JCDecaux reengineers large format billboards with revolutionary new audience-led pricing, advanced data planning capabilities and standard 1-in-6 share of voice for digital advertisers

JCDecaux Australia today unveiled its plans for an audience-led future, announcing several major initiatives for its large format portfolio, designed to bring greater effectiveness and a complete value reset for advertisers.

The new approach for JCDecaux’s large format channel comprises eight industry leading initiatives that combine to drive greater effectiveness for brands using digital large format.
 

1.  New large format pricing methodology. Beginning with the digital large format network, JCDecaux has worked with independent data consultants, Servian, to overhaul pricing with a rigorous assessment of ten key factors; from the physical attributes that enhance viewability, market demand, location, environmental context and most notably - the value and relevance of the audiences reached by each individual large format site.
    
2.  Greater relativity and significant rate card reductions across the portfolio. JCDecaux believes its new pricing reflects the genuine market value, with a significant overall rate card reduction across its digital large format portfolio. This change signals JCDecaux’s commitment to bring illogical large format discounting practices in line with wider media industry standards.
    
   
3.  Meaningful media evaluation metrics. JCDecaux is changing the metrics for media evaluation, from asset-led, arbitrary pricing and artificial discounting, paving the way for more progressive and relevant campaign metrics.
    
4. Reduction of total large format digital contacts by 40%. To bring greater accountability of audience reporting to the industry, JCDecaux has taken positive steps to address widespread digital measurement concerns from advertisers and agencies. The new digital large format pricing methodology takes into account a 40% decrease on total contacts as reported through MOVE.
    
5. Greater share-of-voice, with six advertisers now standard. Announcing a significant departure from the current Australian industry norm for large format, JCDecaux is reducing the number of advertisers displayed on each digital billboard from ten to six. In line with JCDecaux global best practice, this difference will increase viewability and deliver a 67% uplift in share-of-time for advertisers across JCDecaux’s digital large format network.
    
   
6.  Category exclusivity now guaranteed across digital large format. Previously only available to JCDecaux’s street furniture advertisers, this unique exclusivity advantage will be implemented across the entire large format portfolio, ensuring far greater message cut-through for JCDecaux advertisers.
    
7. Platform-agnostic verification and complete transparency in digital reporting. With several measurement providers in the marketplace, including Seedooh, IAS and Veridooh, JCDecaux welcomes independent reporting of digital and classic campaigns with the highest degree of transparency and will work with advertisers to provide verification data in real-time.
    
8. Next-generation large format data platform JCDecauxAGILE. A new large format visualisation and optimisation data ecosystem that will connect a wide variety of data sources in a single platform, JCDecauxAGILE will enable advertisers to leverage the power of smart data for greater effectiveness and speed-to-market.

Through advanced audience identification capabilities, JCDecaux is building the foundation for a very different value narrative and proposition for its advertisers. The shift from panel to audience-led pricing is a fundamental prerequisite on JCDecaux’s journey towards automation and an Out-of-Home programmatic future.

Steve O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer, JCDecaux Australia & New Zealand said: “Since acquiring APN Outdoor we have been through a process of deep consultation with both agency partners and advertisers. As a result, we now have a firm grasp of the challenges and a clear roadmap to rebuild the large format model.

“Perhaps the most salient learning has been that advertisers don’t feel their campaigns are visible with digital share-of-voice set at one in ten. The channel, for all its strengths, just isn’t effective at these ratios. One in six is the established global best practice.”

Max Eburne, Chief Commercial Officer, JCDecaux Australia & New Zealand said: “The large format narrative must step-change and that moment starts now. Our new pricing methodology is intended to disrupt flawed discounting practices rife across the industry and bring large format trading parameters in parallel with standard media industry practices.

“Our driving purpose has been honing solutions that will deliver truly effective advertising for clients. Data-led planning and optimisation through JCDecauxAGILE combined with increased share-of-voice, guaranteed category exclusivity and full campaign verification should all but guarantee greater success for agencies and advertisers.”
  JCDecaux’s new pricing methodologies and other campaign changes will be implemented across its digital large format network from September, with the classic large format portfolio to follow in January next year.

Advertisers who have already invested across JCDecaux digital large format from September onwards will automatically benefit from the more effective share-of-voice commitment.