Number of advertising billboards in Dublin set to fall by up to 25%

Media & marketingA multimillion-euro outdoor advertising and public amenity scheme proposed by Dublin City Council would result in a 25 per cent reduction in the number of large poster sites, industry sources have said.

As part of the council's proposed "Public Realm Enhancement and Way Finding System", JCDecaux plans to remove 100 of its 48-sheet (18sq m) billboards from the capital's streets. The cost to an advertiser to book 100 of these poster sites for a year is currently €2.3 million.

Provided the JCDecaux scheme gets 75 per cent approval when a decision is announced soon, the French multinational, which won the city council tender in competition with poster contractors in Ireland and overseas, will immediately proceed with work.

JCDecaux is proposing to erect 120 panels throughout the city, most of which will be two square metres in size, similar to the Adshel bus shelters operated by Clear Channel for Dublin Bus. The rest of the advertising panels will measure seven square metres.

All of the panels will be illuminated. Six of the smaller panels will be on O'Connell Street and one will be on Grafton Street. Among the locations for the larger panels are Parnell Street, Capel Street and Church Street, as well as arterial approach routes into the city such as Pearse Street and the Clontarf Road.

In return for these advertising panels, JCDecaux will provide and maintain at least 500 bicycles in up to 50 locations around the city. The bikes have on-board computers and non-slip pedals. To avoid theft, users pay a rental fee by credit card and provide personal details. The scheme is based on a similar one operated by JCDecaux in Lyon.

The firm will also provide and maintain four public toilets with wheelchair access and features to help visually impaired people. Signposts, maps and heritage-trail posts will also be provided.

The JCDecaux "street furniture" plan does not include the cylindrical advertising columns seen on Paris footpaths, as Dublin thoroughfares are too narrow. Pressure by lobby groups in France has seen 223 of the 790 columns disappear from Paris streets.

JCDecaux Ireland managing director Niamh Cleary refused to comment on the proposals. Sources estimate that the city council deal would be worth several million euros in annual revenue to the company, which also has the advertising franchise for the Luas.

Tapping into bus business

In another development on the outdoor front, Titan Outdoor, the US-owned transit company which has the CIÉ advertising contract, is involved in a major upgrade of its services for advertisers keen to target Dublin Bus commuters.

Titan director Stephen Dunn says 10,000 advertising cards on the inside of 1,200 Dublin Bus vehicles will be rolled out over the coming weeks. To encourage rail advertisers to take space, the cards are the same size as advertisements in Dart and Arrow train carriages.

Dunn said 12 per cent of bus users were in the top strata of Ireland's highest spenders.

Last year, transit advertising bucked the trend in the drop in outdoor advertising's share of total advertising spend, with a revenue increase year-on-year from €19.7 million to €26.7 million. Transit advertising increased its share of the outdoor market, from 16.9 per cent to almost 20 per cent.

Larger formats, such as 48 sheets, dropped marginally and small formats, such as shopping-centre panels, fell 3 per cent.

Famous flaws

Advertising campaigns using celebrities like Britney Spears, David Beckham and Jennifer Aniston are less effective than those with ordinary people, a joint report by the University of Bath and University of St Gallen in Switzerland claims.

A survey of 298 undergraduates conducted in Germany found that most men and women feel a need to "keep up with the Joneses" when they buy and were less influenced by endorsements from famous pop stars, actors and sport icons.

Meanwhile, Virgin Media, whose current advertisements are fronted by Hollywood actor Uma Thurman, has replaced Carphone Warehouse as sponsor of this summer's Big Brother on Channel 4, and will use the link-up to promote the Virgin Mobile brand.

Carphone Warehouse paid about £3 million (€4.4 million) for its Big Brother sponsorship. The announcement that it was ending its contract due to housemate Jade Goody's alleged racist bullying of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty generated much media coverage.

Questions, anyone?

One man seldom out of the news, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary, joins Prof Brigid Laffan from UCD on the panel of BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? show, being broadcast live from the National Gallery of Ireland tomorrow night.

Other panellists include British MPs John Redwood and Denis MacShane.

Hosted by the European Commission Representation in Ireland, the programme, chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby, is among the events to mark the Treaty of Rome's silver jubilee.

Pole position

Ireland's first national television campaign in Polish airs on Setanta Sports this Saturday for the Poland World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan.

Publicis QMP created the 30-second spot for Meteor's Anytime International service. Eircom-owned Meteor, known for its fun- loving advertisements, has 20,000 Polish customers.

Michael Cullen is editor of Marketing, Ireland's marketing and media monthly.