Addressing the 60th FEPE International Congress being organised in Dubai on the theme ‘The clock is ticking’, Jean Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board an Co-CEO, JC Decaux, said the global OOH industry is reaching a tipping point, and that calls for concerted efforts to accelerate the transformation of the OOH business. Referring to OOH’s 6.7% share of global ad spends, Jean Charles Decaux said the industry has been stuck at the level for nearly a decade. While the industry’s share of ad spends has not declined, as has been the case with print and television, there is scope for increasing the share to 10%.

Looking into the future, he said by 2040 Internet and TV would have converged to become the number 1 media, while OOH would likely occupy the second position on that list. To achieve a higher share of spends, he urged the industry to adopt the following 10 steps:

• Face relevant competition
• Disrupt OOH market
• Invest in research
• Educate the advertising ecosystem
• Enhance the value of the media – and not just focus on pricing
• Stimulate creativity
• Self-regulate OOH assets
• Beautify the territories where OOH operates
• Connect the campaigns – using mobile, digital and social media
• Get involved with community development.

An instant audience poll was conducted during the sessions on these 10 suggested steps, and ‘Connecting the campaigns’ came out a clear winner.