Friday, January 14, 2011

Council Cuts

Manchester Town Hall
Councils in England are sacking staff to save money; e.g. Manchester reducing staff by 2000 in 2011, and reducing Frontline Services too. This is due to the current economic recession a new economic climate of cuts caused by cavalier bank gambling. With many involved getting huge bonuses for simply for doing their job , well or badly depending on your point of view.

We live in strange world of imbalances. For example:

Almost every city throughout the country provides advertising space to outdoor poster advertisers who get millions per year from such networks. Guess what – the council folks who issue permissions for this ask for hardly anything from these advertisers who are raking it in whilst the city is suffering shortfalls in funding and cutting back on services.

Pavement Billboards known as SIX SHEETS in the Industry – clutter our cities, obstruct our views provide NO benefits to the citizens

For providing multiples of these ad locations to these agencies the city, which itself gets virtually nothing, just a ‘peppercorn’ backhanded fee for planning permission, often waved through on a nod at council meetings also clutters up our streets and spoils our views – isn’t this curious?

If we have to have them why can’t they be beneficial to the public purse, rather than the pockets of a few individuals & company’s?

when the public attack billboards

Why aren't things the way they ought to be? Splodge on Outdoor Advertising


Same all over the world – this is Argentina – Sidewalk vision obstructed by ad panels
Common sense doesn't seem to apply when comes to city authorities doing things that benefit their own taxpayers. Outdoor Advertising predominates in most cities around the world but it has little benefit for the host city.
If you want to advertise in a shopping centre or on a cinema screen you have to share some fees to the location.
It may be part of the overall placement fee, but the location will receive a revenue.
So why does this not apply to outdoor billboards in city's?
Two companies dominate (the World) JCDecaux of France & Clear Channel (of TEXAS USA)
The French company's owner was sentenced by a French court for wrong doings involving the Mayor of Paris, and in the USA Clear Channel provided lots of billboard space for the two G. Bush junior campaigns.
 
Do unspoken things happen on a local lever.HHHmmmmm makes you think.
 
SPLODGE has been digging around!

Are Politicians, Councilors etc getting payments in kind like posters for political campaigns? Or something worse?

In a world of normal doings the city would charge big fees for outdoor advertising locations or better still put in and own their own and rent them out to advertising companies, whereas what we have is things operating the wrong way around.

If the city owned and operated them, or say an independent agency or none profit company then the fees, the right level of fees, not just a free toilet (that junkies mostly use, or a bench or a flower bed, or a free bus shelter. Yes these are some of the things that these huge profit making juggernauts make : HUGE ones its like the Aladdin's Lamp story with the viewers of the adverts the local TAX payer getting a bad deal. Especially so when cut backs are taking place certainly this is an issue that should have a greater public profile

 
Billboard Advertising

Outdoor or location based advertising is very profitable and it is dominated by just a few companies. They have their advertising displays all over the world in multiple locations in city centres airports shopping centres and many other locations were the public or the motorist passes or congregates.

As other media such as TV radio newspapers and magazines fragments and loses audiences, outdoor becomes increasingly the single effective low cost medium to reach the general public especially so in city centres.
 
In the past organising, producing locating and changing the large scale labour intensive and infrastructure expensive operations has been the expertise of the companies with the experience and skills and overtime they have agglomerated by various means to become today's giants of the industry.

However technology is able to change and upset this balance and provide the locations generating large scale revenues, with a fairer return; back to the cities that give away these locations for virtually nothing.

In the past the city, airport or other location owners had little option but to let in these organisations control things as it was thought that the infrastructure and operational requirements and the selling of the advertising content was a specialist and a very high cost venture, a risk to far for such locations and often beyond the remit of a city.

Now THINGS HAVE CHANGED.
 
Technology in the shape of digital screens and software control systems can easily replicate the quality of printed posters, and can display these on digital display platforms, thus cutting out the operational overheads and outdated methods of the past.

