Talon APAC are a member of BritCham and are proud to be supporting their 70^th Anniversary Year celebrations. We admire their devotion to fostering continued support for businesses, communities and connections.

We were delighted to attend their celebrations at the High Commissioner’s residence, Eden Hall, and enjoyed the discussion about the continuing close trade relationship between Singapore and the UK.

Based in Singapore with offices worldwide, Talon APAC boost brands locally, nationally and globally with innovative Out of Home campaigns.

Read more about Britcham and how they support British businesses.

Bangalore, INDIA – July 2024.

It is always an interesting journey when you have an opportunity to speak to your industry. This happened when I travelled to Bangalore for the #OAC2024 conference in July. Hundreds of leaders from the Out-of-Home (OOH) industry gathered to connect and collaborate on the challenges within the India OOH space, what the future looks like, and what is needed to propel and prepare businesses.

My presentation focused on behind-the-scenes and what is critical to prepare for the future landscape – which can be exciting and provocative.

The following is a summary of my presentation that (for context) is based on my 26+ year career in media – Experiential, Radio, Television, Digital, and OOH; on the client, agency, and media owner side, which gives me a holistic perspective of the industry. My current role at Talon also provides a full OOH industry view from clients, brands, agencies through to media owners and tech suppliers.

What did I cover?

• Global OOH landscape
• Three Levers for Growth and;
• An Inherent Risk (and also an opportunity)

THE GLOBAL OOH LANDSCAPE

The recent World Out of Home Organization expenditure results show impressive gains and projected gains in share of expenditure at a projected 5.3% for 2024. APAC receives the lion’s share of this investment. Digitization (DOOH) leads this growth, as does an emerging PDOOH (programmatic DOOH) investment. Research proves that consumer TRUST in OOH as a medium is an impressive driver of investment. Using OOH for sales activations also delivers short-term sales results, which defies econometric models where OOH is under-attributed. Overall, the Global OOH industry is performing projections expect this to continue.

Tom Goddard from WOO also presented these findings in-depth the previous day at the conference and can be found here – https://www.worldooh.org/news/2024-global-expenditure-survey

APAC consumers are growing, as is their wealth and consumption. In 2023, Global GDP expanded by 3.1%, and emerging economies and Asia led the recovery, with India as a notable example. By 2030, APAC projections are that 20+ cities will have one Million+ upper-income households, driven by growth in China, Japan, and India. Then, there is consumer consumption in Asia:

• 50% projected share of global consumption growth (2020 – 2030)
• 55% share of global households with upper-middle income and above
• 54% projected share of global B2C and B2B transactions, offline and online (in 2025)

THREE LEVERS OF GROWTH FOR THE OOH INDUSTRY

Statistics show growth and projected buoyancy in the region; it is time to accept change for the OOH industry. Those who do not embrace change will be left behind because those who invest in media are evolving in their attitudes, behaviors, and processes. There is an exhaustive list of potential areas of focus, but these three are what I chose to highlight that can help propel the industry forward – The Sales Model, The Talent, and The Tech.

THE SALES MODEL

Digital was not a consideration when original OOH sales model were designed. Single-site selling was the norm, and there was an almost linear engagement with clients. There are so many demands, considerations, expectations, and competition that old sales models are under pressure. From spot buying, DOOH, programmatic, audience selling, creative, data, measurement, triggers, verification, experiential, and anamorphic, along with considering multiple markets, cross borders, varying currencies, cultures, and languages .. it is complex.

Initially, “Brief to Response” time expectations were measured in weeks. Now, demand is rapidly moving to a self-service model for clients and their agencies, with demand for information at their fingertips for near-instant options, pricing, and availability. Change is coming, and those not adapting to this customer-driven demand will be left behind. And yet, there are still sales models/processes that need to adapt to the feverish requirement for fast, accurate information that does not require human intervention from the media owner-side.

Change is coming, and those not adapting to this customer-driven demand will be left behind.

Media owners must transform their sales models, and connecting their information pipes to the media buying ecosystem is essential. This is a lever for growth.

THE TALENT

The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right talent, skills, roles, and mindset and then harness it to propel their business forward. We need to infuse our businesses with diverse, talented people who want to be a part of our growth.

