Advances in AI and data analytics are causing a boom in the billboard and outdoor advertising market. Interactive screens in public spaces are connecting with customers in fresh new ways – providing brands with a wide range of new opportunities to entertain, inform and promote their products
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00:00The billboards and outdoor advertising market is booming. Artificial intelligence and ultra-fast
00:07connectivity have brought fresh growth to an industry now worth more than $30 billion
00:14worldwide.
00:18Welcome to The Exchange from our studio here in Doha. Coming up on this episode, we speak
00:24to J.C. Decaux, one of the biggest billboard businesses on the planet. The company's chief
00:30data officer, Sylvain LeBourne, explains how big screens are changing the way brands and
00:36citizens connect with each other. Plus, we talk to Niccolo De Masi, chairman of Futurum
00:41Research about the technology revolutionizing outdoor advertising.
00:46Well, the sphere opened in Las Vegas last year with a massive 16K wraparound screen.
00:53It's estimated to have cost a staggering $2.3 billion, making it the most expensive
00:59installation of its kind ever built in the city. Launched in 2021 in the Shinjuku area
01:05of Tokyo, one of the largest video screens in Japan has been entertaining pedestrians
01:11with its popular 3D cat. At over eight meters tall and almost 19 meters wide, the friendly
01:16feline pops up to greet people walking below seven times every hour from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
01:24And back in the US, Detroit Metropolitan Airport launched a high tech screen in 2022 that provides
01:30personalized information to 100 Delta passengers on a single screen at the same time. Each
01:37passenger is offered completely different information customized to their journey. The
01:42screen greets each traveler by name and shows them a range of information from their departure
01:47time to which direction they should walk next. Competing with brands like Clear Channel Outdoor
01:53and Lamar Advertising, French family owned company JCDecaux operates one of the world's
01:59largest networks of outdoor advertising displays, reaching an audience of 850 million people.
02:05I asked Chief Data Officer Sylvain Le Bon how technology and data is transforming the business
02:11of advertising in public spaces.
02:16The technology is bringing different opportunities to outdoor advertising. On one end, you can see
02:22in the execution of the advertising in the public space, you can have much more interactivity,
02:28much more brilliant execution of the creative power of the brand we are working with.
02:35It has become a really, really engaging, interactive media that is also very, very
02:41experiential because by being in a public space, you can really connect directly with the consumer.
02:47The digitization of our media is accelerating and we are seeing a fantastic growth. We are also
02:53making a lot of efforts around data to make sure that we provide the best solution for brands to
02:59target, to understand the consumer and their behavior on the public space, and to be able
03:04to execute a truly dynamic campaign, making sure that we take into account the context.
03:09But also, the last important stretch we are looking into is how we can provide more services
03:15to everyone based on data, making sure that we improve the day-to-day life of as many people as
03:23we can. From France to Qatar, earlier this year, the organizers of Doha's Spectacular Expo 2023
03:32event invited me along to test how the latest AI-powered touchscreens are helping visitors
03:38to customize their experience. Four million people visited Qatar's Expo between October 2023
03:46and March this year. The huge horticultural event showcased exhibits from 80 countries
03:52stretching across 1.7 million square meters of Doha's Al Bidha Park.
03:59Thousands of outdoor displays and interactive touchscreens like those here behind me were a
04:05major part of this event. Many of these screens have been cleverly crafted with AI to enhance
04:11the visitor experience. Fred Nekatch, Expo 2023's digital content manager, is the man in charge of
04:20this vast network of screens. This really works when you are here and you can either go from one
04:27screen to the next, seeing what's next, or you can just have it on your phone and navigate and
04:34actually see it before you get there and also what is on the way to get there, where you can stop,
04:42and what else you want to see. So I do believe that this is a tool that future Expos are going
04:48to want to, you know, it's a good idea to have it for sure, you know, like they're going to want to
04:52bet on this. It's not just about wayfinding and maps and, you know, like 3D models, it's about AI
04:59and obviously all the fun you can have with that. From AI-driven art to interactive adverts,
05:07increasingly it seems there are no limits on the role screen time can play in the future of events.
05:13Niccolo De Masi is chairman of the global technology research firm Futurum Group.
05:18I asked him to explain the trends behind this growth in the high-tech outdoor screen market.
05:25So outdoor advertising, one can argue, is the oldest form of advertising. It's the original
05:30form of advertising. And what's fascinating in today's world is that it's being amplified.
05:37You know, Instagrammers want pictures with great outdoor advertising in great places that denotes
05:43and connotes they were there and what they were doing. And you're seeing that ultimately we're
05:49really just scratching the surface as we start to digitize these outdoor billboards with where
05:56we can drive gamification, connectivity with your cell phone, connectivity someday even with maybe
06:02AR, VR, mixed reality headset. And of course, you have other tailwinds at the back of this such as
06:08the growth of cities, the rebound of cities after the pandemic. And I think that when I look at the
06:13next couple of decades, I really expect that this medium will go from strength to strength.
06:21Now it's time for our regular feature, Business in 60 Seconds. Start the clock.
06:25It's going to be a little bit different this week. We're going to be talking about
06:29start the clock. It's time for the world's largest watchmaker to have their annual general meeting.
06:35Citizen, the 106 year old multibillion dollar watchmaking group, has a diversified strategy.
06:40Investors will be watching to see if their approach of selling products at both ends of the
06:45market is a plan that can continue to stand the test of time. Levi Strauss and company will share
06:51a Q2 release for 2024. The group reported an operating loss in the first quarter of the year,
06:57attributing the disappointing performance to the closing of its Denizen brand and exiting the
07:03Russian market. Bosses are hoping to ensure analysts will be reassured by a new 20 year
07:09deal with logistics giant GXO designed to improve the company's efficiency. And Pets at Home group
07:16PLC, the growing UK pet retailer, has its AGM. The group now operates at 450 different locations.
07:23The company now also provides a network of in-store vet surgeries and grooming centers.
07:31Smartphones have revolutionized what people can do with the very smallest devices.
07:36But thanks to AI and big data, the power of the big screen has had a resurgence and is booming
07:43too. Well, that's all we have time for on this edition of the show. Thank you for watching.
07:48Please do check out Euronews.com for all your latest business news.
07:52And join us again next time on the exchange.