- Vision Media Group (International) plc, the outdoor media contractor, has DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE [15] announced that it has signed contracts or heads of agreement with shopping mall owners that will more than double the size of its UK network.
- Terms have been agreed, including agreements with two large property groups, which will add a further 33 shopping malls to the VMG estate and bring the total number of malls to 57 and 527 operating panels, of which 350 will be Iconic Pod portrait-style digital panels. The average length of the new contracts is 8 years with no minimal rental guarantees. The first phase of the roll-out will equip 16 malls with 200 Iconic Pod portrait panels ahead of the 2008 Christmas period, with further installations commencing in early 2009.
- Clear Channel Outdoor UK (“Clear Channel”) is responsible for the procurement of national advertising across the VMG shopping mall network. The Company believes that the addition of these malls represents a significant escalation, by in excess of £7 million per annum, in the total value of potential advertising that can be sold by Clear Channel and that the enlarged VMG media inventory now represents a total gross annual advertising sales value of £25 million, enabling total possible gross advertising sales to a value of circa £200 million over the life of the contracts.
- The Directors believe that the additional malls will provide the Group with approximately a further £1.5 million in net sales per annum upon the completion of the installations. This, combined with the estimated net sales value announced on 18 August 2008, should enable, once fully rolled out, annualized net sales in excess of £5 million per year for the Group.
- In signing these agreements, VMG has created the largest contracted digital media network in UK shopping malls, in terms of number of malls and the combined potential audience. VMG now has more leading malls, as ranked by industry research organization TWA (Trevor Wood Associates), under contract for digital media than any other UK media company. The Group’s expanded network will be seen by an annual audience in excess of 1 billion consumers at the point-of-purchase.
- Mike Cottman, Executive Chairman of VMG, commented: “These agreements herald the success of the drive by the Group’s new executive team to dominate the UK shopping mall market. By bridging the gap between major brands and their potential consumers, shopping mall panels are an increasingly valued advertising medium because of their unique position at point-of-purchase. This latest raft of agreements marks the Group’s commitment to developing the UK’s premier digital retail network utilizing VMG’s own groundbreaking Iconic Pods.”
- For more information on Vision Media Group www.visionmediagroupplc. com.
