Ocean Outdoor sends a message of ‘go big or go home’ as leadership shifts

Through its new leadership structure, Ocean Outdoor is sending a clear message to the market — a message of growth.

In October, it was announced that Nick Shaw, currently the chief commercial officer UK, would take over from Phil Hall as CEO, from 1 January 2026.

Hall will become group chief operating officer. He underlines the driver behind the decision: “We’re a business that tends to be very good at planning, and this is something that’s been planned for a long time.

“Really, it’s all about growth. We want to grow as a business, and we are growing as a business.”

The Media Leader sits down with Shaw and Hall to uncover what this growth looks like and what the market should expect.

The vision

Shaw, who has been with the business for 16 years, reflects on his journey, the opportunity to work in different roles across Ocean, and how it has led him to where he is today.

“I was the eleventh employee, so we’ve been through a huge amount of change, and at that sort of size you do everything, so you learn about all the facets of the business,” he says.

This past year for Ocean has been about “going back to basics” through investing in inventory and quality.

Shaw states: “Quality is incredibly important to us.”

The aim for the coming year, Shaw explains, is to take this investment and develop it into new cities and to implement and market new sites, echoing this growth rhetoric.

One site that Shaw is particularly excited about is the London Olympia redevelopment, which features an impressive 800 sqm ceiling screen.

Winning this contract signals that Ocean’s growth plan is not straying far from its roots, with large-format, full-motion, deep-screen technology screens signature to its style.

The OOH company has continued to push boundaries in terms of creativity this year, with the launch of its mobile DOOH interactive cuboid, which features audio, plug-and-play engagement, camera-based analytics, and mixed reality.

Hall joined the business in 2019 as joint managing director, before progressing to UK CEO in 2023 and to group chief commercial officer in January 2025, a role he held alongside his CEO position.

Having joined just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he reflects on this unique time and how it has shaped his and the businesses’ resilience.

“If I am looking for a silver lining, it allowed me to instantly get under the skin of the business really quickly,” Hall says.

“Nothing focuses you like a crisis.”

Having spent 19 years of his career at Mediacom, Hall brings a complementary perspective to Ocean, which he has utilised to shape decisions and to drive growth.

This growth remains top of his priority list, highlighting how the next chapter in his new role will be focused on providing advice and supporting other territories.

Ocean Outdoor has a presence across the UK, the Netherlands, the Nordics and Germany.

Hall outlines how they are always looking to expand into new markets. He states, “Where there is the potential for really high quality, premium, eye-catching OOH and where we see businesses in another market that are behaving in that way, that is always of interest to us.”

Additionally, Hall explains that Ocean seeks opportunities in markets where it can deliver value and distinction to advertisers by asking, “Is there a right opportunity for us to be different and additive?”

The Ocean way

Centric to its growth strategy, Shaw is “doubling down” on what makes Ocean stand out.

He further outlines the feeling of a wave of opportunity coming for the OOH industry, citing AI and the rising trend of brand-led advertising, which Shaw pins as Ocean’s bread and butter.

“Full motion is very unique to Ocean — big, bold brand-led advertising — it’s what clients want,” Shaw adds.

Hall echoes this argument, stating: “It’s about premium and it’s about creativity as well, really high quality, engaging creatives on a standout canvas — we know advertisers want that.”

This “unmissable advertising,” as the pair describe, is why they believe OOH — specifically large-format DOOH — is why more advertisers should be investing in the medium.

Citing research developed with Lumen, Ocean released earlier this year, Shaw disagrees with the notion that OOH is a low attention medium, as maintained in a Newswork study with Peter Field.

“It’s always measured from the lowest or smallest screen, which is the D6; attention time is 1.9 seconds, large format gives three times that — so why aren’t we being measured against that?

“Go big or go home, I love that,” Shaw says.

Challenges and resilience

Referencing the shift in recent years in media budgets towards digital platforms, Phil underlines the distinct ability of OOH, especially as brand building moves centre stage.

He says: “Data and targeting are really important; there is something powerful about speaking to all people in the community in the same voice, at the same time.

“Advertisers have to get their message out to people; some of those people will be in the market now, but some will be years down the line — you’ve got to start building that brand equity early.

“And I don’t think that’s ever not going to be important, and OOH is brilliant for that.”

Hall also points to the rise in ad avoidance, specifically among younger people; he argues that OOH “doesn’t suffer from this issue.”

Frustration is evident, with Hall stating: “The biggest challenge is investment and growth.

“On paper, everything is set for OOH to take off completely, and we are growing but not fast enough.”

The antidote?

Shaw believes it’s continued resilience.

He says: “We’re actually quite resilient, as is the industry, more than it’s given credit for.”

Looking ahead

The next chapter for Shaw, Hall, and Ocean as a business is strong leadership and a balanced approach.

The incoming CEO does not make light of the challenges ahead, with economic uncertainty and difficulties expected to continue, but highlights his secret weapon.

“I’ve got a very strong leadership team that we have managed to create,” he says.

“First priority will be to keep the team together.”

Shaw also speaks on the launch of eight to nine new sites, the need to defend contracts and also a focus on the creative community, which he maintains is central to OOH’s success.

For Hall, the next steps are “all based around growth.”

“It will be making sure we’re taking best practice from the UK, our biggest market, and applying it everywhere,” he says.

The overall sentiment from Shaw and Hall remains one of hope and optimism about the growing influence and power of OOH, and the coupled roles of technology and creativity.