Ocean Outdoor wins biggest private contract outside London

UK’s property developer Allied London has appointed Ocean Outdoor as the exclusive outdoor media partner for its prestigious Spinningfields business and residential quarter and St John’s city centre neighbourhood in Manchester.

This is Ocean’s biggest private contract win outside of London, making it the number one provider of premium full motion DOOH locations in Manchester.

Spinningfields forms part of Manchester’s central business quarter accommodating more than 165 commercial organisations. The £1.5 billion development offers an exceptional media opportunity, distributed across 430,000 sq. metres of modern commercial, residential, retail and leisure space.

St John’s creates an entirely new neighbourhood for the city, combining enterprise and culture with living, reinforcing Manchester as a world leader in the tech, media and creative industries. The regeneration project includes Aviva Studios, a 7,000 visitor capacity multi-use arts and music space.

Under the terms of the deal, Ocean will market and sell a network of 30 premium small and large format full motion displays and develop any future opportunities including brand activations and the marketing of Spinningfield’s public experiential spaces.

The contract is a significant win for Ocean, forming part of the company’s organic growth strategy in the North of England. Manchester is one of Europe’s fastest growing cities, the country’s third top retail destination, a cultural centre of design, fashion and home to the Premier League champions.

Ocean’s other premium assets include 19 high footfall retail and roadside DOOH locations including the Two Towers Manchester, the Arndale Centre, the Printworks and Piccadilly Gardens, reaching an urban population of 2.7 million Great Manchester residents, city workers and visitors via high end retail and leisure districts and key roadside arterials.

The addition of Spinningfields and St John’s will see the extension of Ocean’s existing The Loop full motion city network which will almost double, from 36 small format high definition screens in 19 locations to 60. 

Ocean’s UK development director Tom Ballantine said: “Allied London and Ocean are a natural fit. Over the past 10 years, Spinningfields has evolved into a world-class business quarter, retail and leisure destination. St John’s is a brand new community with its own character and sense of place, built on Manchester’s rich cultural heritage. 

“Ocean’s DOOH portfolio gives advertisers a seamless, premium media channel in the best environments, reaching a diverse mix of affluent residential, business and retail audiences. We are pleased to become a partner in the next chapter of Manchester’s development.” 

Elizabeth Peckett, head of asset management at Allied London, said: “We chose Ocean Outdoor as our exclusive partner based on their extensive knowledge of Manchester and their innovative use of DOOH to connect people with their communities and the places where they live and work. Ocean has an excellent track record as a specialist in iconic and landmark DOOH and we look forward to seeing what they will deliver for our business partners, residents and visitors.”

Ocean also operates the city’s largest premium DOOH public authority contract on behalf of Manchester City Council and holds the exclusive DOOH media rights for the Canary Wharf Group in London and the St James Quarter development in Edinburgh, Scotland.