Clear Channel Outdoor Advances Audience-Based Selling with Rollout of Consumer Networks

May 20, 2013 by David Grabert

Innovation enables advertisers and agencies to more easily buy solutions based on key demographics.

New York, NY – May 20, 2013 – Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (NYSE: CCO) today announced the rollout of consumer networks, a portfolio of pre-selected out-of-home advertising products that helps streamline the media purchasing process and gives advertisers a more effective way to engage their key audiences.

The company’s new consumer networks offer advertisers and agencies a simpler and easier buying process, supported by Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB) ratings that they can plug into demographic-specific advertising models. As a result, advertisers and agencies will have an effective solution that eliminates the need to build the out-of-home component of their campaigns by selecting individual outdoor assets among hundreds of thousands of local and national options.

The new consumer networks, accompanied by out-of-home ratings, are delivered in a format consistent with other major media (TV, radio, print) and offer compatible buying metrics, making it easier to assess the value of out-of-home as part of a comprehensive media plan. By combining demographic targeting with psychographic geo-targeting, Clear Channel Outdoor’s consumer networks can offer enhanced audience metrics and ensure that out-of-home campaigns deliver the greatest exposure to a client’s target audience — allowing planners to maximize the effectiveness of their media budget.

“Our consumer networks represent a significant innovation in the delivery of key audiences when they are out of home, and much more is coming from Clear Channel Outdoor as we work to evolve our audience delivery to benefit advertisers,” said Suzanne Grimes, president and chief operating officer of Clear Channel Outdoor – North America. “With other media facing steep challenges brought on by technology disruption and audience fragmentation, out-of-home is well positioned to maintain or increase advertiser’s audience reach and win additional share of their mix. The key is to make buying audiences easier, and we are laser focused on continuing innovation in audience delivery and measurement.”

At launch, the new consumer networks comprise targeted portfolios for several pre-selected demographic groups which range by market including Hispanics, African Americans, women or men between the ages of 18 to 49, adults 18 to 34, and affluent consumers with income greater than $75,000, $100,000 and $150,000 annually.

“The results we’re seeing from the industry’s investment in the TAB ratings will multiply as we combine measurement innovation with selling innovation,” said Rocky Sisson, chief revenue officer of Clear Channel Outdoor – North America. “The consumer networks we’ve built deliver valuable audiences that advertisers want, and this approach is already paying off as major national advertisers have shifted dollars, with confidence, to out-of-home in order effectively attain their campaign goals.”

Following Clear Channel Outdoor’s successful piloting of the demographic networks in three markets in 2012, seven markets are in various stages of deployment, including Albuquerque, Cleveland, Orlando, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Seattle.

“The development of demographic networks is a very positive step for Clear Channel and necessary direction for the OOH marketplace,” said Connie Garrido, chief executive officer of Posterscope. “To be able to deliver audiences on a deeper level provides tangible value to assist in optimizing the delivery of a program. We look forward to working with Clear Channel Outdoor to leverage these networks in our planning process and to seeing how CCO continues to build on the networks moving forward.”

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