Dominating digital investment and tech transformation has created a skills and knowledge gap for OOH, and we must bridge it.

To transform the OOH industry, we must seriously consider the talent needed for growth. Not one generation or gender has all the answers, innovation, or ideas, so diversity of talent is critical to the Talent formula. Creating environments where collaboration and knowledge sharing (“share not hoard”) are the norm is vital.

No one generation or gender has all the answers, innovation, or ideas, so diversity of talent is critical to the Talent formula.

OOH media is competing with other businesses for the best talent. However, the halcyon days of free food and ping pong tables no longer attract the best talent. It is all about talent mobility, learning cultures, purpose, and fostering entrepreneurialism. Read the Deloitte 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey for more insight. It is a great read and perspective for anyone wanting to attract the largest emerging workforce generation of this time. What struck me about this report was how fearless the emerging generational workforce is about technology, innovation, and automation. They want to embrace it.

I caveat this with an important point. We should retain the incredible intellectual property and capability of those currently in the OOH industry, as they are invaluable. The goal should be to bolster capability and infuse new knowledge to grow the industry using the successful foundations of those who have built it successfully before.

THE TECH

Tech could be the subject of an entire week of discussion, but in the context of this presentation, I focus on how tech can transform the industry towards the self-service model mentioned in The Sales Model section.

Tech solutions remove duplication , and manual processes improve speed and agility. Tech solutions also allow us to redirect human talent to advocacy, education, and innovation. This will fuel growth for OOH, DOOH, and pDOOH. Especially if Audience Measurement is a priority.

If something is not measured, it has no value. If it has no value, it is not valued. For OOH buying, it is easier to justify removing a site, media owner, and country from a plan if there is no audience measurement.

The four key areas where Tech can make a considerable difference are in

• Measurement – tech that can make sense of what we know will be trillions of data lines, including location, audience, traffic, expenditure, behavioral, attitudinal, campaign, and neuro for every country, city, OOH, DOOH, and pDOOH site. Imagine that.
• Automation—There is extraordinary duplication and human intervention in the OOH buying process. Technology can remove duplication in the sales, booking, planning, inventory, reporting, and verification process, which would eradicate wastage and free up skills and resources for other parts of the business.
• Programmatic—The tech in programmatic is advancing, but the tech could power the entire OOH ecosystem, not just DOOH. The tech would remove planning friction, as the data would be fully accessible for planning purposes. However, this requires media owners to connect their data and become visible to global and local planners. Currently, some markets and media owners are resisting this change.
• Verification is an emerging tech that I do not see waning, especially with third-party independent verification partners. These tech bolt-ons allow agencies, brands, and media owners to verify media plan deliverables independently. OOH media has historically done this via POPs (proof of play, proof of posting photos and video) and Digital POP reports (reports from the media owners’ system on plays of digital ads) and provide post-campaign. However, independent verification, especially on large campaigns, assures clients they got what they paid for.

Collaboration is essential in removing barriers to tech innovation and adoption. There is power in industry partnerships.

Barriers to “The Tech” center around long-term, high capital expenditure requirements. However, there doesn’t need to be individual media owners building custom, bespoke technology in insolation; there is power in collaboration and pooling of resources for the betterment of the industry and connecting via partnerships with AdTech suppliers to the industry. There is a textbook case study for this in the Outdoor Media Association in Australia, where media owners initially collaborate and invest in improving their industry via an audience measurement system, MOVE, now an accepted industry currency. This 10+year collaboration has grown the Australian OOH industry significantly. OMA Chair Charles Parry-Okeden further reiterated this in his presentation at #OAC2024.

AN INHERENT RISK – The LURE OF OVER DIGITISATION

In a digital-oriented world, we need persistent education and demonstration of the effectiveness and impact of traditional, classic, static OOH on a media plan. DOOH and PDOOH are not substitutes; they are additional valuable assets created for marketers to connect with their consumers. These digital assets should grow the industry, not cannibalize it.

In some markets, DOOH allows as low as 1.67% SOT. That’s one 15-second ad every 15 minutes. That contributes a minuscule amount to the REACH & FREQUENCY formula and makes DOOH ineffective and expensive.

