This month we welcome Justin Cochrane, CEO, Clear Channel UK, London
- You have been with Clear Channel for almost ten years. Tell us the changes that you have seen in the industry in that time?
The biggest changes I’ve seen include the rise of digital Out of Home (rather obviously). It’s taken time to get to real scale, 10 years or so, but it’s really getting there now and the pace of change to digital is accelerating as it really starts to meet the needs of, and capture the imaginations of, advertisers and consumers.
Another change has been the “professionalisation” of the industry. Like it or loathe it, and there are both views, as more private equity money comes in, and investment increases, the industry has changed. But ultimately, great Out of Home locations, mixed with great Out of Home creative, still deliver amazing showcases for brands.
- Please tell us about your personal background and how you first got involved in the out-of-home industry?
I studied Engineering at university, then qualified as a Chartered Accountant, worked in banking for a couple of years, hated it, then joined Clear Channel – slightly by chance – in 2001 and just got hooked on the Out of Home industry. Clear Channel was going through a big expansion period at the time, buying a lot of companies, which was fascinating, and it’s fair to say it’s been a rollercoaster ride ever since. I’ve had about eight different roles in 14 years at Clear Channel and have loved every minute of it.
- Whilst you are the CEO of Clear Channel UK, there are a lot of other elements to Clear Channel, both in North America and in continental Europe. Can you tell us a little bit about the organisation structure and your management peers?
Clear Channel UK is part of Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO). CCO is one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising companies with a portfolio of solutions that reaches 600 million people in over 40 countries across Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Latin America and North America.
CCO operates under two divisions – Clear Channel International (Asia, Australia/NZ and Europe) which is led by CEO and Chairman William Eccleshare; and Clear Channel Outdoor Americas (North America and Latin America), led by CEO Scott Wells.
Product portfolios differ depending on the market. Clear Channel UK has a particular focus on roadside 6-sheets – Adshel and Adshel Live; our premium digital brand Storm and our Wrap digital 48 sheets. I’m also hugely proud of our Create brand – a creative solutions team which offers advertisers innovative in amazing and unexpected ways to generate fantastic PR and stand out.
- Will Clear Channel UK need a big restructuring now that you lost the London Street Furniture Contract? Do you see business as normal?
Of course we’re disappointed but in reality very little has changed. All our previously-announced plans for the national roll-out of Adshel Live and Wrap, and the growth of Storm, remain on track and can, in fact, be accelerated. The global business is backing us and we have substantial funds previously earmarked for the London bus shelter contract available to us to shape our next-generation estate. There’s a lot more to digital investment than putting screens in the ground.
At the moment a huge amount of energy is devoted to delivering Play iQ, our intelligent content and inventory management system which we are currently trialling in Storm and will power our entire digital portfolio. We can’t lose sight of the fact we need to make Out of Home easier to buy, plan and optimise. Digital is exciting and will grab headlines but we are also market leader in classic 6-sheets. In 2016 our Classic Adshel estate will reach over 90% of UK adults nationally and in London.
- Clear Channel UK has done a lot of good work in digital (far better we think than your colleagues in North America, if we may say so), what is the best digital deployment or the one that you are most proud of?
I’m not sure our American colleagues would agree! I am particularly proud of our Storm network of super-premium large format digital sites nationwide. All of the Storm sites are visually and architecturally stunning – including my personal favourite, the North London Towers. We’ve seen some amazing campaigns on Storm and this has been driven by Storm’s pioneering flexible ownership model which allows brands complete ownership of the sites right down to the nameplate for a period of time that is right for them.
I think the nationwide expansion of Storm, which began earlier this year in Birmingham, represents a really exciting time for DOOH in the UK, as we continue to invest in the format in order to bring advertisers more opportunities to reach people all over the country, as well as expanding our London portfolio.
- Can you tell us a little bit about your planning awards?
The Outdoor Planning Awards celebrate the absolute best in UK Out of Home advertising from across the year. This year’s ceremony took place in April and saw Google Outside 2.0 take home the title of Grand Prize Winner. I thought the Google campaign was an excellent demonstration of highly contextual and relevant content across digital screens in hundreds of different locations throughout London. The 2016 ceremony will see us celebrating 10 years of the awards – so watch this space for big announcements on next year’s plans.
- Are you excited or worried about Smart Phones and how they ‘play’ with the out of home advertising industry?
Excited! We believe Out of Home and mobile naturally work together have done a huge amount of work to make it easier for brands to integrate mobile into their OOH campaigns. To be honest, I don’t think anyone has really cracked the opportunity for how OOH and mobile can really work together, but I definitely think it continues to be a big opportunity, and emerging mobile technology will be a fundamental part of the Adshel Live offering.
- How is the company managed in each country?
Each country has its own senior management team which is responsible for the day-to-day running of the business – including sales, marketing, operations, finance and so on, with other leadership functions dependent on the relative needs and size of their business. Being part of a global business means that we can benefit from the knowledge, experience and expertise of other markets and we encourage everyone throughout the organisation to collaborate and share with their colleagues internationally.
- What do you think is the biggest strength of Clear Channel UK?
Ultimately our strength is people. That ranges from our deep understanding of consumers and the way they feel and behave towards brands to the brilliant people who work for us right across the UK. We have offices from Aberdeen to Exeter and our team gives us a unique level of knowledge and understandings of their local areas.
- Are you able to forecast where you think Clear Channel UK will be, perhaps by the end of 2016?
I think by the end of 2016 Clear Channel UK will be more digital (no surprise there). Being clever about using the flexibility that digital allows in delivering great creative to get advertisers messages out there is going to get ever more exciting over the next year or two. We’ll also be bolder.
The Out of Home model is constantly evolving and losing a contract like the TfL bus shelter contract enables us to change, and that change can be liberating – allowing us to be more bold in our approach. And, physically, Clear Channel UK will be in a better place. We are temporarily moving out of our Golden Square office, where we’ve been for 26 years, while we refurbish it to make it a great space to move back into in 2016.
- What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the out of home industry at the moment?
It’s that we don’t shout loudly enough about success. Our Look Again research, which focused on how Marketing Directors actually feel about Out of Home advertising, revealed the awareness of available technologies in OOH advertising is very low, even amongst OOH users (for example, only 18% are aware of facial recognition technology).
The findings highlighted the need for the Out of Home industry to collectively start shouting louder about what we can do for brands – both through new technology and the medium’s traditional strengths.
- What most excites you about OOH and what most excites you about DOOH?
To me, it’s no surprise that Out of Home is booming right now: OOH is the most ubiquitous media – you can’t turn the page, change the channel or switch it off, and Out of Home continues to integrate itself brilliantly with other new and innovative technologies. What excites me about OOH hasn’t changed even after so many years in the sector – it’s the ability to reach the right people in the right places and the power it has to activate an audience – be it as the final point of influence before sale or by delivering a direct response through the use of a smartphone.
DOOH adds an extra level of engagement and dynamism that can take a campaign to the next level – from real-time copy updates to innovations in the way campaigns are booked and planned. The industry is evolving at a rapid pace and I’m looking forward to working with our clients and partners to shape the future of media and create some truly outstanding advertising.