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London, UK. 27 March 2023: Talon, the global independent Out of Home (OOH) media agency, today announces it has acquired Evolve, the fast-growing, independent specialist OOH business as part of its ongoing, ambitious international expansion.

Multi-award winning and with a reputation for successful business development, delivery, efficiency and agility. Evolve is a leading international OOH specialist.  The business works with a wide range of brands, agencies and media owners, both in the UK and around the world, led by a management team with offices in London, Singapore and New York.

Evolve is led by its founder and CEO, Robin Hall, and Danielle Austin, Managing Director. Their remit will be to help strengthen Talon’s global presence and align with Talon International. With no immediate plans to integrate, Evolve’s clients will now have access to the additional data and tech capabilities of Talon, which will be significantly enhanced by leveraging the scale of the combined businesses. 

Approaching its tenth anniversary, Talon works with leading agencies Omnicom Media Group, Havas, and Stagwell, delivering the most effective, innovative, and creative media solutions for OOH at global, national, and regional levels. This announcement follows another incredibly successful period for the agency: opening new offices in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and securing new investment from Equistone Partners Europe, one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity investors, providing the capital to continue the company’s global expansion and technical innovation.

Barry Cupples, Group CEO Talon, said: “This is incredibly exciting for Talon as we welcome the hugely successful Evolve team, strengthening our overseas ambitions as part of Talon International. We have been so impressed with the growth of the business and very much see it as a like-minded business with a people-first philosophy and entrepreneurial spirit. The addition of Evolve and its award-winning team offers our clients additional expertise and experience whilst furthering Talon’s ongoing ambition to deliver OOH that is more connected, creative, effective, measurable, and sustainable than ever before. ”

Robin Hall, founder and CEO Evolve, said: “It was important for us to align with a company that shares our values. We believe that through the right combination of people, culture and investment, we can help realise the full benefits of OOH, making it ever more measurable, efficient and effective. It’s such an exciting time in our industry – we’re starting to see the effects of real innovation across creative, planning and measurement. Talon is at the forefront of the OOH evolution with innovative proprietary data-driven tools and technologies that drive ROI and best-in-class creativity. Joining forces gives us the opportunity to extend our technical and creative capabilities to the benefit of all our clients and partners and help to grow the OOH market.”

Chinese citizens, the largest tourism population, are now free to travel internationally after three years of strict “zero Covid” policies. Talon International explains what this means for Out of Home (OOH) advertisers.

After three long years of restrictions, Chinese tourists are now free to travel. Pre-pandemic, Chinese tourists spent $255 billion, making them the World’s biggest spenders. Now they can travel internationally, what does this mean for the tourism industry and advertisers looking to reach them on their journeys?

Travel

In December 2022, China announced it was abandoning its zero Covid strategy. The next day, trip.com recorded a +254% increase in mainland China’s outbound flight bookings (compared to the previous day). Flights bound for Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand led the surge, making them the top five destinations following the change.

Three of these airports were announced as the world’s top 10 airports of 2023, with Singapore Changi regaining its spot at number one. A light-filled, green haven that brands itself as its own “destination” the airport provides great OOH and DOOH opportunities for brands looking to reach travellers in their favourite airport.

A staggering 308 million tourism trips were made in the first six days of the Chinese New Year, with Shanghai’s Plaza 66 mall seeing long queues form outside luxury stores, generating over $55 billion in revenue. Their understandable desire to travel and celebrate their freedom plays a key role in this.

2023 is set to be a big year for Chinese travel, with 60% of Chinese tourists planning to travel outside of mainland China. A survey revealed that 40% of respondents plan to travel outbound in the first six months of 2023, the majority within Asia, as well as France and Australia. 42% said they would travel outbound in the summer months of July and August, whilst 32% are planning an autumn Golden Week getaway outside of mainland China.

The China Outbound Tourism Research Institute estimates 18 million will travel internationally in the first half of the year, followed by 40 million in the second. Luxury shopping is the third main purpose for taking a trip, behind relaxing and experiencing art, culture and history.

Revenge Spending

After three years in lockdown, Chinese travellers are ready to “revenge spend” after saving a record $2.6 trillion in 2022.

