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.”

A new report from PwC, commissioned by Outsmart, finds the UK Out of Home (OOH) sector contributed £411m to support public services, infrastructure, communities and employees in 2021 – representing 46% of its advertising revenue.

OOH Sector’s Huge Contribution: Public Support & Impact

Over the last 14 years, OOH media owners have invested £1.1bn into installing and maintaining public infrastructure including bus shelters, free telecommunications services and even lifesaving defibrillators. OOH media owners directly contributed £188m in 2021 towards public finances through business rates and rent.

In addition, PwC estimate​s​ a further c.£29m helped support charities and communities by donations, heavily discounted or donated media space and staff hours given to charity.

The report, based on a survey of OOH media owners representing 92% of industry revenue, also highlights how the sector has increased the share of renewables to over 90% of electricity consumption whilst innovating to increase​ the​ use of recyclable materials. 

Tim Lumb​,​ Director of Outsmart​,​ comments “This report highlights Out of Home is not just about fantastic advertising, it​’​s also about investing in our relationship with the public by providing highly valued services up and down the country and supporting good causes.”

​​Andy Lobo, Senior Manager at ​PwC​,​ said “The Out of Home sector has long benefitted both advertisers and local communities as demonstrated by the wide range of OOH media owner investments and initiatives – from funding public infrastructure through to celebrating and promoting diversity on advertising screens across the country. It is exciting to see the sector making progress at tackling a broader set of environmental and social challenges too​.​”

The participating media owners are Alight Media, Bay Media, BlowUP Media, Clear Channel, Global, JCDecaux UK, Mass Media, Ocean Outdoor and Wildstone. 

Download the report – Supporting UK Society: The Impact of the Out of Home Sector – from Outsmart

At Talon, we’re committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels they belong. We champion equality and believe in the power of female leadership – and the positive impact it can bring whole. This July, we co-sponsored MAD//Fest London’s new Female Leaders’ Bar, a vibrant and inclusive networking space that celebrated female leadership and set out to inspire the next generation of female leaders.

This innovative space served as a hub for celebrating the achievements of female industry leaders and fostering meaningful connections between current and future leaders. It created an inclusive environment where the power of diversity and the strength of female leadership were at the forefront – and was a great meeting place to connect with over 1500 people daily.

Championing Women at Talon

Talon holds a people-focussed philosophy. We pride ourselves on the people who represent our business. We strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, and supporting initiatives like the Female Leaders’ Bar is central to our values. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is led by the People Team and the Belong COG. Belong helps to shape our internal working practices, policies and recruitment strategy to ensure Talon is a great place to work for all talent.

Supportive Policies in Place

We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential for driving innovation and achieving success. We’ve implemented several policies that support women and working parents in the workplace. Our Schools Out! policy recognises the need for flexibility during school holidays for parents, and our Smarter Working policy offers flexibility in relation to location and hours worked. We also have dedicated policies and companywide education programmes from fertility assistance through to menopause. Additionally, we offer enhanced maternity pay and emergency backup child and elder care to provide comprehensive support when needed.

Recognising Female Talent

Talon has recently promoted a suite of talented individuals within the organisation. Vicky Marshall and Nicci Loudon have taken on the roles of Head of Client, while Jo Kennedy and Shannon Clark have been appointed Business Directors. Furthermore, India Relph has been promoted to Planning Director, and Laurie McAllister now leads as Head of Marketing – UK, Grand Visual & International. These women embody our core values and the essence of leadership, inspiring others with their passion, big ideas, empathy and dedication.

Top Tips from Our Female Leaders:

To celebrate our sponsorship of the Female Leaders’ Bar, we asked our talented female leaders for three words that encompass leadership and the women who have inspired them. Here are their answers:

Sophie Pemberton, Group Chief Strategy Officer at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader are honesty, empathy and a sense of humour.

A female leader who inspired me is Katie Ingram. Strength, smarts and sass, what a combo.

Elise Wise, Business Director at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader are resilience, empathy and to be trustworthy.

A female leader who inspired me is Golda Meir.

Jo Kennedy, Business Director at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader is – to show great emotional intelligence, to lead from the front and inspire confidence at all levels. 

A female leader who inspired me is Carolyn McCall. I saw her present at WACL a few years ago and her entire speech was captivating and inspiring. I still remember her discussing her career whilst she had a young family, and the advice she gave to “just say to yourself and your company, this is such a short period of time in my career where I need a little support and flexibility. A good manager and company will understand, and for that you will give hard work and loyalty” I took that on board and not only lived by that for myself, but now my kids are so much older, I hope that I can pass that advice on colleagues who are now approaching that stage in life.

Hayley Tiptaft, Group People Director at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader is empathy, consistency, and integrity.

Name a female leader who has inspired you. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the women who championed me and were phenomenal role models: Nicola Walton, Victoria Sutton and Lesley Brady. Always available, always listened, always reliable!

Camille Uzan, Business Director at Talon International:

The 3 things a leader needs, to be a strong leader are: 

• Great communication skills to navigate the unavoidable bias and inspire others
• Excitement for challenges with a strong ability to problem-solve
• Curiosity, to encourage free thinking and create change

Amy Horton, Group Chief Transformation Officer at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader is and visionary, empathetic and determined.

A female leader who has inspired me is Beryl Burton, the awesome female cyclist.

Emily Alcorn, Head of Effectiveness at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader are empathy, confidence, and a challenger mentality.

A female leader who has inspired me is Sophie Pemberton…always challenging, supporting, and guiding!

Jo Jackson, Head of Client at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader is…..confident, you need to believe in yourself and your capabilities, be bold and have a voice.   Passion, to be a strong leader you need to have passion for what you do and a desire to keep listening, learning and challengingand finally team spirit, share your experience with your team, lead by example and motivate the team to be the best they can be.

Sharon Hogan is a female leader that inspires me.   Not only is she a fantastic actress, but a writer, comedian, producer, and director!   Not only did she create the amazing series’ Motherland and Catastrophe, but she also broke Hollywood creating the successful comedy drama – Divorce.   Her work is relatable, and she is clearly a powerful and successful woman in everything she does.

Talon International Unveils Global Realignment

As part of a global strategic realignment at Talon, from today Plexus will become Talon International.

The same trusted team of experts you know, the same high-level service you expect and the same global independent OOH network that is still the biggest in the world.  All brought to you more efficiently and effectively under one unified brand synonymous with pioneering innovation and quality in Out of Home – Talon.

The world of Out of Home media is changing fast, and Talon is proud of our contribution to driving this evolution over the last decade. Talon’s ongoing dedication to offering our clients best-in-class planning, buying, creativity and technological solutions, ensures we deliver the best experience and outcomes for our clients on a global scale.

Nothing defines this global commitment more than the Talon International team who serve as a centralised hub connecting over 20 Talon and partner offices around the world, enabling us to plan, buy and execute client campaigns in over 100 markets worldwide.

We are excited to take this next step on our journey with brand partners both new and old – to discuss the new opportunities this future holds, contact the team at

firstname.lastname@talonooh.com

Alternatively head to the Talon International page to see first-hand what this new direction has to offer.

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 Rebrand and People-First Approach

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