James Bickers edits DigitalSignageToday.com.
LONDON — At the second-annual Screen Expo Europe in London, Julien Marcel, Thomson Out-of-Home Media Services vice president, discussed his company's holistic view of digital signage, before delving into a few specific plans for 2007.
Thomson, which operates in 30 countries and holds more than 50,000 patents, is a world leader in broadcast technology and out-of-home media. Its clients include Disney, Universal, DreamWorks, ABC, NBC, CNN, Fox, Sky and Microsoft.
While he stopped short of giving specific figures, Marcel said out-of-home ad sales represent "hundreds of millions of dollars" for his company.
He then went into specifics on the revamped, next-generation Wal-Mart TV network. He noted that the current iteration of the network is fifth-ranked in the U.S. in terms of reach — the largest television network after ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.
The next generation will be entirely IP-based, he said, allowing for a much greater level of planning at the ad buying and scheduling level. He said it will roll out on 100,000 screens in the next few months, built around "multiple highly targeted channels."
Thomson made news earlier this month with the announcement of a partnership with CGEN, a leading out-of-home network in China. Marcel said OOH ad spending in China has zoomed from $5 million in 2003 to $360 million in 2006, now representing 3 percent of overall ad spend.
The company's first efforts in China revolve around the Big Cafe chain of premium Internet cafes, whose screens serve ads to more than 1 million visitors per day — primarily, he said, in the coveted 15-to-34 demographic.
Marcel also said the coming year would see a push by Thomson into the OOH market in Poland, which he dubbed one of the 10 fastest-growing ad markets in the world.
"In Poland, we find two critical success factors," he said. "Number one, there is a very strong presence of leading international retailers. Number two, it is a very strong ad market."