There is risk in the emerging countries where DOOH is developing. In the exciting rush to digitize, there is an inherent risk that a more lucrative yield on digital sites will drive media owners to increase the number of ads in a loop and essentially decrease the Share of Time (SOT) for an advertiser when they buy one ad spot.

Media plans should always consider [Classic, Traditional, Static] OOH and DOOH for effective reach and frequency. The 100% Share of Voice (SOV) OOH delivers is invaluable for brand awareness objectives.

The OOH media industry must drive adaption, innovation, and push for change to deliver on market demand and remain competitive.

It is critical to start now to ensure the industry can keep pace with rapid change and remains relevant in an aggressively competitive media ecosystem.

This transformation should be a collaborative process, as a unified industry has more capability and power and can effect faster change than one media owner in isolation.

Can we start yesterday?

Pakistan – 10^th June 2024 – Talon, the pioneering global independent Out of Home (OOH) agency, today announced its partnership with Raeem International to revolutionize the OOH media landscape in Pakistan. The partnership will see Raeem International become a Talon partner agency to accelerate major opportunities for Pakistan OOH across key markets. 

Combining Talon’s global OOH expertise – facilitating campaigns in over 100 markets – and Raeem International’s 12 years of successful experience in the local outdoor industry, offers brands and marketers a wealth of resources and best practices expertise in Pakistan. As a Talon partner agency, Raeem International will have a multi-market campaign launch capability for Pakistan marketers. 

This collaboration aims to redefine the landscape of outdoor advertising in Pakistan, enabling Pakistani brands to have data driven, insight-based Out of Home campaigns with the best-in-class creativity locally and globally. 

Salman Amjad, CEO of Raeem International said “This was long overdue for our industry. The Pakistani OOH industry must catch up fast with the changing trends that are happening globally. Today’s consumers are more connected, informed and mobile, and with their omni-channel presence we must become more data-driven in understanding our audiences better and making our campaigns sharper and relevant.  

Our partnership with Talon will certainly go a long way in bringing the best tools to the Pakistani marketers who are at the cusp of trying to embrace the fast changing and interconnected media landscape.”

Melanie Lindquist, Managing Director, Talon Asia-Pacific said, “We are thrilled to welcome Raeem International as the exclusive Talon Partner agency for Pakistan. This is an important collaboration and a critical step in Talon’s continued expansion in Asia Pacific. Our connected capabilities will provide ground-breaking data-backed OOH strategy to Pakistani brands fueling growth in and outside the market.  

This collaboration also creates an exceptional opportunity for global brands and marketers to work with a trusted team when expanding into the Pakistani market. Pakistan is one of the most exciting OOH markets and we look forward to sharing our knowledge and best practices to create effective, data-driven OOH campaigns with best-in-class creativity.” 

Inside Talon: Exploring the Professional Journey of Faradillah Rahim.

Outside thinking – it runs in the Talon family. We pride ourselves on being a company built on people with big ideas. People who constantly challenge themselves and the industry to re-imagine and re-invent the possibilities of what Out of Home can be. ​

In this series, we’ll be getting to know more about the people of Talon, their roles, advice and what they get up to outside of OOH. This week, we sat down with Faradillah Rahim, Campaign Manager in APAC.

Explain your role with Talon?

I’m based in Singapore, and my role primarily revolves around supporting the daily operational functions. This entails working closely with both the Sales Director and Managing Director to ensure smooth operations and to facilitate business growth.  

What does a typical day at work look like for you? 

A typical day for me involves addressing operational needs, overseeing daily tasks, ensuring smooth workflow, and assisting in various projects to contribute to the company’s success. It often involves task execution, campaign tracking and follow up to keep things running efficiently.  

What do you enjoy most about working in OOH?

The industry is constantly evolving with new technologies and trends which gives me so many opportunities for growth and learning. Working with various stakeholders such as the advertisers, agencies, and media owners fosters collaboration and networking opportunities. Seeing the campaigns that I work with, come to life in public spaces and observing their impact firsthand can be very rewarding. 

Most memorable moment or achievement in your time in the industry?

It was when a campaign I contributed to which won a prestigious award, recognizing the effectiveness of OOH work. It was such great accomplishment to see the team’s effort celebrated on a larger stage.  

Any tips or advice for someone interested in joining the industry or pursuing a similar career path?  

