compass includes Talon’s mapping system AIM and Plat>O for bespoke campaigns.

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Ireland: McDonald’s Goes Dynamic in New OOH Campaign

With summer upon us and the weather finally heating up, McDonald’s has activated a temperature sensitive Digital Out of Home campaign for its McCafé Iced range, using PML Group’s Dynamic platform to manage and deliver optimised content.

The campaign sees the digital ads switch creative seamlessly once the temperature outside reaches a minimum level of 15 degrees Celsius. Dynamic automatically initiates the copy change, delivering content that is relevant and engaging. The platform also works across multiple media owner networks and, in the case of McDonald’s, is incorporating digital OOH screens from JCDecaux, Exterion Media and Wide Eye Outdoor.

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UK: Dear Dan. Is the OOH commercial model really broken?

Dear Dan,

I write in response to your recent article about the Out-of-Home (OOH) commercial model being broken. It’s rare that I’m prompted to respond to such pieces but I freely admit that your article touched a nerve – probably due to the sheer number of points you raise that I take umbrage with.

Firstly, as one of your central themes is transparency, I feel it only right to point out to readers that I have a vested interest – as I work for one of those “select few OOH specialist players” that you reference (Rapport). However, in the interest of transparency, I assume you would agree that it’s only right that we should also point out that you work for a programmatic agency? So your accompanying headline that “programmatic is the fix” – should be viewed through the lens of someone who perhaps has their sights set on that £1.1 billion market that you mention?

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AMERICAS NEWS

USA: My Turn: OOH Collaboration in Action

Nancy Fletcher OAAA President and CEO

After I spoke on the benefits of collaboration (at the OOH Media Conference + Expo in Austin May 8), many people have asked what they can do to advance the industry.

Here are five action categories that combine self-interest with industry progress.

1. Cooperation

OOH groups have proliferated, absorbing time, resources, and dues. If you belong to more than one OOH organization, strive to share information, brainpower, and what works for the sake of efficiency, effectiveness, and unity.

With 4 percent of ad-spend going to OOH, our (small) part of the advertising industry is strongest and more successful when we speak with one voice with brands, agencies, Wall Street, and the press.

Examples of Collaboration in Action:

To simplify the buying process and avoid confusion in the marketplace, five groups are collaborating to develop one set of standards for digital OOH. This milestone should be completed by the end of 2018, with digital OOH standards endorsed by Geopath, Digital Place-Based Advertising Association, Digital Signage Federation, Interactive Advertising Bureau, and OAAA.

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USA: Media Case Study Analysis Reaffirms Power of OOH

In a new strategy report using insights from award-winning media case studies, OOH was found to be a lead media channel. Of the campaigns that won the 2017 WARC Media Awards, OOH was used more as a lead media channel than any other medium except TV. OOH tied with social media, both more popular than mobile, online display, and video.

A focus on emotion and storytelling were two of the top three creative strategies used by brands in many of the winning campaigns. Recent research by Ebiquity shows how more established media such as OOH and TV are the most effective at triggering an emotional response, with paid social media, online display, and online video less effective.

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USA: Supporting OOH Collaboration, Standardization And Competition

By Dan Levi

Five years ago, the idea of an out-of-home (OOH) media platform that could deliver audience insights to help marketers plan and measure the efficacy of their OOH campaigns was unknown. There was a shared goal of more closely integrating digital and printed OOH planning into the broader ad buying ecosystem, thus enabling agencies and marketers to transact OOH audiences as part of digitally-led campaigns, but neither the technology, nor the data, were available.

Times have changed, and the OOH renaissance is here. As the OOH industry collaborates with the Media Ratings Council (MRC) in the development of published standards and protocols for measuring OOH audiences, the biggest winners will be agency partners and the brands they represent.

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AUSTRALIA NEWS

Australia: Adshel transforms national coverage with launch of Metro Trains Melbourne

Having successfully completed the transformation of the Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) network, Adshel today announces the launch of its full rail offering in Australia, reaching 1 in 3 Australians each week. Coupling Metro Trains with the existing Sydney Trains offering, Adshel Rail now dominates 90 stations in Australia’s two busiest urban centres.

Adshel’s high impact dominations have launched right in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD today with Beem It, Head of Marketing & Communications, Andrew Campbell saying of the launch, “We’re excited to launch Beem It, an instant payments app that allows anyone to pay, request and split a bill with friends and family, across Adshel’s Rail network in Melbourne. This is the first campaign for us in out-of-home – and this solution helps us drive awareness through high-impact placements.”

The new Adshel Rail proposition is unlike any in the market. By combining Melbourne and Sydney rail networks into simple packages, Adshel offers advertisers the platform to use dynamic, fully animated and video content to achieve superior cut-through and to extend their multi-screen strategy out of home. In doing so they will connect and engage with 15 million commuter journeys each week.

