oOh!media has bounced back from a sluggish first half of 2024, forecasting 14% year-to-date revenue growth as of February 2025 and a 14% lift in Q1 media revenue. This follows a nearly flat 2024, where total revenue reached $636 million, just 0.3% above the previous year’s $636.9 million.
CEO Cathy O’Connor pointed to shifting industry dynamics as a key driver of the rebound, noting, “Out-of-home audiences are growing,” despite fragmentation across TV and radio. She credited the company’s renewed go-to-market strategy, investment in new assets like the Sydney Metro, and the rapid expansion of programmatic digital out-of-home advertising as critical factors in the turnaround. The market reacted positively, with oOh!media’s share price jumping nearly 10%, outpacing broader outdoor advertising gains of 4.9% to 8%.
Reflecting on the evolving market, O’Connor added, “You know, there is of course the digitisation going on in the sector, and a lot of new assets, and the fact that audiences are fragmenting across TV and radio – but out of home audiences are growing.”
She continued, “So mass reach, cost effective, mass reach, all of those media factors become more truthful the further out we go, as the market spreads a thousand ways across all forms of channel.” O’Connor underscored the structural shift in out-of-home advertising: “So that macro for out of home, that structural shift, is part of the momentum, and within that, we’re the largest player, and we acknowledged we started 2024 in a substandard sort of way, and we’ve really addressed our go to market strategy.”
oOh!media in Woollahra.
Plans for 2025
Detailing operational initiatives, O’Connor added the company is “putting a lot of new assets into the ground”.
“Those are the things driving real momentum,” she said. “So things like the Sydney Metro. We’ve obviously also got Woollahra Council with two other councils, Waverley and Manly, to come through, and we are also building out large format sites in Sydney and Melbourne.”
On revenue drivers, she noted, “Those new assets move revenue on top of that, while programmatic continues to grow for the industry – that’s a different type of customer, but it allows you to buy digital out of home in a real time way. And there’s a lot of work going in there.”
O’Connor noted the company has recorded “real inroads” in the sphere “more than doubling” their programmatic revenue in the last year.
“Whether it’s 3D anamorphic or data-led targeting, a lot of big advertisers and categories are starting to realise out of home is much more than brand fame, and increasingly, we’re telling that story to every category and many categories are responding.”
Key partnerships
Highlighting strategic collaborations, O’Connor mentioned key partnerships with PetBarn, Officeworks, and Australia Post, adding, “The retail media space is fast moving and the fact we’ve signed three key partnerships shows that we see a role for oOh!media as an independent enabler of retail media strategies for that mid-small to mid-size retailer.”
Meanwhile when it comes to new investments, O’Connor highlighted that there was “$68 million of contracts won over the last two years”.
“It started with Metro Trains Melbourne, and then obviously the Martin Place precinct, Woollahra Council, Waverley Council, Manly Council, Metro Tunnel, and the East Link road sites in Victoria – they’d be the largest parts of that $68 million so it’s all brand new digital assets, key locations, Sydney and Melbourne,” she said.
oOh!media at the East Link road sites in Victoria.
Cost cutting
The company has recently implemented $15m cost reduction program, a move O’Connor said was necessary to understand the company’s biggest inefficiencies.
“Most of the people that have been removed from the business were operating in and around inefficient systems and ways of working,” she explained. “We’ve had a big drive for simplification, and that’s allowed us to look at where we have roles that aren’t as efficient as they need to be, or where we can tighten up processes and deliver for customers.”
O’Connor said a focus on high value contracts has also seen a boost to the company’s gross profit margin: “The company has exited those lower margin contracts and that helped.”
oOh!media the Martin Place precinct.
When outlining those strategic priorities for the next 12 to 24 months, O’Connor explained their strategy is simple: “It’s about keeping our go to market fresh and competitive and making sure our teams are showing up with fast and timely responses for customers that meet campaign needs.”
“We also want to develop all these new assets and getting them in the ground, because that brings growth for the business, and obviously continuing to advocate for creative uses of out of home. Secondly, we’re going to keep bidding for high value assets in Sydney and Melbourne. We want to be number one in road, street and rail, and clearly making strides toward that, and have achieved that in many instances. And then reo is also a focus. So it’s an emerging space. We’re going to service these new partnerships and kick some goals for them and potentially some new customers as well. So they’re the three pillars that’s what we’re focused on,” she said.