KPMG’s “Luxury Redefined” research study found that Chinese consumers can be split into five different personas – luxury newcomers, status reflectors, approval seekers, luxury connoisseurs and new luxury pioneers. Across these personas, Chinese consumers were found to have the confidence to spend and are eager to purchase luxury as a means of social advancement and self-differentiation. Key themes that also emerged were digital transformation, sustainability and the need for experiential retail.

The return and rise of the Chinese traveller, is placing travel hubs and airport environments back at the heart of clients’ media strategies to influence purchase decisions. Insights such as these from KPMG, can be used to understand exactly what these consumers want to see from brands, such as sustainable initiatives, experiential activations and brand stories.

Across all the personas, there is a clear desire for interaction with brands. Whether it be through providing strong brand stories, in-store sales activation activities or showcasing trendy items, all of this can be achieved through OOH.

Reaching Chinese Consumers with OOH

As highlighted above, there are numerous touchpoints that we can use to help brands to reach their target audience:

1. In mainland China

After being stuck indoors, people are eager to get outside and reclaim their lives. This presents an exciting opportunity for brands to capitalise on the large inventory of OOH sites around the country and busy city areas to reach these audiences out of the home.

Abu Dhabi was one of the first brands emerging to target Chinese audiences after restrictions were lifted. Capitalising on their newfound freedom and desire to experience new things, Abu Dhabi promoted its exciting experiences on some of the largest digital OOH screens in Beijing and Shanghai.

2. Airports

With Chinese airport passengers up +35% in January and set to increase even higher throughout the year, airports are an obvious choice for brands wanting to reach Chinese audiences.

Although there are classic OOH formats throughout the airports that brands can advertise on, experiential and sustainable initiatives will be key to attract the new personas highlighted by KPMG. It’s time to think big and think outside of the box, capitalising on the excitement of travellers looking to experience new things.

Kicking off 2023, Johnnie Walker launched their campaign on the most impactful advertising installations on the global airport scene in Spain, Dominican Republic, UK, UAE, India, South Korea and Singapore. The ultra-premium blended whisky used some of the most eye-catching formats to reach the global travellers.

3. Destination Cities

Of course, airport passengers must be going somewhere. Whether they are visiting new countries for work or pleasure, there are some incredible OOH sites and activation opportunities across the globe. As travellers are “taking it all in” in these destination cities, brands can make sure that they are seen with effective OOH executions.

De Beers announced Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o as their global ambassador with an exciting 3D activation in the iconic Times Square. The digital OOH execution was unmissable in the iconic hotspot, popular with tourists.

Upcoming Opportunities

Looking ahead, Golden Week and the Chinese New Year are peak travel periods for China. Before the Pandemic, domestic tourists splurged some 650 billion yuan ($91 billion) during the 2019 Golden Week – over a quarter more than during the Chinese New Year festival.

With 32% planning an autumn Golden Week getaway outside of mainland China, there are lots of opportunities for brands to reach travellers as they celebrate the holidays.

The travel industry is looking optimistic. Brands are increasingly interested in targeting the global traveller and being even more present in premium environments with high dwell times. The customers’ expectations around sustainability and experiences are making the airport space extremely relevant, and some brands are already taking advantage of it.

Airports have taken the pandemic as an opportunity to renovate and enhance their space, to propose more flexible solutions that are continuously more aligned with customer’s expectations. For more information, please contact marketing@talonoutdoor.com or get in touch with your Talon International representative to discuss OOH opportunities targeting Chinese travellers.

For THE FINAL PART of our reflection series, the Talon team SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AND PREDICTIONS FOR 2023.

At Talon we’re the changemakers, the trail-blazers, the provocateurs, the pioneers of OOH. Combining a heady mix of creativity, technology and data, our senior leadership team share their expert opinion on what OOH and the wider media landscape will look like in 2023.

“2022 has been another successful year for Talon, with the rebrand, expansion into MENA and APAC and even more campaigns that pushed the boundaries and cemented us as industry pioneers who are constantly re-imagining and re-inventing the possibilities of what Out of Home can be.

In 2023, we expect to see a lot of uncertainty due to rising living costs. However, if the last three years have taught us anything, it’s important for brands to stay on and keep the momentum going. If we can survive living through the unknown, we can prepare and plan for what is coming. The OOH renaissance is here.”
Barry Cupples, CEO

“2023 promises to be another exciting year for OOH. We expect to see continued growth in programmatic trading and a continued appetite for using the blank canvas that is OOH to deliver messages in innovative and special ways.

