REFLECTING ON TALON’S 2023 – INITIATIVES, LAUNCHES AND WORDS OF WISDOM

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.