oOh!media has taken out a bold new positioning as 'Australia's #1 Out of Home Company', the business announced to agencies and advertisers at its upfronts-style event on Wednesday evening.

The annual Outfronts event, hosted this year at Circular Quay's Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney, saw the outdoor media company's executives take the stage for a series of major announcements, also including the the strategic expansion of oOh!media's retail media division to monetise sales for retailers in a bid to capitalise on the booming retail media category - estimated to hit $2.6 billion in Australia by 2026 per PwC.

The new positioning reflects the company's growth to more than 35,000 digital and classic assets across the country and metropolitan reach of 98% of Australians. Founded 35 years ago, Ooh! has continued to invest in its national OOH network and claimed an 80 per success rate in its pitches for new tenders.

"Behind every great brand is oOh! - Australia’s #1 Out of Home company. oOh! is the leading force in Australian Out of Home across all key metrics and we are on a mission to help brands grow by making it easier to access our unrivalled scale," said Ooh! chief executive Cathy O'Connor. “But being #1 goes beyond the metrics, it’s about the confidence advertisers and agencies have in us to get the results they want to achieve. It reflects our commitment to providing the best possible service and outcomes each and every time.”

The new positioning came alongside a number of new wins announced by the business, with two new major contracts in Waverly Council and the Northern Beaches Sydney suburbs expanding Ooh!'s Street Furniture network across the city.

The Waverly Council win covers eastern Sydney suburbs such as Bondi, Bronte, and Rose Bay, with Ooh! to implement a 100% digital network including over a dozen of oOh!'s sustainable innovative ‘Living Roof Shelters” on top of the bus shelters.

Meanwhile, the Northern Beaches win encompasses a tender to expand its existing presence in the local government area. The contract will cover 293 shelters from Manly to Palm Beach. oOh! will make significant investments in these digital assets to enhance advertisers' visibility in key destinations such as Manly Corso and Manly Beach.

In addition, the business will add implement a further 13 large format digital sites as part of a new contract win Melbourne's Eastlink Motorway. Coming online in November, Eastlink is a tolled section of the M3 Freeway connecting a large area through the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, reaching commuters at scale.

“oOh!’s recent success in securing major tender wins and expansion of the oOh!media network across the country further cements our status as Australia’s #1 Out of Home company. It’s a testament to our relentless focus on innovation, scale, and delivering unparalleled value for brands," said O'Connor.

As for Ooh! expansion into retail media sales services, O'Connor said: "We were ahead of the curve in identifying retail media as the next big wave in advertising as brands shift their dollars towards channels that can prove return on investment and building out capabilities to support the needs of retailers."

The evolution will see Reooh rebranded as Reo, reflecting the strategic shift from an in-store screens focus, to a full omnichannel digital offering for retailers. Since its launch in 2022, the division has secured two retailers and completed a number of pilots for in-store digital screens with several major Australian retailers. The expansion into retail media sales follows customer feedback on its value proposition, placing Reo as a complete end-to-end sales solution, building sales teams to help retailers monetise their media channels including on-site, off-site and in-store.

Reo will aim to drive incremental revenues for retailers and return on advertising spend for advertisers and brand, with the end-to-end solution including capabilities to sell to retailers’ trade suppliers and/or complimentary non-endemic advertisers via agencies, leveraging oOh!’s experienced national sales team and agency relationships.

“Since launch, we’ve seen strong engagement from major retailers wanting to build out their in-store digital screen networks, but their needs extended into sales monetisation of all channels. It’s a natural progression to extend into sales representation for retailers as it leverages a key strength of oOh!media," said O'Connor.

Reo will soon announce a number of significant new appointments that will bolster its data and retail capabilities, with new key hires from retail media businesses including Zitcha, Mixin and Criteo.

Chief content, marketing and creative officer at oOh!media, Neil Ackland, said: “oOh!media has a strong track record and scale in monetising audiences on behalf of our commercial partners like shopping centres, councils, universities, airports, transport hubs and airlines. And now we can add monetising retailer’s audiences to that list.

"We hold deep and long-standing relationships with advertisers and agency partners so it’s logical that we can extend that benefit to the retailers we partner with. Our team is growing with top talent, and we are building a team to meet the needs of retailers to enable them to enter the market at pace. We’re ready to deliver outstanding results and lead the charge in this dynamic market.”

Finally, the outdoor media business also unveiled the first full-motion large format displays with synchronised 3D capabilities in Australia. The new screens are located at Sydney's Martin Place Retail Precinct, and feature three by five metre screens that can each leverage a full-motion creative interplay, designed to capture attention and engage audiences as they enter one of Sydney’s busiest travel and retail hubs.

Head of POLY at oOh!media, Josh Gurgiel, said: "For the first time in Australia, brands can tell their stories on synchronised large-format screens with full-motion 3D capabilities. By combining the power of reach and innovative technology, we continue to help brands achieve the kind of fame that resonates long after the campaign ends."