Sustainability will be of key importance and it’s our job to communicate the industry’s efforts in all that we are doing to be kinder to our environment in 2023.”
Aoife Hudson, Deputy Managing Director, Talon Ireland

“Clearly there are some global economic headwinds that will influence our market, however, OOH has never been in better shape. The inventory and our ability to leverage data and tech platforms to drive effectiveness is continually improving.

OOH is very well placed in the wider media landscape to improve client outcomes, and the huge steps forward the industry has made in sustainability makes OOH one of most responsible choices a client can make.”
James Copley, UK CEO

“I think Q1 is going to bring a lot of unknowns for every industry, including media. Clients are going to wait and see what the economic impacts are on consumers, before committing budgets. However, the OOH industry is in a fantastic position. The medium delivers trust to consumers. People are spending more time OOH than ever before, and the investment in technology means we can now be smarter, delivering audience-based outcomes. 2023 is going to be a challenge, but it’s one we are ready for!”
Luke Willbourn, Chief Client Officer

“From an International perspective, despite a number of political and economic uncertainties I’m confident we’ll see a return of passengers to a pre Covid level in airports and an going commitment from clients and agencies to invest in OOH globally to deliver on their strategic objectives.”
Adrian Skelton, Managing Partner

“2023 will be an interesting year for OOH, as the cost-of-living crisis continues, we expect to see more brands reviewing their media strategies and OOH represents a real opportunity for brands to effectively use media to build trust amongst consumers.

Research from the last economic downturn clearly shows the benefit to brands ‘staying on’ during a recession, and as we enter the start of an uncertain year, 2023 represents a good opportunity for brands to evaluate strategy and ensure they have the right share of voice to stay front of mind and strengthen market positioning.”
Helen Saffer, Group Client Services Director

“Continued growth and development, plus an ever-increasing focus on sustainability and impact on the environment which will without doubt continue to be high up on the agenda for any CMO / key decision maker at client level.

Fortunately, OOH continues to make great strides in this area and the industry as a whole takes sustainability very seriously. From DOOH screens using 100% renewable energy sources, to zero carbon vans now provided for billers, and the phased-out use of non-recyclable materials means Out of Home already has the key foundations for building on a renewable future in 2023.”
Jamie Finn, Group Client Services Director

“Even more blurring of the lines between OOH and Experiential. The two environments work well apart but when combined the results multiply even further. Media owners are investing in this space and we’re primed to support brands in this space.”
Jay Young, Chief Client Officer

Here’s to a successful 2023 and a happy, healthy and successful New Year to all our clients, agencies and partners.

Part 2 of our reflections series, Talon’s team discuss new initiatives, launches and share advice.

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 experienced team are reflecting on new initiatives, launches and sharing advice for others who are striving to work at the very edge of what’s known with Talon.

A New Year full of new initiatives

After a turbulent couple of years, ensuring that OOH is even more accountable has been a key focus for us in 2022. At the beginning of the year, we introduced classic OOH site inspections and digital OOH verification on a client opt-out level. Bringing more effective and accountable campaigns to our clients, agencies and partners.

Group Client Services Director, Jamie Finn, explains, “We developed appropriate ad-tech to simplify and streamline reporting for both Classic and Digital OOH, allowing us to ensure full accountability for every single campaign we plan and buy and addressing any under-performance accordingly ensuring that what our clients buy is exactly what is delivered in the public space.

Since the start of 2022 we have verified the playouts for almost 350 digital OOH campaigns and physically inspected more than 3,200 classic OOH frames – providing key data and insights to our clients and without a doubt something we will continue to build upon and fulfil for our clients and agencies as we enter 2023.”

The rise of Programmatic DOOH

Over the past 12 months, the demand for pDOOH has increased from advertisers across all sectors. With flexibility and cost efficiency recognised as the key strengths of the channel, spend in pDOOH is forecast to grow in the near future.

Group Client Services Director, Helen Saffer, elaborates, “2022 has really seen the turning point for brands embracing pDOOH and we’ve seen more advertisers using it strategically to add in a behavioural audience targeted layer to their OOH strategy alongside traditionally bought impact and fame building formats.

