London, 2016-Oct-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — British Land has signed a significant digital advertising contract with Clear Channel UK to install over 100 digital advertising panels across its regional and local multi-let retail portfolio. The initiative supports the company’s vision to create Places People Prefer by enlivening the consumer experience in response to changing modern consumer lifestyles.
In addition to driving incremental income into the business, British Land will benefit from enhanced consumer insight to further its already strong understanding of consumers which informs its strategy and benefits occupiers by increasing retail spend. The transaction represents a first for both British Land and Clear Channel UK in its scale.
State-of-the-art digital advertising panels will go into centres including Meadowhall, Sheffield; Ealing Broadway, W5; Drake Circus, Plymouth; St Stephen’s, Hull; Glasgow Fort; Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh; New Mersey, Speke and Teesside, Stockton. The deal is an evolution of an existing partnership that started at Meadowhall almost ten years ago.
Clear Channel UK will provide a mix of large format and ‘6-sheet’ sized digital screens and interactive digital screens across the centres. This will enable increased engagement with consumers through touch screen and interactive technology which engage all five senses and allows occupiers to understand their customers better through advertising and product placement. The Meadowhall screens will also have bespoke design features that will reflect the distinct districts being delivered as part of the centre’s substantial £60m internal refurbishment which is due for completion by the end of 2017.
The digital transformation of British Land’s in-centre retail advertising forms part of Clear Channel’s ongoing investment in smart technology. The new network of screens will run on Play iQ, Clear Channel’s product management platform.
David Isom, Commercialisation Manager for British Land, said: “The partnership with Clear Channel UK is part of our continued drive to enhance the use of technology across our centres and enliven the consumer experience in response to the changing way people live their lives. The mix of large format and interactive screens will offer brands the opportunity to better engage with our audience. We look forward to furthering our relationship with Clear Channel and are continuing to explore other opportunities across our £20 billion portfolio.”
Chris Pelekanou, Commercial Director for Clear Channel UK, said: “We’re delighted to be working with British Land on the digital transformation of advertising across its nationwide retail portfolio. Building on our long-standing partnership in Meadowhall and Drake Circus, the introduction of digital screens will provide flexible, dynamic advertising for brands, and unforgettable media experiences.”
The digital advertising panels will be installed over the course of 2017.
Notes to Editors
About British Land
We are one of Europe’s largest publicly listed real estate companies. We own, manage, develop and finance a portfolio of high quality commercial property, focused on retail locations around the UK and London offices. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed, of £20.0 billion (of which British Land share is £14.6 billion) as valued at 31 March 2016. Our properties are home to over 1,200 different organisations ranging from international brands to local start-ups. Our objective is to deliver long term and sustainable total returns to our shareholders and we do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. People have a choice where they work, shop and live and we aim to create outstanding places which make a positive difference to people’s everyday lives. Our customer orientation enables us to develop a deep understanding of the people who use our places. We employ a lean team of experts, who have the skills to translate this understanding into creating the right places, and we have an efficient capital structure which is able to finance these places effectively.
Retail assets account for 50% of our portfolio which is well matched to the different ways people shop today. We are focused on being the destination of choice for retailers and their customers by being the best provider of spaces and services. Comprising over 20 million sq ft of retail space across multi-lets, superstores, department stores and leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.
Our Office and Residential portfolio, which accounts for 48% of our portfolio, is focused on London. We have an attractive mix of high quality buildings in well managed environments and a pipeline of development projects which will add significantly to our portfolio. Increasingly, our Offices are in mixed-use environments which include retail and residential elements. Our 7.5 million sq ft of high quality office space includes Regent’s Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share).
The remaining 2% of our portfolio is at Canada Water where we have a 46 acre redevelopment opportunity in our medium term pipeline. Our industry-leading sustainability strategy is a powerful tool to deliver lasting value for all our stakeholders. By supporting communities, improving environments and growing economies, we create Places People Prefer and enhance long term returns.
In April 2016 British Land received the 2016 Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development as part of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday honours. The Award is the UK’s highest accolade for business success and is given to companies which bring major economic, social and environmental benefits through their own business success. It was awarded to British Land for continuous achievement in all these areas over the last five years.
Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com.
About Clear Channel UK
Clear Channel UK is one of the country’s leading Out of Home media owners, and we’re proud to be Where Brands Meet People. We operate over 40,000 advertising sites right across the UK with a strong focus on our iconicAdshel brand, and the digital transformation of our nationwide estate – which is all underpinned by clever tech like Play iQ (our very own ad management platform). For us, digital transformation means the nationwide roll-out of our digital 6-sheet product, Adshel Live; our super-premium digital brand, Storm; and our digital billboard network, Wrap. It will also mean the transformation of UK high streets with our introduction of beautiful and modern payphone kiosks, complete with exciting advertising opportunities and public services like Wi-Fi and journey planners. All this, combined with our unique understanding of consumers, technology and cities, is how we plan to achieve our vision: to Create the Future of Media, Out of Home.
For more info on Clear Channel UK, just visit our website http://www.clearchannel.co.uk/.
Enquiries:
Investor Relations:
Jonathan Rae
British Land
020 7467 2938
Media:
Pip Wood
British Land
020 7467 2838
Jackie Janssen
British Land
020 7467 3449
Emma Hammond
FTI Consulting
020 3727 1227
Gordon Simpson
Finsbury Group
020 7251 3801
Source: British Land