Keep yourself updated on the current events, industry trends within the media sector. Attending events and networking can open doors for job opportunities and valuable insights into the industry. Stay flexible and open-minded to change, as it will be crucial for success in this dynamic field. 

What do you get up to outside of work? 

I enjoy a variety of activities. I travel with my family at least two times in a year if time permits. I also enjoy staying active through hiking and yoga or going for runs. Spending time with my friends and family is important to me, whether its attending a small gathering or simply relaxing at home watching movies together. Overall, I try to maintain a balance between personal, social activities and relaxation outside of work.

If you could quickly and easily learn any new skill, what would it be? 

I would love to learn baking!

Share a memorable adventure or travel experience you’ve had during your free time. How did it impact your personal growth or perspective? 

Immersing myself in Okinawan culture was a fascinating and enriching experience. Okinawa has a unique blend of Japanese, Chinese, and indigenous Ryukyuan influences, which is reflected in its rich traditions, cuisine, and performing arts. 

One aspect of Okinawan culture that stood out to me was the emphasis on community and harmony. I had the opportunity to participate in traditional cultural events such as Eisa festivals, where the entire community comes together to celebrate with lively drum performances. The sense of unity and camaraderie among the participants was palpable and left a lasting impression on me. 

Overall, immersing myself in Okinawan culture was a rewarding experience that broadened my perspective, fostered a greater appreciation for diversity, and left me with cherished memories of the warmth and hospitality of the local community. 

London, 22^nd February, 2024: Talon, the global independent Out of Home (OOH) agency, today announces the appointment of Sue Frogley as Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the business globally as it targets further growth and expansion.

Frogley is an accomplished industry leader with over 30 years’ experience growing successful global media businesses. She will join Talon from Publicis Groupe, where she was CEO of its media arm in the UK for over six years. Under her leadership, Publicis Media UK grew into a £2bn+ billings operation, thanks to several new business wins across its media agencies Zenith, Starcom and Spark Foundry. Before that, Frogley was President of Global Client Solutions at Publicis Groupe and previously spent over 13 years at Dentsu (then Aegis Media), where she held several global leadership roles, most latterly as Global President of Commercial Operations.

This appointment follows a rigorous selection process.  Frogley will report to Stewart Easterbrook, chairman and joins Talon’s global board.  Eric Newnham, who has acted as interim CEO for the past few months, will revert to the role of Founder and strategic advisor to the board.

Frogley is the latest in a series of new senior hires, signalling Talon’s commitment to ongoing strategic growth worldwide. Last year, Stewart Easterbrook joined as Chairman, the appointments of Mike Saunter as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Henry Lucas in the newly created role of Group Chief Commercial Officer soon followed.

Frogley’s appointment follows a period of significant growth for Talon, which celebrated its 10^th anniversary in 2023. Since Equistone Partners Europe, one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity investors, invested in the business in July 2022, Talon has completed the acquisition of Evolve, the fast-growing, independent specialist OOH business, and the acquisition of Novus Media Canada Corp (now Talon OOH Canada).  

In her new role, Frogley will focus on further international growth, driving Talon’s digital capabilities and awareness of OOH as an effective, creative, data-driven media channel.

Stewart Easterbrook, Chairman, said: “Sue is a formidable and dynamic leader with a wealth of experience leading global media businesses.  I am thrilled to have someone of Sue’s calibre leading our business and look forward to working with Sue, and with our teams, to drive further growth in the scale and ambition of Talon.”

Sue Frogley said: “I have long admired Talon’s proposition, ethos and trailblazing spirit to challenge perceptions and drive growth in the OOH sector. Over the past 10 years, Eric has developed a talented team that has successfully built a unique and expanding global business that holds an enviable position in the industry. I can’t wait to get started and help unlock even more growth potential and shape Talon’s next important chapter.”

The pioneers of Out of Home

At Talon we’re the changemakers, the trailblazers, the provocateurs, the pioneers of Out of Home (OOH). Combining a heady mix of creativity, technology and data, our team share their expert opinion on their OOH predictions and what they’d like to see more of in 2024.

“A continued push towards automation and data driven decision making. More intelligent optimisation of campaign briefs to ideal plans.”

Anant East, Chief Technology Officer, Talon

“I’d like the whole industry to be more collaborative. If we put our efforts together, I think we have a real shot at generating more effective outcomes, growing OOH and making more meaningful change happen.”

