For several weeks now, the display giants have been observing with curiosity the first communication campaigns carried out, almost entirely, thanks to generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Timidly, a handful of advertisers are starting to abandon traditional marketing agencies to put the creation of their advertising in the hands of inexpensive or free tools, such as Midjourney and Dall-E... Located at the end of the distribution chain, players in the display sector should be spared from these major technological revolutions which are already shaking up many trades.
Down during the pandemic due to lockdowns and the cessation of mobility, outdoor advertising covered its losses linked to the health crisis last year on a global scale.
Proof of its return to favor on street furniture, in airports or department stores, the number one in the sector, the French JCDecaux, publishes this Thursday increased 2023 results: 3.57 billion euros in turnover (+8.7% in organic growth over one year), after a record fourth quarter, and an operating margin of 663.1 million (+10%).
“Our urban audiences, like mobility, are growing
,” rejoices
its co-general director, Jean-Charles Decaux, to Le
Figaro .
Only air traffic in China, which represents 11% of JCDecaux's revenue, is struggling to return to pre-crisis levels.
The group forecasts organic revenue growth of 9% for the first quarter of 2024.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, the valuation of JCDecaux hovers around 4.10 billion euros, down 15% over the past year.
“The sector is spared from several major upheavals which are hitting the world of digital advertising head-on,”
analyzes an expert in the sector.
Starting with the disappearance of
"third-party cookies"
to track the journey of Internet users online, Apple's recent data protection policies on mobile applications or the growing competition from American tech giants in creation as well as in distribution of advertising announcements
.
The good old poster also escapes ad blockers.
“For us, one of the differentiating elements with advertisers is the guarantee of “brand safety”, the fact that their brand message is never broadcast in contexts that could harm their image
,” comments Jean-Charles Decaux .
Also read: Asia, a new land of conquest for advertising giants
Worldwide, outdoor advertising represents 7% of the media advertising market (internet and mobile included), for an amount of 31 billion euros.
Outdoor advertising is also benefiting from increased investments in its traditional advertising sectors such as distribution, automobiles and travel.
“AI could allow us in the future to expand our customer portfolio, with smaller or more local advertisers who could create their campaign at more affordable costs
,” believes the JCDecaux manager.
The sector is driven by digital since its growth comes mainly from the rise of digital outdoor display (DOOH), recently fueled by programmatic advertising systems.
JCDecaux like Clear Channel today use data mining to allow, for example, a brand of raincoats to appear on screens as soon as it starts to rain... With the possibility of targeting sociodemographic profiles.
Consolidation in progress
After the rebound, the phenomenon of consolidation is now underway in the outdoor communications sector.
With mid-sized players disappearing, and large North American operators withdrawing from European markets.
A few months ago, for example, JCDecaux acquired for 75 million euros the Italian and Spanish activities of its main competitor, the American giant Clear Channel, owned by funds.
The American also sold its French activities at the end of 2023 to the Equinox Industries investment fund, renamed “Cityz Media” since the start of 2024 and chaired by Didier Quillot.
Beyond its ambitions to expand its market shares in different countries, JCDecaux has also positioned itself, for several years, across the entire media value chain, by offering advertisers its programmatic platform. planning and trading (“adtech”), VIOOH.
In France, advertising revenue from outdoor advertising over the first nine months of the year was up 5.1% year-on-year, to 852 million euros, according to the most recent data from Bump.
If the media showed the strongest growth over one year, just ahead of the digital universe
(search, social, display)
, it should remain slightly below 2019. France also remains the country where the display sector is subject to the greatest environmental constraints.
Local regulations around advertising have, for example, allowed in recent years the environmentalist mayors of Bordeaux, Grenoble and more recently Lyon to decide to reduce the number of signs present in public spaces...