Cities are vital for brand advertisers is the message from JCDecaux’s Upfronts, alongside the prediction that 2023 will be ‘The Year of the Public Screen’ as the core attributes of Out-of-Home combine with new digital and programmatic capabilities. Unveiling JCDecaux’s latest digital investment on a national scale across the UK’s biggest cities, new insight shows that 83% of people visit a city each month.
JCDecaux UK’s commitment to cities is underlined through continuing investment into digital Out-of-Home in cities UK-wide, creating a powerful, national digital showcase, with the company confirming further digitisation is planned for 2023.
Analysing mobile data from Experian demonstrates the enduring importance of the biggest cities for reaching audiences. By tracking the movements of 8 million mobile users across a month, researchers found that 83% of the owners of these phones had visited at least 1 of the top 60 UK cities in that month and 70% had visited at least one of the top 30 cities. The data showed that by advertising in a city such as Manchester this would also deliver 71% reach of Stockport and 62% of Rochdale.
Thanks to digital investment, JCDecaux has a digital presence in every city in the top 30, comprising: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent and York.
With the addition of programmatic in May and June 2022 at Tesco and at Heathrow, JCDecaux UK has now introduced programmatic digital capabilities to every JCDecaux Out-of-Home environment across Roadside, Retail, Rail and Airport locations UK-wide.
Mark Bucknell Chief Commercial Officer at JCDecaux UK said, “Out-of-Home is the big reach medium, the powerful public screen that is trusted, that gives back to the community and that makes the private screen work harder. Audiences are back in cities and thanks to our investment in digital screens, data and delivery, Out-of-Home provides flexible, digital and programmatic capabilities that brands need now more than ever. Sustainability is a priority for us - all our screens are powered by green energy, we are reducing our impacts and around 50% of our revenues go back into the community as we develop products that enhance lives in cities - including our lifesaving defibrillators that have over 300 activations so far. As our investment shows, we are committed to cities and this is why we believe that 2023 will be the year of the public screen, a time when clients will need to maintain their brand and drive sales and metrics through the brand funnel, creating real value through the power of the public screen.”
Sustainability is high on the agenda and part of an increasing number of JCDecaux’s contracts. In Manchester, for every digital screen installed JCDecaux will plant five trees and has also provided a community fund to support social impact initiatives. All JCDecaux’s digital screens are powered by green electricity and our approach has been validated by international rating agencies including: Carbon Disclosure Project (A-list), FTSE4Good (4.2 out of 5), Morgan Stanley Capital Investment (AAA rating) and Ecovadis (Gold).