Europlakat conquers Eastern Europe
Out-of-home advertising VII The joint venture between Affichage and JCDecaux significantly expanded its position in Hungary and Slovenia.
Out-of-home advertising VII The joint venture between Affichage and JCDecaux significantly expanded its position in Hungary and Slovenia.
The decision from Budapest is only a few days old: the authorities in the Hungarian capital have awarded the contract for 250 Citylight boards and 250 Citylight city information systems in the city center to a consortium consisting of the French outdoor advertising company JCDecaux, the German poster company Wall and the Swiss company Affichage. The consortium had bid for the 25-year contract alongside other competitors, and both the Citylight boards and the city information systems are backlit billboards. The boards - a tool unknown in Switzerland - are eight square meters in size and allow a maximum of six posters to rotate at 10-second intervals. The Stadtinfo installations, on the other hand, are free-standing double-sided billboards, one surface of which is available for the city's own advertising and the other for commercial advertising. In return for the long-term contract, which has yet to be signed, JCDecaux, Wall and Affichage will install 30 fully automatic toilets in Budapest, which they will also clean and maintain.
The fact that the three players have submitted a joint bid is anything but a coincidence. JCDecaux has held a 35 percent stake in Wall since the beginning of the year and also holds a 30 percent stake in Affichage. Together with the Swiss outdoor advertiser, it is also involved in the joint venture Europlakat International (EPI). EPI in Vienna is particularly pleased about the successful coup in Budapest: "With this contract, EPI is still just number 2 among outdoor advertisers in Hungary in terms of sales. In terms of the quality of locations and poster media, however, we can now extend our existing market leadership even further," says EPI General Director Thomas Rainer. The plan now is for the three out-of-home advertisers in Hungary to set up a joint company.
In the spring, EPI had already won another city contract for 15 years in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. The contract for 450 bus shelters, each with double-sided Citylight surfaces, had already been awarded in 2002, but the final decision was delayed due to objections from Wall, a competitor that was still independent of JCDecaux at the time. However, the contract has now been signed and the first 300 bus shelters were installed in October. The rest will follow in the spring. "This contract now allows us to turn the tide in Slovenia and move from number 2 to number 1 among outdoor advertisers," says Rainer.
EU membership is good for outdoor advertisingEPI was already the number 1 in outdoor advertising in Central Europe. Apart from Slovenia and Hungary, it is also present in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro including Kosovo and Bulgaria. In the first half of 2004, the company increased its sales revenue by 15.4 percent to CHF 30.2 million compared to the first half of 2003.
In 2003 as a whole, the joint venture between JCDecaux and Affichage generated CHF 58.4 million. Sales growth is particularly strong in the new EU member states Hungary and Slovenia. In Slovenia alone, EPI recorded an increase of over 40 percent this year.
Unlike in other countries, EPI is not the market leader in Bulgaria's highly segmented market, but is number 12. However, the city contract for the capital Sofia is up for tender next year. It is expected that this will be followed by market consolidation. (mk)
In Ljubljana, three Western Europeans will soon be putting up posters in 450 bus shelters.
EPI will install 250 of these citylight boards in Budapest.
Markus Knöpfli
The decision from Budapest is only a few days old: the authorities in the Hungarian capital have awarded the contract for 250 Citylight boards and 250 Citylight city information systems in the city center to a consortium consisting of the French outdoor advertising company JCDecaux, the German poster company Wall and the Swiss company Affichage. The consortium had bid for the 25-year contract alongside other competitors, and both the Citylight boards and the city information systems are backlit billboards. The boards - a tool unknown in Switzerland - are eight square meters in size and allow a maximum of six posters to rotate at 10-second intervals. The Stadtinfo installations, on the other hand, are free-standing double-sided billboards, one surface of which is available for the city's own advertising and the other for commercial advertising. In return for the long-term contract, which has yet to be signed, JCDecaux, Wall and Affichage will install 30 fully automatic toilets in Budapest, which they will also clean and maintain.
The fact that the three players have submitted a joint bid is anything but a coincidence. JCDecaux has held a 35 percent stake in Wall since the beginning of the year and also holds a 30 percent stake in Affichage. Together with the Swiss outdoor advertiser, it is also involved in the joint venture Europlakat International (EPI). EPI in Vienna is particularly pleased about the successful coup in Budapest: "With this contract, EPI is still just number 2 among outdoor advertisers in Hungary in terms of sales. In terms of the quality of locations and poster media, however, we can now extend our existing market leadership even further," says EPI General Director Thomas Rainer. The plan now is for the three out-of-home advertisers in Hungary to set up a joint company.
In the spring, EPI had already won another city contract for 15 years in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. The contract for 450 bus shelters, each with double-sided Citylight surfaces, had already been awarded in 2002, but the final decision was delayed due to objections from Wall, a competitor that was still independent of JCDecaux at the time. However, the contract has now been signed and the first 300 bus shelters were installed in October. The rest will follow in the spring. "This contract now allows us to turn the tide in Slovenia and move from number 2 to number 1 among outdoor advertisers," says Rainer.
EU membership is good for outdoor advertisingEPI was already the number 1 in outdoor advertising in Central Europe. Apart from Slovenia and Hungary, it is also present in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro including Kosovo and Bulgaria. In the first half of 2004, the company increased its sales revenue by 15.4 percent to CHF 30.2 million compared to the first half of 2003.
In 2003 as a whole, the joint venture between JCDecaux and Affichage generated CHF 58.4 million. Sales growth is particularly strong in the new EU member states Hungary and Slovenia. In Slovenia alone, EPI recorded an increase of over 40 percent this year.
Unlike in other countries, EPI is not the market leader in Bulgaria's highly segmented market, but is number 12. However, the city contract for the capital Sofia is up for tender next year. It is expected that this will be followed by market consolidation. (mk)
In Ljubljana, three Western Europeans will soon be putting up posters in 450 bus shelters.
EPI will install 250 of these citylight boards in Budapest.
Markus Knöpfli
