‘oOh!media threw down the gauntlet’: Industry reacts to the company’s annual ‘OutFront’
At oOh!media’s annual ‘Outfront’ on Wednesday evening, the outdoor leaders announced the strategic expansion of its retail media division, major long-term contracts with Waverley and Northern Beaches Councils and Eastlink, further scaling of its Street Furniture network across Sydney, and cutting-edge dual large format screens with full-motion 3D capabilities.
What did the industry think? Rather than speculate endlessly, we just asked some of them.
Daniel Cutrone – managing partner, media – Avenue C
OOh!media threw down the gauntlet this evening, presenting a formidable proposal to the market achieving scale, innovation, and effectiveness.
The recent acquisition of two new Sydney street furniture council contracts (Waverly and North Beaches) represent a strategic expansion of their premium network, further enhancing the already robust “commuter” portfolio which includes Woollahra and key metro stations in Sydney and Melbourne.
With no dates of transition mentioned, it may be some time before this becomes in effect. But one thing is for sure, the street furniture dynamic is about to be turned upside down across Sydney and Melbourne.
OOh!media will be able to reach 98% of audiences and boast a 13% efficiency delivered by their scale – an attempt to secure more deals in market. With greater measurement capabilities, a focus on AI improved trading, targeting resources and creative optimisation – they are best positioned to fly this flag.
With a “shift to outcomes”, I will be extremely interested if oOh!media becomes the first OOH vendor to move to outcome-based trading, a move which many advertisers would be eager to explore and activate within this current market.
Lauren Bauer – business director – This is Flow
The headline for me was oOh!’s laser focus on new to market tenders; looking to capture clear space and further defend their position as the biggest OOH provider.
OOh!media are clearly investing in growing their network through new tenders across Sydney & Melbourne, spruiking that they will have 100% coverage of Sydney’s highest earning postcodes with the additions of Waverly & Northern Beaches councils. The digitisation of these networks, as well as initiatives like eco living roofs on shelters will be a welcomed addition to postcodes which have historically lacked impactful OOH coverage. Particularly appealing for clients who are going after that higher income audience, with the ease of a digital network.
After the rollout of (the majority) the Sydney metro contract, oOh! have turned their sights to essentially the Melbourne equivalent – a smart move to drive reach and simplify the network across the biggest states. This really cements the move to go after new assets, and new environments, adding yet another format to the mix to assert dominance in the Sydney market and combat JCD’s hold on the train & bus contracts.
Following suit in the world of 3DA, oOh! are rolling out capability across their broader network to maximise scale, which is a win for the industry as 3D spills into rail, office, university & more. I’m most interested to see if they will launch production support arm alongside, as we still see this being the biggest barrier to entry with clients.
oOh! are looking to defend their slice of the retail pie, with a further 200 buying segments fuelled by Unpacked (Flybys) & Westpac data. No real surprise here, with increased competition in the retail space with players such as Cartology and their ComBank iQ offering which was announced in July.
Alessandro Vari – client director – Carat, a dentsu company
It was very exciting to see oOh! announcing new contracts being secured across Sydney and Melbourne, with a clear focus on building incrementality across an already impressive network.
Beyond this, oOh!’s new retail marketing GTM, plus a suite of fresh format ideas for driving talkability, fame, and impact, underscores the true value of the channel throughout the funnel.
Vera Manalac – group investment director, iProspect, a dentsu company
The tender wins that they announced will be huge for them in 2025 and really speaks to the scale they are able to deliver in outdoor buys.
What I loved most was that while they spoke to their investment into the development of their strong data capabilities and AI, oOh!’s outfronts focussed on outdoor advertising’s ability to build brand fame and ultimately drive real business outcomes for brands, which is really what outdoor is all about!
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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