The Best of '08 Media Players: Zoom Media.

24 novembre 2008

By David Chilton

 

“You can’t avoid us,” says president Andy Querin

 

Zoom Media’s Andy Querin isn’t exaggerating when he says 2008 was the year his company got
bigger. It did. Much bigger, thanks to a series of strategic investments that show no sign of abating.
“We’re in acquisition mode even with the current economic conditions,” says Querin, Zoom’s Torontobased president and chief operating officer.

 

Digital is transforming the out-of-home industry, with Out-of-Home Marketing Association of Canada president Rosanne Caron noting earlier this year that its continued development was a key contributor to a 12% increase in Canadian out-of-home advertising revenue in the first five months of 2008.

 

Zoom’s biggest deal came in September, when it purchased ClubCom—a Pittsburgh-based company with ad faces in American, British, German, Japanese and Australian health and fitness clubs—for an undisclosed sum. (Some estimates have pegged it between $20 and $30 million.)

 

The purchase gives Zoom access to ClubCom’s 25,000 digital screens in 1,600 facilities—mostly
fitness clubs, but also some bowling alleys. The product consists of overhead screens in the common areas of fitness clubs, as well as personalized screens attached to fitness equipment. Zoom’s U.S. operation boasted 1,200 digital screens and 55,000 static screens prior to the acquisition.

 

Zoom Media chair François de Gaspé Beaubien says ClubCom is coming to Canada. And it’s coming soon, adds Querin—with a rollout scheduled within the next three to six months.

 

ClubCom’s boards will add to Zoom’s significant Canadian presence, which includes some 34,000
faces in more than 4,000 establishments in 30 markets, including Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

 

“We still remain the only medium out there where you can’t avoid us,” says Querin.

 

As if to prove that point, the company showed off another of its acquisitions in March with the Toronto launch of Fashion Frame, a Montreal out-of-home network that Zoom purchased a 50% equity stake in last year. Fashion Frame provides ad space in the fitting rooms of more than 35 retail store chains, including Winners and Bikini Village.

 

Matt Johnston, Moosehead Breweries’ vice-president of marketing, North American markets, says the brand’s “Trust Your Instincts” advertising relied heavily on Zoom’s restaurant and bar network. It produced the sorts of spikes typically seen during a promotion, says Johnston, and proved an effective spend.

 

The company also played a prominent role in campaigns for the new Audi 4, and the Musée de la
Civilisation in Quebec City. The Musée, capitalizing on Zoom’s resto-bar network, was the first
advertiser to use Zoom’s new illuminated boards, which utilize motion sensors to turn the lights on and off. Audi used Zoom’s parking lot network at office towers in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. The creative, from Lowe Roche, included eight-foot by 10-foot boards that used reflective vinyl material to highlight the car’s features.

 

From acquisitions and boosting visibility at the street (or washroom/fitting room) level, the media
company has zoomed in on making an impact on the industry.

 

Originally published in Marketing Magazine, November 2008

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