CCO Wins, OOH Like Musk, Gaming Exec and DOOH Academy

OOH Today Weekend Update

By OOH TODAY believes all voices, not just the loudest, must be heard Last updated Dec 16, 2024

Clear Channel wins two contracts, Jim Johnsen wants to apply Musk’s principles to OOH, DOOH Academy’s upcoming webinar, and a gaming exec joins Wildstone. A weekly recap of the top OOH stories you may have missed and colorful commentary from BB for the week ending December 14, 2024.

1. Space Cowboy—You Ready For That?

Jim Johnsen, Managing Director of Johnsen, Fretty & Company’s weekly column revises Elon Musk’s five-step algorithm this week. Based on Johnsen’s reading of Musk’s biography, Space Cowboy, the article suggests that these five steps can be revised to apply to OOH.

1. Question every requirement (aka do we really need another meeting to talk about this?)

2. Delete any part or process you can (do I need to call San Diego to see if they have any availability?)

3. Simplify and optimize (when client copy comes in, can AI help determine whether it sucks or not?)

4. Accelerate cycle time (does it really take 20 days to close the books at the end of the month?)

5. Automate (I will leave this one to your imagination).

Check out the article to learn more. Johnsen’s column appears every Monday.

B.B.’s Take: Johnsen’s ‘adaptations of Musk’s 5-step algorithm (question, delete, simplify, accelerate, and automate) for OOH, requires critical examination, bold changes and strong leadership. Are OOH’s current leaders capable?

2. CCO Lands Deal with Private Terminals

Clear Channel Outdoor’s Airports Division, the Americas-based airports business of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. gained a five-year contract renewal with Signature Aviation (formerly Signature Flight Support), the world’s largest network of private aviation terminals. This gives them continued control over advertising across more than 100 private aviation terminals in the U.S.

B.B.’s Take: Private Aviation advertising network? “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” Weighing the benefits (potential or otherwise) of the resources required to achieve success may find those resources best spent elsewhere.

3. Clear Channel Continues Win Streak in Detroit

Clear Channel Outdoor’s Airports Division announced that Wayne County Airport authority awarded it a 10-year contract at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, after a competitive RFP process. CCO has been working with the airport since 2003.

Their media program includes upgrading digital display technology in an airport that serves 31 million annual passengers, who are geographically diverse and skew towards upscale.

B.B.’s Take: Large market airports translate to significant numbers of passengers with the potential of BIG dollars.

a message for mobilytics — a message for Mobilytics

4. Gaming Industry Exec Joins OOH’s Wildstone

Wildstone, an OOH media company with operations across the UK, Europe, and Australia, has appointed Stuart Smith as its new Chief Financial Officer.

He will be responsible for all of Wildstone’s financial activities, working closely with the Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team on Wildstone’s strategy.

Stuart previously worked for Entain, a gaming company, holding multiple senior finance positions. He has experience running global finance functions, operating in international markets, mergers and acquisitions, and establishing a presence in new territories.

B.B.’s Take: Successful OOH companies do not necessarily have to hire CFO’s with OOH experience. But it sure doesn’t hurt. Beware of the CFO (with OOH experience or not) providing strategy for an OOH companies’ sales and management activities.