Cities, airports, train stations theme parks venues and shopping centres, can obtain a greater share if they adopt a new approach and control or better still own these display networks. Thus reversing the roles, so that the fair benefits from advertising in a city go some way to assisting the community purse, likewise in commercial locations shopping centres and airports a better return will support underlying profitability margins.

So why do cities and airports etc continue with allowing the incumbent advertising and network infrastructure operators to continue into with the same old, same, old, into the digital generation of outdoor and place centred advertising? Which will provide them with even more progfitability?

Is it apathy, is it lack of knowledge, lack of insight or something worse?
 
Surely every city authority & every advertising focused location should be at the very least investigating alternatives: to bring in much needed revenues in a fare share for the tax burdened and service cutting cities.

Technology and new techniques and equipment now allow for a role reversal to take place.

Why should a location, a city, an airport turn over its 'Aladdin's Lamp' for little in return and sign up for very long term contracts, when the same services can generate significant income, for the location owners.
 
This role reversal is simple to move too, its just a small shift in perspective.

The location should purchase the technology platforms and own such infrastructure themselves as their property then re-sell the space to the advertising companies, in many cases this will be a more direct operation downgrading the current monopolies to intermediary service providers.

TV advertising radio and newspapers and magazine advertising is all linked to some positive value for the viewer and the reader, be it entertainment mixed or serious articles etc. The programme the article has value for the consumer and the advertising is interleaved within and around it: often interruptive but within surrounding value.

Now outdoor posters offer nothing in real terms to the public who view them

But they do provide huge revenue returns for the display owners.
 
Maybe in the sweetener deal to get the city council to give site location permissions they may get a bus shelter, a toilet, a bench or a flower bed or maybe something under the carpet? Whatever it may be there is no perceived value for the public, who pay local taxes, have their pathways & views obstructed and purchase the advertisers products.

A Few Bikes to keep the people quite

Dublin gave away lots of locations to JCDecaux in exchange for a few Free public bikes.
Here are a few articles notes and websites that show up what I mean:

And then blocked the view of the road ahead, endangering cyclists with their adverts! Click Here to see the Photos and the forum!
 

J C Decaux "street furniture"

City Centre Scams:

J C Decaux "street furniture"

JCD Decaux one of the culprits… in Bradford Yorkshire – ad panels that extract revenues from cities


From a Bradford Newspaper - May 1 1998
In one of the most unbelievable deals brokered by the City Centre Management team, 80 pieces of J C Decaux "street furniture" were installed in Bradford over the last 2 years, bringing a fortune to the Belgian company and not one penny to Bradford rate payers.
The "street furniture" consists of advertising hoardings and columns, with all the revenue from the advertising going straight to Decaux.
The only benefit to the public are an occasional "seat" at the foot of some of the advertising columns, and a few street maps displayed on some of Decaux sites free of charge. In return Decaux have been guaranteed an "on street" advertising monopoly for at least 20 years - previous advertisers had their contracts "terminated" by the council to ensure this. 2 J C Decaux "advertisement supported" pay "superloos" were also installed at public expense - but proved to be a disaster and had to be removed.
Yet this scam is not unique to Bradford. Decaux have secured similar deals across the country, thanks to the Town Centre Management network.
Birmingham council forked out a quarter of a million pounds in the late eighties for 500 pieces of "free street furniture". And in Madrid, the erection of 1500 items led to mass protests.
Not surprisingly, questions as to how these deals came to be made have been raised. In 1992 the Belgian Mayor of Liege was convicted for accepting millions of francs worth of "campaign funds" in return for granting the company contracts. The millionaire recluse Jean-Claude Decaux received a year in jail, suspended, for his part in the scandal. 4 years later a Belgian Decaux manager was convicted for providing fraudulent invoices to finance politicians. Tales of the wining and dining of politicians in return for contracts across the globe are legion.
Meanwhile, in Darley Street, Bradford, a row of popular trees were recently dug up at public expense to make way for more J C Decaux garish and highly profitable "furniture".
Perhaps a close look at some of the recent extravagances of our local politicians might be in order.

In Airports recently

advI sat in a very crowded, people compressed central waiting area in terminal three at Heathrow airport London. I had been waiting my flight for hours I was tired and sitting in an uncomfortable seat surrounded by a vast sea of travellers.
     Display panels in Heathrow airport, small lettering, hard to see, but ad panels next too them have very visible large adverts!
 
Everyone is herded together surrounded by expensive shops.
 
It's all about extracting money from the weary travellers you can pay almost two pounds for water. The impression I got was that as far as the airport is concerned the passengers, held captive are their target to get cash from
 At the busiest periods if you don't have great eyesight and leave your seat to see the progress of your flight embarkation details you probable won't find it vacant again. Of course the screens that carry all the advertisements beaming at you are all very clear and easy to read from almost every position: whilst the crucial information is shown as small lettering on long listings over several digital display screens.
 
Now if you're like me, being in an airport can be stressful and the certainty of accurate information regarding your flight is essential at least this airport does inform flight details and departure gate announcements over the loud speaker public address system.
 
After leaving my seat several times and losing it to others, I eventually found a seat within my visible range, enough to also see the progress of my flight as it moved up the timeline schedule listings. However my prized location was surrounded on seats and the floor by a group of young American tourists. Their chatter eventually began to frustrate and even anger me, I sat there thinking why was I so distressed. It dawned upon me that the frustration of the place itself; the advertising screens, the cramped conditions the artificial lighting and the general fraught atmosphere was the cause. I thought that at the very least this place needed some plants, everything was artificial, plants and flowing water are known to have calming properties.
 
My American neighbours were chatting and every other word included them saying 'like' sometimes three times in any sentence, it began to drive me crazy and soon all I was 'like' hearing and expecting with anticipation was 'like' next 'like' word. I was so unhinged that I had to give up my position and go and get a drink.
 
Then I saw an advertising column that had what I thought was a good idea being promoted upon it.
 
Heathrow airport London: selling departure flight times for mobile users (£7 pounds!) is this why the public displays are hard to get near, few in number and small text – difficult to read I tried to access the service and soon realised that good ideas are immediately frustrated by barriers conditions that expect fees and personnel information before you can get at the anticipated service, and only on the IPHONE currently. They want your name, date of birth, mobile phone number and your email address before letting potential users access the down-loadable application, for 1:79 annually! Which is crazy unless you're a very frequent flyer. But then it gets worse, as to connect to the WiFi service you have to go through yet another logging on procedure and pay an outrageously expensive fee of 7.
I was told by the person I enquired regarding the service that the fee allowed me to use it all day, as though that was a justification, when obviously I had no plans to be there all day and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I was also told that for 3 pounds I could use the internet on computers on desks that were situated nearby.
Now I think it would be a great idea for personal mobiles to be able to connect to the airport display screens and track individual flight information and gate opening times etc it would go a long way in solving the issues I outlined at the beginning of this post.
Sadly Heathrow and most airports want to get fees for supplying what should be a common passenger service; especially as my story shows that their current screen based operation is far from satisfactory.
  
