End Of Year News Round-Up: Outdoor
January
Outdoor got off to a shaky start in 2002 with the latest figures from Blade showing that revenue for the sector was down by 2.5% in 2001. However, it was predicted that the outdoor industry would rise out of the downturn with 4% growth in 2002 (see Outdoor Revenue Falls But Outlook Is Positive). Maiden began the year with the acquisition of bill posting company, Checkmain (see Maiden Acquires Bill Posting Company), and announced plans to roll out two new London Transvision sites in Euston and Liverpool Street stations in the spring or summer. Meanwhile, Viacom Outdoor confirmed the names of the first five brands to use its London Underground cross-track projection system, XTP (see First Brands On XTP Revealed) and BlowUp Media signed a deal to install and sell giant posters at the top of Liverpool’s tallest building.
February
French outdoor group, JCDecaux, reported full year results for 2001 revealing revenue growth of 8.9%, in line with expectations and ‘comfortably’ ahead of both the outdoor and overall advertising markets (see JCDecaux ‘Comfortably’ Ahead Of Outdoor Market
March
The outdoor and ambient industry saw two “biggest ever” campaigns booked this month, with Taxi Media and Maiden‘s AdRail playing host to campaigns from financial services company More Th>n and Toyota (see March Brings Big Campaigns In Outdoor). Meanwhile, outdoor buying company, Blade, announced plans to launch a division dedicated to giant banners and oversized outdoor formats (see Blade To Launch Giant Size Division) and Translucis revealed that around 1.3 million people visit a bar or club containing its Magnetic plasma-screen ad network in the average week (see Translucis Ad Screens Prove Magnetic). Elsewhere, JCDecaux launched what it claimed to be the first permanent specialised network of LED update screens in the UK (see JCDecaux Rolls Out LED Network) before releasing its full year results for 2001, which revealed a 2.1% fall in profits and a downbeat outlook for Q1 2002.
April
April saw Blade suggest that continued delays to the launch of Viacom Outdoor’s XTP cross-track projection system could cost the outdoor industry £10m in revenue this year (see XTP Delay Could Cost Outdoor Industry £10m). However, on a more positive note, JCDecaux International secured a five year, £61 million pan-European advertising deal with Unilever (see JCDecaux Secures £61m Deal With Unilever) and reported Q1 sales of E358.6 million for 2002, an increase of 4.7% on the E342.6 million reported for Q1 2001.
May
Viacom Outdoor sent shockwaves through the industry by confirming that its XTP cross-track projection system will not launch this year as expected due to the Swedish company responsible for installing and maintaining the digital advertising screens, going into liquidation (see XTP System Will Not Launch This Year). Meanwhile, Scottish Radio Holdings agreed to sell its outdoor advertising division, Score Outdoor, to Clear Channel UK for a minimum of £33.5 million in a move intended to create a third national force in billboard advertising (see Score Outdoor Sale To Create Third Force In Market). In other news, Clear Channel UK’s billboard business, More O’Ferrall, signed a five year deal to market Cal Brown Advertising’s portfolio of outdoor sites in London and Posterscope launched a new ambient division called Hyperspace to focus on non-traditional out-of-home media.(see Posterscope Goes Into Hyperspace). May also saw the fledgling Out-Of-Home Media Association announce the appointment of former POSTAR managing director, Richard Holliday, as its chairman (see Out-Of-Home Media Association Appoints Chairman).
June
June was a positive month for rail and metro advertising, with figures from Outdoor Connection showing that revenue had increased by more than £50m in the last five years and should exceed £142m by the end of 2002 (see Rail And Metro Media Revenue Set To Top £142m). UK-based giant poster company, Mega Profile, came together with nine other similar companies across Europe in June to offer advertisers access to the first international network of large format poster sites (see Mega Profile To Head European Giant Poster Consortium). Meanwhile, Maiden Outdoor announced a repackaging of its AdRail portfolio to make its products more relevant to client sectors (see Maiden Outdoor Unveils New AdRail Packages) July
July saw JCDecaux sign a five year deal with Excel Outdoor to extend its portfolio of London 48-sheet sites by 400 (see JCDecaux Extends London 48-Sheet Offering With Excel Deal), while Megaposter secured the rights to sell advertising on three major giant banner sites in London’s West End. Elsewhere, Shopfront Media became the first ambient media owner to be aligned with the POSTAR audience measurement system.
August
The latest figures from the Outdoor Advertising Association showed that Outdoor Advertising revenue for the second quarter of 2002 declined by 1.9% year on year to £173.6m. On a brighter note, Clear Channel’s acquisition of Score Outdoor from Scottish Radio Holding was approved by the Office Of Fair Trading and Megaposter launched a new research division called MegaImpact (see Megaposter Launches New Research Division). In other news, Viacom Outdoor announced the appointment of Rashim Abraham to the newly created role of engineering and Technical Director (see Viacom Reiterates Commitment To New Technologies) and research found that a campaign for McDonald’s McChoice menu was the most recognised promotion to run across Maiden’s roadside advertising network in the first half of 2002 (see McDonalds Tops Roadside Advert Recognition Survey).
September
The start of autumn saw Viacom launch an initiative that would see its outdoor unit and entertainment brands come together to offer advertisers new cross-media opportunities (see Viacom Units Link For Cross-Media Sell). Meanwhile, Taxi Media and Mastercard launched what they claim to be the first ever London taxi campaign to promote an SMS competition (see Taxi Media Gets Into SMS With Mastercard). Elsewhere, JCDecaux secured the 15-year street furniture contract for Watford (see JCDecaux Wins 15-Year Street Furniture Contract) and announced its half-year results showing an 8.4% rise in net profits. Maiden Group fared less well revealing that sales had declined by 5.1% in the six months to 30 June 2002, pushing the group into the red.
October
Clear Channel announced plans to rebrand its UK billboard company, More O’Ferrall, as Clear Channel as part of a £5 million upgrading programme aimed at positioning the company as the country’s leading force in outdoor advertising (see More O’Ferrall To Rebrand As Clear Channel). The US-owned groups also announced the formation of a new nationwide banner advertising division and a raft of new appointments. Meanwhile, news that Outdoor advertising is set to become more accountable came with the launch of a new audience measurement system from Nielsen Outdoor (see Outdoor Advertising To Become More Accountable).
November
The latest figures from the Outdoor Advertising Association showed that revenue increased by 5.06% year on year during the third quarter of 2002 (see Outdoor Advertising Sets Its Sights On Recovery). Elsewhere, JCDecaux secured the 15-year contract to provide street furniture to the city of Leicester (see JCDecaux Wins Leicester Street Furniture Contract) and Viacom Outdoor unveiled a new initiative to allow brands to sponsor buskers and advertise on ticket gateways on London Underground’s tube network.
December
The Christmas month bough positive new for the outdoor industry with figures from the Advertising Association’s Quarterly Survey Of Advertising Expenditure showing that outdoor adspend improved by 5.1% year on year between July and September to reach £183 million (see AA Figures Show TV Is The Fastest Growing Ad Sector). In other news, Adshel secured the new 15 year street furniture contract for Salisbury, beating rival bids from three other contractors (see Adshel Secures Salisbury Street Furniture Contract).
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive