New street furniture equipped with digital screens is planned for the City of Sydney starting next year under a new agreement with outdoor specialist QMS Media.
The ten-year deal, which dislodged incumbent CDecaux, includes a program to replace current street furniture which has mostly been in place since 1997.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore says the the new furniture, equipped with digital panels, willsupport the City’s post-COVID recovery and refresh the city centre streets.
“The new suite of furniture will help modernise our streets while also providing significant revenue to the City, which will help us maintain high quality services and public spaces for our residents, businesses and visitors,” she says.
“This deal means we will have the capability to display real-time event, transport and emergency information on modern, sustainably designed and energy-efficient street furniture.”
QMS Group CEO Barclay Nettlefold says the City of Sydney street furniture contract is universally recognised as the jewel in the crown of Australia’s OOH (out-of-home) industry.
“QMS is proud to be recognised for our credentials, capabilities and people in securing this contract. We thank our new owners, Quadrant Private Equity, who have been very supportive in enabling QMS to submit a compelling proposition that will facilitate the development of an exciting new premium advertising landscape," he says
The current street furniture will be incrementally replaced from mid-2021 to minimise disruption.
Advertising panels will be included on some items – subject to development consent site-by-site – with advertising sales revenue being used to invest in the City’s public domain.
A portion of advertising on street furniture items will be reserved for the City to display public information, community messages and promotion of City events and initiatives, including special events.
A decision on the provider of free public wifi will be made later in 2020.
JCDecaux still has a significant street furniture presence in the City of Sydney with its Telstra payphone contract.
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