Specifically in Melbourne, Adshel Rail delivers a tier-one commuter media platform across 38 stations, providing unprecedented access to the hearts and minds of an affluent, highly educated, big spending audience. The deployment of more than 150 digital displays boasts best in class high-definition 86” portrait screens complemented by the largest eye-level digital screens in Australia; The Wonder Wall at Melbourne’s busiest station Flinders Street, measuring 21m2 and the WOW Wall at Melbourne Central measuring 14m2.

Adshel CEO Mike Tyquin said of the launch, “Adshel’s commitment to engaging key audiences at scale is front and centre with the roll out of MTM. We’ve completely overhauled the offering, reflecting the value of the rail audience and importance of the Melbourne market. The inclusion of MTM to Adshel’s product offering further complements our strategy to become the most impactful out-of-home business in Australia.”

Australia: Shopper Media Group Offers Greater Personalisation and Local Area Marketing Capabilities with Ayuda

Australia’s fastest growing retail out-of-home business*, Shopper Media Group, celebrates one year of partnering with out-of-home ad tech company, Ayuda Media Systems (Ayuda) as it continues to deliver market-leading digital media solutions across its shopping communities. Shopper Media Group has transitioned 100% of their Smartlite® digital advertising panels onto the Ayuda integrated software platform to take advantage of the most technologically advanced, flexible software in the industry to manage sales, scheduling, data-driven digital ad serving and customer-facing enablement tools.

Shopper Media Group’s partnership with Ayuda demonstrates its focus on delivering unrivalled technology in the OOH space and customisable campaigns to clients.

Shopper Media Group have utilised the Ayuda software to streamline content scheduling, allow mass personalisation capabilities and increased creative campaign flexibility to align even better with the needs of each individual advertiser.

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Australia: How transparency and accountability helped Seedooh get outdoor vendors on board

It's hard to believe that 20 years ago the out-of-home advertising industry was at a standstill, with close to no digital screens or audience measurement metrics. But as companies evolve and digital becomes more prevalent, questions are often asked. How much does it cost compared to static? What are the quality of these screens like? And as the digital outdoor advertising space continues to soar, measurement becomes a necessity. Zoe Samios looks at one of the potential solutions.

Despite it often being cited as the media owner success story of recent times, there are many questions around outdoor advertising: How effective are these sites? Are advertisers getting the share of voice they pay for? Are there screen faults? Are the screens even there? Is the campaign being delivered accurately at all sites?

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AFRICA NEWS

Ivory Coast: Pikasso Launches Ivory Coast Activity

Pikasso, a leading Out-Of-Home company in the Levant and North Africa today announced that it has entered the Ivory Coast market under the name of Pikasso Côte d'Ivoire sarl. The Group is now present in 8 countries.

Pikasso Côte d'Ivoire has won the advertising concession of the three malls of Prosuma Group in Abidjan, namely: Cap Sud, Cap Nord, and La Djibi, as well as the exclusive concession of Cosmos mall, developed by HC Capital Properties, which will open its doors in 2018.

Pikasso will deploy state-of-the-art inventory composed of large format full motion digital screens, 75” LCD screens fitted with all engagement tools as well as static and special displays. The company is also preparing the imminent deployment of large formats in prime locations of Abidjan.

Abidjan is the economic capital of Ivory Coast, its largest city and its main urban center. It is also its most populated city with nearly 5 million inhabitants. The headquarters of the West African Common Stock Exchange (BRVM) is located in Abidjan, making it the main financial center of the Francophone West Africa.

Antonio Vincenti, CEO of Pikasso, said: “We are very proud to have been chosen by Prosuma for the advertising concession of their three malls, as well as by HC Capital Properties for their new mall Cosmos. This will allow us to launch our activity in Ivory Coast by bringing to the market the new concept of mall advertising. With 30 malls under concession, Pikasso will offer brands and advertising agencies the opportunity to reach a much sought-after new audience of mid to high purchasing power individuals. Our ambition is to contribute to the development of the OOH industry in Ivory Coast by bringing our know-how, our best practices and our qualitative client servicing.”

South Africa: Joburg outdoor advertising by-laws promulgated

The new outdoor advertising bylaw has come full circle and is now law. The City of Johannesburg’s new outdoor advertising by-law has been promulgated, or officially put into effect, after it was published in the provincial gazette at the end of May.

MMC for Development Planning, Councillor Reuben Masango, expressed his excitement, adding that it was the last step before the by-laws come into operation. This by-law is the product of concerns about the misuse of outdoor advertising in the City.

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ASIA NEWS

Pakistan: Kinetic Worldwide’s Dennis Kuperus and Ahsan Sheikh on OOH in Pakistan

Branding in Asia caught up with Kinetic Pakistan CEO Ahsan Sheikh and Kinetic Worldwide head of Global Innovation Dennis Kuperus at AOTC 1.0 earlier this year to talk about the importance of OOH for brands marketing in Pakistan.

“The significance of out of home (OOH) in Pakistan is big, it’s already a huge percentage in the media mix,” said Kuperus. “And also what we’ve learned from brands here is that the recall that they have when they do out of home campaigns is high.”

Watch the entire interview here: