JCDecaux is celebrating its 15th anniversary in Ireland, having first entered the Irish outdoor marketplace in 1999 with the acquisition of the billboard company David Allen.
Already a well-established brand in the rest of Europe, JCDecaux had a reputation for quality and was recognised as the inventor of the ‘advertising in exchange for public service’ model when it introduced the first bus shelters incorporating advertising in 1964. The JCDecaux brand began appearing on-street across the 32 counties in 2001 with the rebranding and upgrading of their billboard portfolio with modern Norman Foster-designed mouldings.
The business in Ireland has changed significantly since 2001 and in 2004 JCDecaux won the first LUAS advertising contract and retained it in 2007 and 2015. In 2008 Dublin City Council appointed the company to provide amenities for the city, including the successful Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes scheme in return for advertising displays. This bike share model evolved directly from the advertising in exchange for public service model first developed by JCDecaux in 1964. With over 15 million journeys since launch Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes is recognised as one of the most successful bike share schemes world-wide.
In 2014 JCDecaux began building a digital out of home retail network. It now has 10 shopping centres countrywide delivering an audience of over 2.5 million shoppers per fortnight. Digital out of home allows advertisers the opportunity to change animated ads in real time and demand from clients has been strong. As a result JCDecaux is planning further investment in this area.
Joanne Grant, Managing Director JCDecaux Ireland said “JCDecaux Ireland is extremely proud to reach this milestone. Over the past 15 years we have seen many improvements in our industry and JCDecaux has made a significant contribution in this regard. It is an exciting time for our medium with the growth of digital outdoor, increased investment in quality products and emerging new technologies. We look forward to the next 15 years working with our partners and clients to deliver outstanding out of home advertising.”
Headquartered in France the company reported global revenues of €3.2 billion in 2015 and operates in 75 different countries around the world.