We expect this momentum to continue to build as we move into 2023, with brands who have already tested the water returning and continuing to develop bespoke OOH strategies, alongside new advertisers looking to expand their online strategies to boost additional reach via pDOOH.”

All our initiatives and launches started with our people who constantly challenge themselves and the industry at large – “to imagine what’s possible when they think outside.”

Expanding into MENA & APAC

Back in March, we announced the expansion of our global footprint in Asia-Pacific and Middle East, with our new hires Melanie Lindquist and Chadi Farhat leading MENA and APAC respectively.

The opening of Talon’s new offices in both the UAE and Singapore was a highlight for Tom Perrett, International Client Services Director, “Bringing further leadership, experience, and interconnected business opportunities across borders.”

Melanie Lindquist, Managing Director, Talon APAC, added, “The APAC market is largely untapped but with huge potential. Being in the same time zone and hubbed in Singapore has allowed us to work closer and faster with clients to drive campaigns within the region but also take regional clients onto the global OOH.”

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, our team was working hard to launch an API connection between Plato and NetSuite. This has strengthened our automated process from booking in Plato to invoicing in NetSuite for our US, UK, MENA & APAC markets.

Group Transformation Officer, Amy Horton, said, “Launching the API connection between Plato and NetSuite has been a huge achievement. For the first time, we have an organisational design that will give us a great structure for our further growth ambitions.”

The Evolution of Talon

Another project we were working on behind the scenes was a strategic repositioning for Talon. As we approach our second decade, we commenced a brand refresh project to support our ambitious global expansion and commitment to being the global OOH media agency of choice.

It was time to “think outside.”

This refresh began with merging Talon’s award-winning Creative Solutions team with industry-pioneers Grand Visual to offer a full suite of OOH and digital OOH creative services. Discussing the merge, Chief Client Officer at Grand Visual, Jay Young, said, “The relaunch of Talon’s Grand Visual is of course the most exciting. We’ve now combined our creative solutions team with our brilliant in-house studio to create a creative OOH powerhouse. We now get to spend more time with clients, more time brainstorming exciting ideas and we’re winning more awards. It’s an exciting place to be right now.”

With our full rebrand unveiled in December, CEO, James Copley, said, “Working in a business that is surrounded by great creativity, it was really gratifying to see all that great thinking and execution applied to our own brand.”

So, with the year behind us, knowing what you know now, what is one piece of advice you would give to your 2021 self?

“We are currently living in a world where things can change very quickly and are often out of our control. Don’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. Focus on what you can control, not worry about what you can’t.”
Luke Willbourn, Chief Client Officer

“When you’re leading a team, you have to spend time thinking about the mid and long-term strategy. This can sometimes place your focus consistently in the future rather than the present.

I’ve had to teach myself to avoid the allure of what might happen and to focus on the next 8 hours only. Every morning I think ‘what can I do today that will nudge us closer to our goals.’ It’s been a game changer for my mindset, wellbeing and general performance.”
Jay Young, Chief Client Officer

“Be brave – leverage the power of the burgeoning Talon network and understand the importance of informed risk to help unlock real growth.”
Andrew Sinclair, Managing Director, Talon Ireland

“It’ll be a busy year so buckle up! But in all seriousness, we’ve learnt to be kinder to ourselves as human beings and within a team when it comes to our workloads.

You can’t be what you can’t see so I try to be quite vocal about aiming for a work life balance. At Talon, we don’t ever sit still, we are always striving to lead the way, to grow, to learn and 2022 has been no different.”
Hayley Tiptaft, People Director

To get the first look at part 3 of our blog, when our team share their thoughts and predictions for 2023, 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.

For Part 1 of our reflection series, the Talon team highlight their favourite campaigns of 2022.

With the new year approaching fast, we’re back to reflect on the past 12 months. In this series, we are celebrating the creative, data and technological boundaries that were pushed in 2022 and sharing our expectations for Out of Home (OOH) and the wider landscape in 2023.

Despite two years of recovery and re-growth, the world of OOH has changed and continues to change fast. Boundaries are being redrawn every day; with OOH becoming a more connected, creative, effective, measurable and sustainable medium than ever before. This year, OOH has seen the strongest recovery coming out of the Pandemic, with an increase of +146.2% in expenditure. The first quarter of 2022 also outperformed expectations by +7.7%.

