Philip Vecht's response in Mediaweek

Philip Vecht, CEO of Admedia, recently responded to MediaWeek's article on succesful niche players:

"May I congratulate you on the Outdoor feature highlighting the importance of 'niche' players. At a time when the buzz seems to be almost exclusively focussed on the emergence of digital opportunities, these engaging and highly relevant niche media platforms are still very much responsible for driving innovation in the sector - delivering a level of audience penetration that digital cannot yet achieve.

I'd like to agree with your view that most 'niche' outdoor media performs most effectively in situations where it can truly engage with audiences at a moment when they are static and looking for some visual stimulation.

Although we can now hardly call ourselves a 'niche' player with over 25,000 washroom displays across over 2,000 leading leisure and entertainment environments (Shopping Centres, Bars and Clubs, Motorway Service Areas and Private Health Clubs) when we established the then 'ambient' washroom format the premise and the attraction to advertisers was that invaluable engagement factor.

10 years on we continue to see new advertisers coming onto washroom format seeking a greater level of message engagement, penetration of specific audiences and being 'in the right place at the right time'.

For example we have already seen a 500% increase in film advertising this year to date now that films distributors have wised up to the fact the cinemagoers also love going to bars and night clubs. Additionally our ‘talking posters’ have given some releases massive PR value. Similarly cosmetics and toiletries brands targeting young fashionable females now feature in washrooms on a continuous basis. We now attract repeat investment across all major advertising categories.

Our mission is to get brands seen 'in the right place at the right time' and in the process of doing so we reach over 40 million consumers with our medium on a monthly basis - as well as offering many other ways of engaging with distinct consumer audiences.

We have proven that, with time and an appropriate and consistent investment in audience and effectiveness research, successful niche players have the opportunity to be regarded as a standard format with great potential to attract new advertisers to the outdoor sector."

Philip Vecht
Joint Chief Executive
Admedia