Global boldly enters the out-of-home market: industry reaction
Global, the UK’s largest commercial radio group, has moved into the out-of-home sector with the purchase of Primesight and Outdoor Plus. The surprise double acquisition, to be named Global Outdoor, is estimated to have cost more than £200m, and has shocked many in the industry. Here, experts share their views.
Nicole Lonsdale, Chief Planning Officer, Kinetic UK
The news that Global has acquired Primesight and Outdoor Plus will no doubt send ripples through the OOH-sector, whose consolidation we have long been anticipating. The move follows a period of strong growth for traditional advertising mediums, comprising OOH, TV and radio, and is a reflection of heavier industry investment into mediums which can offer both creative excellence and brand safety – sometimes absent from online activations.
The newly formed Global Outdoor looks potentially well placed to offer a ‘one-stop shop’ for integrated OOH and radio campaigns. Despite being a new entrant to the OOH sector, Global nonetheless has a strong commercial track record which suggests it could yet make further acquisitions to bolster their position against the market leaders.
However, for the OOH industry as a whole, the entry of Global could hasten the decrease in classic billboard inventory, as the new entity is likely to focus on growing its digital portfolio. This has been evident in Global’s push towards programmatic radio with its DAX platform, and from a planning perspective, joining the dots between OOH and radio through programmatic would only add value to its proposition.
Nonetheless, consolidation in the OOH industry is a broadly positive trend insofar as it accelerates tech development and the adoption of common industry standards. We’ll be watching for further developments in this space very closely.
This strategic move from Global follows a recent pattern of media owners doubling down on acquisitions to expand their reach and relevance across more platforms and formats. This promises to offer smarter opportunities for brands across multiple properties in the future – particularly at a time when owners who provide audience-led, creative solutions at scale are offering the most value.
Global now has credible solutions on air, online and outdoor, making them appealing as a one-stop-shop for integrated planning especially in channels that are enjoying year-on-year growth.
In a climate where advertisers are increasingly looking to close the loop on their respective media investments and impact, this acquisition comes at an opportune time.
Global’s acquisition of OOH media owners Primesight and Outdoor Plus is a landmark deal which will surely have consequences for the wider industry, beyond just out-of-home.
At a time with digital clutter is increasingly difficult to cut-through for brands, traditional mediums such as out-of-home offer great value in being physically present on the customer journey. Indeed, the IPA’s latest Touchpoints research found that Londoners alone spend 3.5 hours consuming outdoor media, making it second only to TV in terms of exposure.
Out-of-home also heavily trades on its ability to leverage location insights to drive “targeted broadcast” – enabling marketers to reach consumers with contextually relevant content. Mindshare’s recent Location Matters research found that this type of ‘localised marketing’ looks to only increase in value; 6 in 10 UK consumers expect brand community engagement in their local area, whilst re-targeting consumers based on past places can significantly influence future purchase behaviour.
By bringing radio and OOH under one roof, Global has created a highly desirable proposition for planners, and one which could allow dynamic location insights to be woven into cross-channel campaigns.
It’s encouraging to see major players from other media sectors identifying the potential and speed of development within OOH, and wanting to become a part of this themselves.
The move is a clever way of bringing multiple media touchpoints together under one offering; this structure will provide smart opportunities for advertisers and will bring with it huge creative potential in addition.
OOH is a complementary fit for many other media businesses, particularly radio – it’ll be interesting to watch Global Outdoor bring new innovations to the sector.