According to the latest data from IAB, the UK’s ad market is set to grow a further +4.4% in 2023 – further accelerated by the demand for programmatic digital OOH (pDOOH), with 38% of media professionals adding to the pDOOH budget.

In this blog, we’re reflecting on some of the standout campaigns from our clients this year that reimagined and re-invented the possibilities of what outdoor can be.

Standout campaigns from 2022

All the campaigns below showcase the best in “thinking outside” in 2022 – exemplifying independent thought and big ideas, bolstered further by Talon’s technology, data and measurement expertise.

Specsavers: Should’ve 2.0

In Q1, Specsavers made its return to OOH with three ingenious special builds. Choosing Specsavers as his standout campaign, Chief Client Officer, Luke Willbourn, said, “2022 has seen the boundary for creativity pushed to its limit, with clients showcasing fantastic executions on a weekly basis. My favourite campaign this year was Specsavers Should’ve 2.0.

A simple, but brilliant campaign, it encapsulated Specsavers’ playful side. The campaign was also a great example of how brands can use social channels to amplify OOH executions.”

Netflix: Warriors of Future

For Talon APAC’s Managing Director, Melanie Lindquist, the Warriors of Future campaign for Netflix stood out to her the most.

“Talon in Singapore worked with the client on a strategy to select iconic sites for this global campaign, including the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Taipei Arena, Storm Cromination and Nasdaq + Midtown Financial. This created an impactful campaign with shareable content for the client’s large online followers and fans.”

Guinness: Summer

The 2022 standout campaign for both UK CEO, James Copley and Group Client Services Director, Helen Saffer, was Guinness’ surfboard creative – a discreet nod to their iconic 1998 ‘Surfer’ TV ad, brought to life outside across the UK

“This was a great example of creative and media placement working perfectly in sync to deliver a standout campaign that really resonated with consumers,” said Helen. “The campaign used bespoke installations to cleverly capture the iconic Guinness pint, with ‘Guinness’ surfboards placed across iconic UK seaside resorts.”

James adds, “The Guinness special builds were a great combination of creativity, context and location that led to some stunning executions that really cut through and made an impact.”

BBC: Brand Building

The BBC utilised the magic Talon OOH formula of creativity, data and technology throughout 2022 – which saw them winning both the Brand Fame award at the Drum OOH Awards and the Brand Building award at the Clear Channel OMA’s. Aiming to ensure they were at the forefront of a cluttered market; OOH was primed as the perfect platform to reach and engage with new and existing audiences to encourage positive perceptions of the BBC.

Group Transformation Officer, Amy Horton, said, “There wasn’t really one campaign that stood out to me, however, the breath and varied executions of the BBC’s campaigns this year have been incredible. They seem to get the balance right between creative use of OOH and simple effective messaging.”

Specsavers: Ireland

Over at Talon Ireland, Deputy Managing Director, Aoife Hudson, chose Specsavers as her standout campaign for 2022. “The OOH Industry in Ireland had been lagging in terms of data and technology compared to other markets. At Talon, we’ve been the pioneers of leading the OOH industry forward in that regard.

With that in mind, a piece of work that truly stood out for me was our work with OMD and Specsavers – Ireland’s first multi-media-owner programmatic digital OOH (pDOOH) campaign. The campaign went on to win 2 gold media awards – Best OOH campaign and Best Collaboration between Talon Ireland & OMD Ireland.”

John Lewis: Newness

No stranger to programmatic DOOH, John Lewis launched its “newness” campaign, which was delivered via our proprietary DSP, Atlas. Discussing the campaign, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Sophie Pemberton, said, “We ran a 20-week campaign across 12 cities with new copy being delivered each week on panels and at times which we’re specifically chosen to reach ‘Busy Inspiration Seekers’.

The initial results were brilliant and showed that audience visitation to those stores across the campaign period increased by a whopping +47%! We’ve seen phenomenal growth this year across from across all our agency partners and an increased appetite to apply intelligent data to deliver even more effective campaigns.”

To get the first look at part 2 of our blog, in which our leadership team reflect on new initiatives, launches and share advice, 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.