Sophie Pemberton, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Talon

“Data has been a hot topic in OOH for a number of years and rightly so but sometimes the focus on optimising media plans at site level has come at a creative cost.

Thankfully, we’re already starting to see the dial turn back and our clients and agencies are increasing the attention they give to the creative that sits within the poster. If we fail to make creative impact, no amount of audience optimisation can deliver the ROI our clients need and deserve.”

Jay Young, Chief Client Officer, Grand Visual

“Exciting. Looking forward to playing in new spaces and technologies. In particular the new Printworks ceiling and Battersea Power station promise to be fantastic new canvases for brands.”

Ben Gardiner, Head of Client Services, Grand Visual

“Definitely more digital, more data, more automation and more AI across the OOH landscape. Hopefully more sustainability, and equity being promoted within out of home organisations.”

Amy Horton, Group Chief Transformation Officer, Talon

“I think the OOH Industry in Ireland is going to be one to watch in 2024. 2023 marked the resurgence of so many brands to our medium, through clever executions and creative displays. Continued investment by media owners in roadside DOOH, a focus on sustainability initiatives and measurement of OOH are going to be hot topics for 2024 and set OOH apart.”

Caroline Decourcy, Insight Director, Talon Ireland

“The global OOH landscape is rapidly evolving and it’s been fantastic to see some of our partners developing the inventory to follow some of the industry’s trends and technology advancements. The rise of DOOH enables more and more flexible and efficient campaigns which our teams are taking full advantage, as well as offering creative opportunities that I’m looking forward to seeing of more and more.”

Camille Uzan, Business Director, Talon International

“OOH is an exciting industry to work in and is undergoing not only a renaissance as a medium but transformation as an essential communications channel. OOH and other media will be in a race to adopt, centralise and integrate the right AdTech and MarTech to transform business processes and enable smarter, faster and better service to marketers and their agencies.

The businesses that commit to the investment will grow faster and those that watch and wait will be left wondering about all that lost opportunity.”

Melanie Lindquist, Managing Director, Talon APAC

“OOH will continue to be uniquely positioned to deliver on both shifting brand awareness metrics and driving action. As data and technology increases, appetite in programmatic DOOH will continue to grow and attract new advertisers into the channel.”

Aoife Hudson, Deputy Managing Director, Talon Ireland

“I love how ambitious our industry is and at Talon we strive to be bold and at the forefront of change. In general, I think that industry wide we will continue to grow and evolve our ESG strategies, deepen DEI further into the fabric of our organisations and dare I say it… AI will become more prevalent in our working culture which will bring about new learning opportunities and productivity efficiencies.”

Hayley Tiptaft, Group People Director, Talon

Here’s to a successful 2024 and a happy, healthy and successful New Year to all our clients, agencies and partners.

Out of Home is changing fast, and Talon is at the forefront of that change. We’re passionate about OOH and are on a mission to drive the growth of this sector within the media industry – changing perceptions of it as a legacy medium to one that is highly connected, effective, creative, sustainable, and measurable for our clients. 

In this blog, our team reflects on new initiatives, launches and share advice for others who are striving to work at the very edge of what’s known.

Welcoming Talon Canada & Evolve 

In 2023, we welcomed Talon Canada (formerly Novus) and Evolve to our growing family, strengthening our ambitions to become the largest global independent OOH agency. “The acquisition of Novus Canada and Evolve continues to demonstrate our growth and allows us to implement consistency in OOH globally,” said Anant East, Chief Technology Officer.

“Transitioning from Novus to Talon was our most important rebrand and business initiative to date,” adds Sarah Kim. “We’re so happy to be part of this global OOH group!”

A focus on sustainability 

2023 was also the year that we hired our first ever Sustainability Manager, Alice Date, and officially started our journey to achieve B-CORP status.  

“I’m incredibly excited to be leading and continuing Talon’s sustainability program,” said Alice. “There is a clear enthusiasm across the organisation for being a driving force in creating a more sustainable industry – and I’ve enjoyed channelling this enthusiasm into clear, practical, and impactful initiatives.” 

