Publicis considers combining its outdoor media business

by Jennifer Whitehead Media Week 24-Jun-08, 08:00

LONDON - Publicis Groupe is reviewing its UK outdoor media arrangements and is considering pooling all of its media business into either Kinetic or Posterscope, or launching its own outdoor agency.

The group has called in former Van Wagner UK sales director Kevin Shute to look at the out-of-home arrangements for Publicis Groupe Media, the division that houses media agencies Starcom MediaVest and ZenithOptimedia.


It is understood that Shute is looking at the pros and cons of pooling all of Publicis' outdoor media business into either Kinetic or Posterscope, or whether it makes sense to maintain the status quo.

Another option under consideration is for Publicis Groupe to set up its own outdoor media business.

Currently, ZenithOptimedia's outdoor media is handled through a joint venture it has set up with Aegis Group-owned Posterscope, called Meridian Outdoor, and operates from ZenithOptimedia's offices.

Starcom's outdoor buying is handled by outdoor specialist Kinetic, owned 50% by WPP Group.
Shute, founder of Van Wagner's UK unit, left the company in 2006 after it was bought by Clear Channel. He has now been taken on as a consultant and will feed back to Nick Daly, chief operating officer of Starcom MediaVest Group for EMEA.

Daly confirmed that Shute was doing some work for the company, noting that it was focused on "establishing data on outdoor markets and updating information on the media landscape".

He said the UK outdoor arrangements were "not the focus" of what Shute was looking at. Shute could not be reached for comment, but he is expected to report his findings by the end of the month.

Meridian has been operating since 1990 and is integrated into ZenithOptimedia, but works closely with Posterscope, which acts as its buying partner.

Kinetic was founded in 2005 by the merger of Portland Outdoor and Poster Publicity.