Talon, the global independent Out of Home (OOH) media agency, today unveils a company rebrand as it continues its ambitious global expansion and commitment to being the global OOH media agency of choice.

Approaching its tenth year, Talon, which works with global brands such as Diageo, BBC, and McDonald’s, as well as leading agencies Omnicom, Havas, and Stagwell, delivers the most effective, innovative, and creative media solutions for OOH at global, national, and regional levels.

Talon’s refreshed manifesto and its people-first approach is driving the rebrand, which has creativity, effectiveness, measurability and sustainability at its heart. The world of Out of Home media is changing fast and Talon is proud of its contribution to driving this evolution through its technology and expertise. The new manifesto confirms Talon’s dedication to offering its clients best-in-class planning, buying, creativity, and tech solutions, and ensuring that it delivers the best experience and outcomes for its clients globally.

As part of the rebrand, all existing Talon brands will be brought together with one distinct voice, including its creative arm, Grand Visual, and Plexus – the largest independent global OOH planning and buying network covering 100 markets internationally – which will rebrand to Talon International.

The rebrand will be applied to every element of the Talon business and includes a website relaunch that showcases Talon’s work to transform OOH – from a legacy medium to one that is highly effective, data-driven, creative, and measurable – delivering proven effectiveness for clients.

This follows another incredibly successful year, which saw the company strengthen its presence with new office openings in North America, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. It also secured new investment from Equistone Partners Europe, providing capital to continue its global expansion through strategic acquisitions, as well as driving further technological innovation.

Sarah Parkes, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, says: “Talon has changed a lot in the last nine years, from our humble beginnings as an independent challenger brand in the UK OOH specialist market to where we are now – the largest independent global OOH agency with an ever-increasing international footprint. We’ve invested in our people, in building market leading proprietary technology, and now we have further invested in our brand. Re-booting our brand look, feel and tone of voice takes Talon’s unique energy and spirit out into the world, and brings the Talon global family together with one voice.”

Talon – The Screen @ Leicester Square, London, Ocean

Talon – Times Square, New Tradition, New York

Announced today, Talon is the headline sponsor of the Campaign Tech Awards 2023.

Open for nominations now, the Campaign Tech Awards exist to celebrate and showcase the companies that represent the industry’s trailblazing thinkers, imaginative clients and cutting-edge technology. Championing the collaboration between agencies, brands and the technology communities, and recognising the outstanding work produced together to drive the creative industries forward.

The awards honour successful innovators, celebrate amazing work, and stimulate even more ingenuity right across the marketing, advertising and media industries.

By embracing a technology-first approach to Out of Home, Talon have developed market leading proprietary AdTech platforms that have revolutionised OOH planning, buying, execution and measurement. Ada, our Data Management Platform enables behavioural audience-based planning and has been proven to deliver better short and longer term brand metrics. Atlas, our intelligent, automated digital OOH buying platform delivers 100% optimised programmatic OOH campaigns that generate more effective outcomes for our clients. And Plato, our in-house planning tool, automates campaign planning and buying for speed and precision.

Our technology platforms help our clients get the most from their outdoor campaigns – sponsoring the Campaign Tech Awards is a perfect fit for Talon, elevating the amazing work being powered by technology across the wider media industry.

Nominations are open now, closing 22^nd February. We look forward to celebrating with everyone at the awards ceremony!

campaigntechawards.com

As Talon approaches its 10th year, it is the perfect time to revitalise the Talon brand – including a fresh new look that will be applied to every element of the business. Coming soon!

Our Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Sarah Parkes, shares a sneak peek of Talon’s upcoming brand transformation.

Talon has changed a lot in the last nine years, from our humble beginnings as an independent challenger brand in the UK OOH specialist market to where we are now – the largest independent global OOH agency with an ever-increasing international footprint. And our growth ambitions don’t stop there…

We’ve invested in our people, in building market leading proprietary technology and this year we’ve invested in our brand too. You’ll have seen a taster of our new look and feel when you first visited the website and you’ll spy our new logo across our social channels. In the meantime, here’s a quick behind the scenes of what to expect when we officially launch our new brand by the end of the year.

