JCDecaux sets sights on other ad markets following merger

Josh McDonnell
By Josh McDonnell | 23 May 2019
 
JCDecaux Australia's Steve O'Connor

Out of home provider JCDecaux has revealed plans to take on other advertising sectors as it looks to drive further revenue following the completion of its merger with APN Outdoor.

The OOH business acquired APN mid-way through last year and, at an event held in Sydney yesterday, outlined its intentions for the market now that internal restructuring has been completed.

"The fact is we aren't going to increase revenue taking business directly from our competitors," JCDecaux Australia CEO Steve O'Connor says.

"We have to grow the sector, and the opportunities are there with the structural changes going on throughout the industry and the decline in audiences through typical media channels."

O'Connor added that conversations with media agencies in recent months had highlighted an interest in "pulling back" from digital advertising spend.

JCDecaux seeks to capitalise on this as it continues to roll out more digital panels throughout major hubs in Australia, while also converting remaining static OOH sites.

"With agencies keen to pull back on their digital spend, we feel that we can be beneficiaries of that. So by investing in research around how we can accelerate other forms of media in our business, rather than be a standalone medium, will allow us to grow the sector," O'Connor says.

As the rest of adland continue to see slumps in ad spend over the past six months, outdoor has been one of the better performing categories, with spend up 2.4% year-on-year, according to the latest SMI figures.

O'Connor also used the opportunity to address early concerns around pricing and competitive advantage in the market, as outdoor is now dominated by JCDecaux and the recently merged Ooh!Media and Adshel (now Commute).

He says that while agencies did have early concerns, JCDecaux believes the mergers has only heightened the competitive nature of outdoor.

"The whole competition side of the argument hasn't changed one bit, in fact, it's intensified," O'Connor says.

"We both want to grow our revenues quite a lot and the agencies are playing that to their advantage, putting very large briefs in market and in some cases, the winner takes all. This is creating a very competitive and aggressive situation."

Adding to this, JCDecaux also revealed that it would be taking a heavily data-led strategy going forward, emploring agencies to adopt more dynamic and native out of home campaigns.

The OOH provider has continued to grow their data stack over recent months, partnering with Westpac to use transactional data to create deeper, behavioural and geo-mapped, targeted campaigns.

O'Connor also briefly commented on the current situation between the business and the City of Sydney.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that the council would be rejecting the current proposal from JCDecaux and telco partner Telstra, instead looking to work with other suppliers.

O'Connor played down the issue, stating that when it came to the future of one of Australia's largest outdoor contracts, "the ball was in their court".

With JCDecaux the owner of the street furniture throughout Sydney, the financial ramifications for the council could be significant.

Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au

Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.

comments powered by Disqus