Cook talks the future of classic

The future of outdoor print will have speed as its the biggest consideration, according to oOh!media CEO Brendon Cook, as he gave a talk at Visual Impact’s day two business breakfast seminar.

Australian Printer spoke to Cook following the talk, and discussed the progress on the impending Adshel merger, and where he sees the split between digital and print outdoor advertising stabilising.

Cook was confident in the progress of the merger, noting that the company had previously merged with companies of an equal size, which presents a different, more complex set of challenges. He also predicted digital to stabilise around 60-70 per cent of the outdoor market, while the company’s latest results puts digital at 64 per cent of revenue.

He pointed to the importance of classic billboards, particularly across areas in which regulatory guidelines prohibit digital platforms from being built, and in smaller retail centres where digital does not perform as well.

Cook contends, “Speed is now the focus for printers, not only in large format, but also in point of sale. I think we are going to see brands continually looking at how quickly they can get their communication up in the digital world. The printing industry with all its great attributes needs to be able to respond to the speed of digital.

“While obviously classic will never be as fast as digital, it can certainly be faster, and that is going to be important.

“Our classic revenues were up in the first half of this year. I was not surprised, we have always said if keep growing the volume of revenue, the value of classic has always been there. It sells a lot of products for clients.

“Most people that attended the talk have been in the printing industry for a long time, and have probably been exposed to outdoor presentations over many years. What they should have taken away today is the speed of technology, and data for out of home is changing dramatically and quickly, and therefore they need to ask what role they need to play to match that thinking.”

Keith Ferrell, who founded and runs Cactus Imaging, the printing arm of oOh!, also spoke to the audience.

Source: Australian Printer