We are Talon

If you’ve met us in real life or on Teams, you’ll know our mission is to drive the growth of OOH – supporting the transformation of OOH from a legacy medium to one that is highly effective, data driven, creative, and most importantly, measurable and effective for our clients.

We’re growing fast, and our new positioning and website will support us on our journey – whilst championing the people who have made Talon what it is today.

We’ve re-booted our brand look, feel and tone of voice to take Talon’s unique energy and spirit out into the world, and will start to bring the Talon global family together with one voice – including Grand Visual and Plexus which will rebrand to Talon International.

It’s everything our clients and agencies love about Talon – collaboration, bold adventurousness, relentless creativity and innovation – translated into new brand colours, a new logo, and a new website.

We’re excited to share this next exciting step with you, but for now watch this space and begin to imagine what’s possible when we “think outside”.

London, 01 August 2022: Talon Outdoor, a leading, independently-owned global Out-of-Home (OOH) media agency, has promoted Josko Grljevic to the role of Group Chief Operations Officer (COO), as part of the company’s ambitious and ongoing growth plans.

Joining the company as UK Chief Transformation Officer in 2018, Josko has been fundamental in leading Talon’s comprehensive technology transformation, overseeing the launch of its three data-fuelled technology platforms – Ada, Atlas and Plato – harnessing the capabilities for audience targeting, programmatic buying and measurement across the OOH customer journey.

These tech advancements have brought game-changing opportunities for advertisers and are best-in-class examples of intelligent service-based architectures which process billions of data points, execute very complex mathematical models and provide real-time insights – ultimately, reducing the time taken to plan and execute an OOH campaign by up to 95%.

Following the successful launch and integration of the platforms in the UK, Josko exported Ada, Atlas and Plato to the US market and is leading the rollout across MENA and APAC.

As part of his new role as Group COO, Josko, who was recognised in the CIO 100 list in 2020 and recently shortlisted for Campaign’s Tech Pioneer of the Year award, will continue to grow the remit of technology and data across the business to drive data-driven organisation and measurement on a global scale reporting directly to Group CEO, Barry Cupples. Owning the day-to-day running of the business, he’ll execute on the company’s strategic business objectives, continue to advance Talon’s adtech to deliver best-in-class solutions whilst helping to further develop a culture where belonging and sustainability runs through each pillar of the organisation.

To further aid Talon’s global expansion, a raft of further senior promotions has been made. These include Anant East to the position of Group CTO, Sophie Pemberton to Group Chief Strategy Officer and Amy Horton to Group Transformation Director. This new structure will support Talon’s next phase of transformation and growth across multiple markets.

Barry Cupples, Group CEO, adds, “During one of the most challenging times in our business when the OOH industry was facing severe setbacks, Josko has been instrumental in driving Talon forward, developing the best proprietary tech the sector now offers and driving real change into how the media is delivered. He’s been central to Talon’s transformation and I look forward to seeing him continue this success globally as we drive forward the renaissance of Out of Home.”

Josko Grljevic, Group COO, said: “Over the last four years, I’ve been committed to developing tech that has enabled both our company and the wider OOH industry to bounce back from the challenges of the pandemic with incredible strength. As part of my new role I will be ensuring our business strategy focuses on further transformation with a leading global market presence powered by our adtech suite, whilst ensuring the culture at Talon continues to evolve so we retain and attract the very best talent in the industry.”

“The Only Way is Up for Out of Home!” – Barry Cupples, Group CEO Talon

Talon had an incredible time hosting a live recording of the Behind the Billboard podcast and an important conversation between Cephas Williams & Barry Cupples on the LBBonline – Little Black Book & Friends Beach, alongside joining in at Stagwell’s Speaker’s Lounge, a fireside chat with the DPAA on Yahoo Beach, attending events and catching up with clients and industry friends over lunch. Take a look at our behind-the-scenes roundup from Cannes in 2022.

In the words of our CEO Barry Cupples, “we’re just in the room as Out of Home expert’s trying to grow the category.”

Cannes was a brilliant opportunity to connect with our industry peers and begin to work together to grow the medium.

There are huge opportunities for brands to capitalise on OOH’s renaissance and the smart opportunities OOH can offer to reach consumers at scale. The time is now to further collaborate and educate advertisers and agencies on the fantastic results OOH can deliver.

Here’s to Talon in Cannes 2023!

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