Hub Digital Networks is launching today as the UK’s only dedicated Digital Out of Home (DOOH) sales and consultancy business.
It brings together the extensive knowledge and expertise of DOOH expert James Thornton, formerly Head of Agency Sales at Amscreen, and account and data planner Ian Robinson who was previously board director and Chief Intelligence Officer at Tullo Marshall Warren. Hub Digital Networks will be the only one-stop shop of DOOH expertise, with a focus on supporting small and medium sized networks.
The company will offer:
- For DOOH media owners – media and hardware sales, consultancy and marketing support
- For advertisers and their agencies – well-targeted, insight-driven DOOH media solutions
James Thornton, Managing Director at Hub Digital Networks, comments, “Traditional and Digital Out of Home is dominated by a few large media owners. However, there are many other small and medium sized networks out there who deliver fantastic, targeted audiences but struggle to make their voices heard in such a competitive environment. Hub Digital Networks aims to bring together the best of these networks into one place so that they can benefit from being part of a large group of networks – both in terms of increased sales and exposure, and also marketing and insight.”
Hub Digital Networks is already in discussion with a number of important networks that will deliver strong audiences and has so far secured the exclusive rights to represent two key players in the sector: TONI&GUY Salon Media, with over 1500 screens in more than 250 salons nationwide to reach affluent females; Acentic Media, an international provider of digital TV services for leading hotel chains predominantly in the four star market including InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriot and Sofitel, allowing access to affluent business and leisure travellers in over 30 countries worldwide. The business is also working in a consultancy capacity with washroom digital media specialist Captive Media and several start-up DOOH networks to help monetise their networks and to assist with their hardware sales.
James Thornton has six years’ experience of the DOOH sector, having also worked at Digicom Out of Home (which was later acquired by Amscreen) and Titan Outdoor, giving him an in-depth understanding of big and small networks, the nuances of the DOOH marketplace and a proven track record of delivering sales for networks. Planning Director Ian Robinson is one of the most well-rounded planners in the advertising and marketing sector, having also spent many years at agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, EHS and Carlson Marketing Group. As a result, he aims to raise the bar in terms of mining the rich data DOOH offers, delivering much more meaningful insight for the sector than is traditionally available to help media owners and advertisers better sell, measure and plan their media activity.
Ian Robinson adds, “The Digital Out of Home industry is still in its infancy so networks are struggling to find expertise that will show them how to optimise their sales, while advertisers and agencies are still learning how to maximise the full potential of this exciting sector. We are in a great position to help both parties make the most of the opportunities DOOH affords them. Plus, by bringing networks together into one media hub, adding in our unique blend of knowledge, experience and insight, we can create innovative, targeted DOOH solutions for advertisers that lift targeting and relevance to the next level.”
Hub Digital Networks will also be helping advertisers to integrate their DOOH campaigns with other media platforms, linking to activity through channels such as Wifi landing pages, tablets and mobile apps to provide multiple touchpoints and new response mechanisms for DOOH which help optimise campaign interactivity, engagement and cut-through.
About Hub Digital Networks: Hub Digital Networks is the UK’s only Digital Out of Home (DOOH) sales and consultancy business. It offers three core strands – DOOH media sales, consultancy and media hardware sales – and brings together the best small and medium sized DOOH media owners under one roof.
The company’s one-stop-shop approach helps both media owners and advertisers optimise their DOOH activity by being able to help them at all stages, from concept, appraisal, market analysis and implementation through to ad sales and meaningful analysis of campaign data. As a business at the leading edge of the DOOH marketplace, Hub Digital Networks will be driving innovation within the sector and adding rigour to the planning process with in-depth insight.