Whilst I was there many people enquired about the service and about obtaining a WiFi connection but once they found out the cost; nobody that I observed bought into it.
After my experiences at Heathrow I eventually arrived at Madrid. On first sight a much improved environment, all open space and huge glass roof that lifted the depression of the enclosed facilities at Heathrow Terminal 3 from my mind.
But first impressions can often deceive. Here is an airport that proudly announces frequently that there are no flight information announcements and that all details are posted onto the digital display screens. These are the same as the ones at Heathrow but with far more space around them, but certainly not enough of them; as this place is huge and confusing. The signage is somewhat baffling with letters for the gate areas posted onto colour combinations that folks with certain mild degrees of colour blindness would never see! And the place is a long huge single building in many cases taking upto twenty minutes to get to your designated gate once it is posted onto the display screens. You can easily locate yourself a long way from your eventual gate without any information regarding it. It can also be far worse as there is an identical terminal for at least half of all flights which requires an underground train journey to reach. It's very easy to sit awaiting your flight information gate number and location only to find that you have a short time to reach the gate and then finding out that you can be in the wrong terminal and off you rush to get the train I know this happened to me whilst I was sitting near the WiFi zone to see if anybody was willing to pay for it; which, no surprises: they weren't.
Deserted WiFi area in Madrid Airport: no wonder the charges are high – why not FREE it is in Stateside Airports!
Wouldn't it be great if you could have all the information you needed on your mobile phone through a free WiFi system in airports? With accurate gate information and times, certainly this could be achieved through a computer link to the boarding pass computer system. And wouldn't it relax the passenger, maybe to such an extent that the advertising and the shopping offers might be more utilized. And moving on with such a service: what about providing nested data about the services and facilities at your destination. Now there's a thought, it might compensate the airport and airlines for providing such beneficial services, with a return from content embedded advertisers, a bit of lateral thinking!
Another barmy thing at Madrid is that the public address system that they don't use for flight information is used to frequently inform passengers that it is forbidden to smoke in the airport and that designated smoking areas are provided. The amazing feature about these glass enclosures is the fact that they have no roof on them and no extractor fans so the smoke goes throughout the airport, and none smokers speed up when passing these locations to avoid a deep lungful of group produced passive smoke!
Smoking area in Madrid airport: Simply STUPID there are no doors to close and no roof!

Non smokers have to hurry past holding their breath! As the clouds of smoke pour out to flood the area.
I arrived at my departure gate (I was going to Jerez de la Frontera) where I met a fellow traveler I knew and I related to him my airport experiences including the like punctuated sentencing of the Americans at Heathrow. He was an American and proceeded to point out to me that all the English folks he knew including my good self were also full of this verbal repetitive garbage. I was shocked and he was quite correct, we say you know, I have to say and other nonsense like 'err' and and very frequently within our conversation. The worst of all he pointed out was that the English say to be perfectly honest very often and he said this indicated to him that the rest of what we were possibly saying was not an honest statement of truth!
I was flabbergasted and the lesson I learned from my airport experience was to become more watchful of my own unconscious verbal chatterings.
Back to the WiFi need in airports:
At least one international airport is realising that trying to get the public to pay to finance a probably necessary public service is counter productive and have given up on attempting to obtain revenues from WiFi access fees. It sets a precedent and hopefully a trend that all airports and indeed many other public locations will hopefully follow.
 
Quote:
Mayor Gavin Newsom Announces Free Public Wi-Fi Service At San Francisco International Airport
Free wi-fi takes-off today and allows travelers to now surf the internet for free at SFO
8/13/2010- Mayor Gavin Newsom announced free wi-fi service beginning today throughout all public spaces at San Francisco International Airport for travelers passing through SFO. The service was originally scheduled to begin September 1, 2010, but through the combined efforts of Airport staff and the service provider, the free wi-fi service is available more than two weeks ahead of schedule.
SFO is a critical engine for economic growth and jobs in our region today and for the future, said Mayor Newsom. The San Francisco Bay Area is the world's high-tech center, and now anyone traveling through SFO can access their e-mail, shop, and conduct business on the Airports Wi-Fi service free of charge.
For the past several years, SFO has provided wireless internet through a fee-based service. When the contract with that vendor expired earlier this year, the Airport, which has always been committed to providing travelers with the best in customer service, used the opportunity to switch to free Wi-Fi service in order to meet the needs and expectations of today's SFO passengers.
The airline and airport industry is a dynamic business and to remain successful we must continue to adapt to an ever-changing environment, said Airport Director John L. Martin. For the past few years our internal surveys have shown that our customers wanted free wi-fi and we're now offering that because SFO is committed to providing first class customer service to everyone who passes through our gates.