JCDecaux Takes £5 Million Contract From Clear Channel

Outdoor advertising company JCDecaux has taken the £5 million advertising contract for panels on 50,000 BT phone boxes across the UK from rival Clear Channel.

“This is a great opportunity to market a product that has universal penetration and is an integral part of the cityscape,” said Jeremy Male, UK chief executive at JCDecaux. “It is an urban medium with a presence in all the key city centres providing huge reach against the highly sought after youth audience.”

The current advertising contract is held by Clear Channel, which has held the rights under the Adshel Connect brand for the past two years. Currently 20,000 of the boxes carry poster advertising, but JCDecaux has sole rights to cover the remaining 30,000.

“JCDecaux has demonstrated a real understanding of our business and it will be investing in the sales and marketing infrastructure to realise the full potential of the business,” said Nigel Stagg, managing director for enterprises at BT Retail.

JCDecaux is reported to be part of the bidding process to pick up smaller Outdoor player Primesight, put up for sale by parent company SMG last month (see SMG To Sell Pearl & Dean And Primesight). The French company is believed to be in the running, along Viacom Outdoor and Titan.

The five-year deal is expected to start sometime in the New Year, and includes advertising space across phone boxes in England, Wales and Scotland.

JCDecaux: 020 7298 8000 www.jcdecaux.co.uk