Shared channel is JCDecaux's joy
Outdoor Advertising: JCDecaux Welcomes Greater Transparency at Clear Channel.
Out-of-home advertising JCDecaux is pleased about greater transparency at Clear ChannelAt the beginning of May, the US media group Clear Channel (CC) announced that it would spin off its global out-of-home advertising business - which includes Clear Channel Plakanda in Switzerland - at the end of 2005 and then float it on the stock market as a separate company with sales of around 2.5 billion dollars.French out-of-home advertiser JCDecaux, CC's main competitor worldwide with sales of 1.6 billion dollars and a 30 percent stake in the market leader Affichage in Switzerland, is pleased about this split. François Decaux, Co-Chairman of the Management Board and member of the Affichage Board of Directors, is triumphant: "For us, this is confirmation that radio and out-of-home advertising do not work together."
In fact, the conglomerate CC, the largest radio marketer in the USA, had tried for years to market radio and billboard advertising in packages. JCDecaux and Affichage pursued a mono-strategy. JCDecaux came under pressure from investors at times because the CC conglomerate was once valued much higher than the pure player. But the French company stuck to its strategy: "Customers want to be free to decide which medium they want to book. If they want to combine two media, they can do so anyway. But if they are forced to do so, they demand a huge discount."
Decaux also hopes that the division of his competitor will lead to greater transparency: "At last, CC can no longer mix its outdoor advertising figures with those of other areas," he says. In future, the outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) will be measured against JCDecaux and other outdoor advertisers.
However, Decaux is not considering acquiring a stake in CCO, primarily for antitrust reasons. JCDecaux remains interested in Viacom's out-of-home advertising. This group has also announced a split. François Decaux therefore explained earlier: "We are interested in Viacom Outdoor Advertising because it and JCDecaux complement each other perfectly: we are number 1 in Europe, Viacom is number 1 in the USA. We are number 2 worldwide, they are number 3."
Markus Knöpfli
In fact, the conglomerate CC, the largest radio marketer in the USA, had tried for years to market radio and billboard advertising in packages. JCDecaux and Affichage pursued a mono-strategy. JCDecaux came under pressure from investors at times because the CC conglomerate was once valued much higher than the pure player. But the French company stuck to its strategy: "Customers want to be free to decide which medium they want to book. If they want to combine two media, they can do so anyway. But if they are forced to do so, they demand a huge discount."
Decaux also hopes that the division of his competitor will lead to greater transparency: "At last, CC can no longer mix its outdoor advertising figures with those of other areas," he says. In future, the outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) will be measured against JCDecaux and other outdoor advertisers.
However, Decaux is not considering acquiring a stake in CCO, primarily for antitrust reasons. JCDecaux remains interested in Viacom's out-of-home advertising. This group has also announced a split. François Decaux therefore explained earlier: "We are interested in Viacom Outdoor Advertising because it and JCDecaux complement each other perfectly: we are number 1 in Europe, Viacom is number 1 in the USA. We are number 2 worldwide, they are number 3."
Markus Knöpfli