“It’s been a game changer to bring Alice on board as our full time Sustainability Manager,” adds Sophie Pemberton. “Sustainability has rapidly developed into one of the most important topics for the industry this year and it is so important that we can now meet the expectations of our clients and support our supply chain in delivering their goals.” 

Grand Visual’s Jay Young added, “I’m incredibly proud to be part of an organisation who are far down the road on a journey to achieving B CORP certification. As many will know, the certification requires a huge amount of time, investment and operational re-appraisal so it shows the value we place on ESG as a business.” 

Celebrating and championing effectiveness 

For a second time, Talon was awarded the prestigious IPA Effectiveness Accreditation – signaling an outstanding commitment to putting effectiveness at the heart of our agency and being true partners of growth. 

“Retaining the IPA effectiveness accreditation is an endorsement that we are delivering on our core values to drive innovation in the market, champion creativity and to build a responsible evidence-based economy in OOH,” said Emily Alcorn, Head of Effectiveness.

“To celebrate, we decided to host our own Eff’ Week at Talon for our agencies and clients to critic key themes within the industry and what they mean for OOH. Championing our learning centric culture at Talon.” 

Introducing ‘The Hub’ to Ireland

Over in Ireland, we launched a new business division called ‘The Hub.’ 

“In February, we launched The Hub. Its function is to ensure we are delivering in terms of executional excellence from both an operations and investment point of view,” said Deputy Managing Director, Aoife Hudson. “The re-structuring allowed us to refocus our efforts in the two key areas of planning and execution. It was a key step in our long-term plan of scaling the business in Ireland and growing the medium.” 

“The launch of the ‘The Hub’ has been game changing in maximising opportunities for clients across two key pillars of execution – investment and operations,” adds Andrew Sinclair, Managing Director. “This restructure has allowed us to better focus our efforts and capabilities in planning and investment as we scale our business, whilst ensuring operational excellence at all stages of the campaign life cycle.” 

Talon’s menopause support group 

“Because of menopausal symptoms, 10% of women in the UK leave their jobs and many more are passing up promotions,” says Amy Horton, Group Chief Transformation Officer. “Menopause is not just a gender or age issue; it is an organisational issue which can impact colleagues both directly or indirectly.” 

“Awareness around this topic is key to reducing the stigma attached to menopause and encouraging people to talk more openly about it. At Talon, we have created a menstruation and menopause policy which aims to support our people during these stages of their lives. We have even created a menopause and peri-menopause support group, which I am proud to be spearheading.”

So, with the year behind us, knowing what you know now, what is one piece of advice you would give to your 2023 self? 

“2023 has been a year of strong growth for Grand Visual with us hitting a range of key objectives we set for ourselves at the start of year. I’ve learnt it’s important to enjoy the journey always. When you enjoy the process, you’ve achieved success before ever needing to hit a goal. This doesn’t just apply to business but all areas of life.”

Jay Young, Chief Client Officer, Grand Visual

“My piece of advice is simple, it’s about believing in yourself, believing in your ability to perform the role you have in Talon, knowing that you are capable of that position and encouraging team members to step outside their comfort zones and do even greater things!”

Caroline Decourcy, Insights Director, Talon Ireland

“Expand your knowledge sphere. No one campaign is planned in silo and it is important for us to expand our knowledge outside of OOH to ensure we understand what role it is playing, how it is working with other channels and what is round the corner.”

Emily Alcorn, Head of Effectiveness, Talon

“Love what you do and do what you love. Everything else is secondary.”

Melanie Lindquist, Managing Director, Talon APAC

“Fostering innovation and creativity – even if the concept feels premature. Although risk assessment is important, by testing and exploring, you will be the expert by the time the market catches up.”

Aoife Hudson, Deputy Managing Director, Talon Ireland

“To steal a line from that iconic 80’s movie Ferris Bueller… ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’ As we approach the end of a busy year at Talon Ireland – opportunities to pause, reflect and reset are really important. Demanding that space for you and the team to recalibrate, celebrate how far we’ve come and plot the next phase of the business’s journey are of utmost importance and need to be prioritised.”

Andrew Sinclair, Managing Director, Talon Ireland

To get the first look at part 3 of our blog, when our team share their thoughts and predictions for 2024, make sure that you are following us on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also keep up to date with the latest Talon news and views by signing up for our monthly newsletter here.