Advertising firm pushes ahead with expansion
AMEDIA company has created jobs and added 60 new sites to its portfolio of digital screens as it aims to more than double its consumer reach by next year.
Smart Outdoor, which is based at the Evolve Business Centre in Sunderland, has grown its network of screens to 227, 60 of which have been added during the last 12 months.
Its plans will see it aim to increase the consumer reach of its screens from 12.5m people per week to 28m by this time next year, while it has also added clients including American Golf, Ellesse, JD and UFC among others. Smart Outdoor, which is part of a wider group of Smart businesses, was set up by Mark Catterall just over two years ago, and now employs 19 people.
It has prominent large-screen sites across the North East, North Yorkshire and Central Scotland.
Mr Catterall said: “While the UK has been locked down at home, we have continued to push ahead with our expansion with more out-ofhome media, which we firmly believe will stand us in good stead when we re-emerge and enjoy a summer outdoors.
“Having been indoors for the past year, we know that out-of-home advertising will be bigger than ever this summer, and with a reach between our sites of well over 10m people, we have a really compelling offer for businesses looking to connect with audiences in an intelligence-led way, serving messages in the right place and at the right time to deliver a return.”
The company owns prominent North East screens at the Tyne Tunnel, the A19, and Whitemare Pool, as well as sites like Stack Newcastle and Stack Seaburn. During lockdown, it also further strengthened its Scottish portfolio with the addition of prime sites at Edinburgh’s Waverley Station, Murrayfield Stadium and Edinburgh Airport. The company has seen demand for screen hire increase since the easing of lockdown measures were announced.
Mr Catterall said: “We’ve been inundated with interest and bookings for the large format screens over the summer, with organisations keen to create memorable experiences that will plug the gaps left in their events calendar due to the uncertainty created by the pandemic.
“Every sign is there that – despite it being a slightly different summer – it will be a summer spent outdoors and we’re pleased to be right amongst it, with screens that will serve our clients’ messages to their customers.”
During the pandemic, Smart Outdoor helped scores of charities and community organisations raise awareness of their campaigns by giving more than £20,000 in advertising space to organisations in need.