This month we welcome Steve Ellman, chairman and CEO, Branded Cities Network [1], Phoenix, Arizona.
[2]
- Your company is heavily into real estate. Please tell us a bit about your background, what drew you into digital outdoor (and how did you first get into it).
We have been in real estate and development since the mid-80s and have developed or re-developed over 12.5 million sq. ft. of commercial space through the US and Canada. In 1998, we formed a company with Eller Media and Cadillac Fairview [3] to build outdoor signs on our properties, Cadillac Fairview properties and third-party landlord properties. Our first signage company was CEE Realty which we started in Toronto. The company was renamed Clear Channel Outdoor Canada [4] in 2001.
- You own some of the biggest and most iconic digital signage sites in the US, including several in Times Square and Harmon Corner in Las Vegas. What was your first screen and why did you choose that location?
Our first sign was the largest sign we have ever built to date. The 223-foot tall, 27,000 sq. ft. Atrium on Bay Media Tower [5] is located in Dundas Square in Toronto. We first began work on this sign in 1996. Yonge and Dundas Streets today is the busiest intersection in Canada with approximately 55 million annual visitors.
- Did you take over any/many of the billboards or were they all built by you? And I know that you work with private landowners and public entities, but do you own any of the properties on which your displays are seen?
Branded Cities (BCN) and Clear Channel Outdoor Canada have built most of our existing inventory in the US and Canada. The majority of our assets are on landlord owned properties with long-term lease agreements.
- What do you think makes Branded Cities different from its competitors?
BCN is an iconic digital and spectacular signage company. We own and build oversized signs at world renowned destinations. Most out-of-home vendors offer traditional media opportunities, typically building 14’x48’ signs on freeways and/or arterial roadways. We selectively invest in destinations, not simply locations. Most of our digital signage is spectacularly over-sized which best showcase our clients’ campaigns. We invest in high dwell time sites that are intentionally positioned as backdrops to major vehicular intersections and pedestrian crossroads found in urban life. Our displays can’t be ignored and invite consumer engagement from the street. We stand apart from industry competitors because we are the only out-of-home company that can now offer spectacular digital screens in multiple markets where the ability to run dynamic, full motion content in real time.
- El Media is Branded Cities parent company. It also owns Clear Channel Outdoor Canada. Please tell us how that came about, and if you foresee building any new huge signs in Canada. What is the biggest there now?
EL Media is the parent company of BCN which also owns 50% interest in Clear Channel Canada. Yes, we are aggressively pursuing new signage opportunities both in the US and Canada. As mentioned earlier, Atrium on Bay Media Tower is our largest sign in Canada which stands 223 ft. tall, encompassing more than 27,000 sq. ft. of signage.
- You’ve had a strategic alliance with Panasonic [6] since 2010 to provide all capital and technology to build signage for Branded Cities North American portfolio. Why did you make that alliance, and what do you each get out of it? What has been built since that agreement?
We formed an alliance with Panasonic in 2010 because it is one of the most established, trusted and advanced technology companies in the world. Its R&D budget exceeds $5B annually.
- Cantor Fitzgerald [7] now has a joint venture with you as well, supposedly to help you grow globally. Do you currently have displays ‘globally’? What is on your agenda for the global market?
Our advertising displays are currently in the US and Canada. However, we are presently exploring opportunities in select foreign markets.
- And since May, 2013, ABC Regional Sports and Entertainment has been involved with building your network in association with Panasonic. What is its role? I know it was handling your advertising sales, as well. Does it still or do you have your own sales force?
We have a selling agreement with ABC Regional Sports & Entertainment. We each take responsibility for our own signage sales and each have the opportunity to co-sell each other’s signage in network domination packages. Our iconic signage strategy is much aligned.
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Now that you’ve made these agreements, what is the breakdown on Branded Cities’ Ownership? Are you looking for other investors, either in the US or abroad?
We are a private company and do not disclose. No, we are not looking for investors.
- Whose content management software (one or more companies) do you use for your screens? Why?
We utilize multiple content management software platforms both in the US and Canada.
- You have all sorts of digital and LED screens in New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix. In all, how many screens of each type do you offer? What’s the next city you are targeting?
We don’t disclose new investments/destinations of interest other than to say that we are aggressively pursuing several new markets within North America, and we do not disclose numbers.
- Have you ever had one advertiser buy a campaign on all of your screens at once?
In November, 2014, we were thrilled to work with Apex Exchange on behalf of their client, Verizon Wireless [8], who purchased all of our US screens for its ‘Connection Day’ promotion.
- Tied in with your displays, I understand that you offer experiential services as well. Can you tell us about those? And, as an example, perhaps you could tell us about the award-winning Fruit of the Loom campaign in New York, and another?
BCN continues to grow and evolve the experiential side of our business. Having signs at some of most famous locations in the US like Times Square and the Las Vegas Strip, which have heavy pedestrian traffic and high dwell times, allows us to offer unique experiential and activation technology to our clients. We are fully adept at securing proper permits, bringing strategic technology partners to the media mix and creating ‘first to market’ activations that thrill consumers and bring next-level ROI to our clients.
We applaud Fruit of The Loom [9], Crispin Porter + Bogusky [10] and Billups [11] who won an OAAA ‘GOLD’ Media Plan Award for their campaign in Times Square in September, 2014. The campaign involved the famous Times Square character, ‘Naked Cowboy’, being outfitted the brand’s underwear and posing with pedestrians in the square for a photograph. The photographs were uploaded to our Thomson Reuters tower. Revelers were able to see themselves on the big screen and upload selfies and share the moment.
Another great experiential campaign example happened just last week. For its ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’ movie promotion, Paramount Pictures [12] worked with BCN and cross-platform digital agency Candyspace [13], to create an interactive game using smart phones. The concept was to ‘fling’ a ball by swiping your smart phone screen at a target on our digital display and try to knock a character in to a digital dunk tank. The call-to-action lead participants to a reward (free download, additional content or a coupon for redemption at a later date) just for opting in via smart phones. Screen engagements like these enhance entertainment and measurement factors for participants and spectators alike.
- Harmon Corner [14] gets a lot of attention. What do you see as its value?
The Harmon board is 306’ long x 60’ tall (longer than a football field); the largest sign in the US outside of Times Square. It is strategically located at the 50 yard line of the Las Vegas Strip.
- Interactivity plays a big role with Branded Cities screens, especially in Times Square. Why do you feel that interactivity is important for big screens?
We currently live in an age where most consumers understand how to personalize their news feeds, put their favorite shows in the queue and avoid advertising for the most part. This creates a monumental challenge for brands trying to reach their audience. Interactivity and adaptation are very important to the evolution of our industry. Consumer expectations are higher than ever and it will be the brands and media companies who exceed those expectations that will win. BCN and our technology partner Panasonic have been working together to build several experiential plug-ins that will be sure to intensify the user experience and make the platform even more attractive for advertisers.
- Where do you foresee Branded Cities in five years’ time?
BCN will continue to expand and hopefully dominate the digital and spectacular signage market throughout North America.
- Please describe for us your views of the digital signage industry over the next few years.
There has been much talk about the future of digital media in multiple environments. Everything from using the signs as an analytics tool and identifying who is in front of the display to catering content to a specific individual. The next generation interactivity focus will include an even more direct connection between mobile and display. Advertisers and media vendors certainly have challenges to overcome with all the technological advances but from where BCN is positioned, this is a very exciting time.