Exterion Media overhauls commercial team to cater for 'transformational' changes to digital OOH
Out-of-home (OOH) media provider Exterion Media has overhauled its UK commercial structure with the launch of EM Solutions as it looks to better cater to 'transformational' change in customer expectations, driven by digital and mobile technologies.
The restructure has been triggered by the company's overarching plans to equip itself to respond and adapt faster to the changing media landscape.
The new commercial arm will have three teams - EM Local and EM National, which will both support day-to-day sales activity, customer service and audience insight across the UK, and EM Future - a team focused on forward planning, strategic thinking and innovation.
As part of the restructure several new roles have been created, with former direct sales director Malcolm Stoodley promoted to the role of commercial director. Meanwhile head of trading Mark Heather has been promoted to national sales director, reporting to Stoodley. Exterion Media is also currently recruiting for a director of commercial Strategy.
The company has also hired Nick Dawson from Dentsu Aegis Network's outdoor arm Posterscope International as head of commercial insight, while BT's Adrian Lovejoy has been appointed to the role of service delivery director.
Shaun Gregory, chief executive of Exterion Media, said the move signals the "huge transformational changes" outdoor advertising is undergoing, driven by digital, mobile and technology, as well as how the medium is bought and sold.
The restructure marks the latest step in the OOH company's ever-evolving strategy which last year saw it rebranded from CBS Outdoor.
“We’re now moving on to the next phase of reorganising our businesses to ensure we’re fit for purpose as the market matures. The UK is a natural starting point, given its maturity, and we will then roll this out across our other Western European territories. It’s undoubtedly a fascinating time for both us and the industry and we are very excited to implement these changes," said Gregory.
The move will see sales and marketing integrated along with insight, technology and delivery functions, with all sales efforts to be targeted with an increased focus on transparency, ownership and accountability across the business.
Jason Cotterrell, UK managing director, Exterion Media said: “The market has changed considerably during recent years, thanks to growth in both classic and digital formats, and is becoming increasingly more complex. As such, demands from customers have become ever greater.
“We’ve listened to our customers, reorganised around their needs and intend to provide a more solutions-based approach for the market to enable agencies, specialists and planners to get the most out of our medium. It’s an exciting shift for the UK business”.
Digital OOH is an ever growing area with more than £75m expected to be invested in the infrastructure this year. Yet barriers remain for some brands when it comes to increasing investment, with big outdoor advertising spenders such as twentieth century fox having previously cited the medium's "outdated" methods of block buying as one of the areas that needs transformation.
Meanwhile, others have stressed the urgency of evolving the UK's digital OOH infrastructure to ensure they can deliver dynamically creative campaigns, online with consumer expectations.