WPP offering taps into outdoor spend

Titan Outdoor is understood to have earmarked 750 panels from its
existing national and local divisions - a total of 7,954 panels - to
form a third division, provisionally called Titan Direct.

A senior outdoor source told Media Week that Signposter.com would allow
buyers and sellers to trade inventory in a similar fashion to online
retailer Amazon.com.

The source said: "The site is for local advertisers, at a time when
advertising is becoming increasingly targeted. So, if you own a chip
shop in Frinton-on-Sea and you have never advertised on posters, it's a
chance to break through."

The site will also give contractors another means to market and sell
sites that prove unpopular with larger, national brands and would
otherwise fall out of the market.

The source said the closest thing to Signposter.com on the market at
present is Getmemedia.com, an online directory of marketing ideas for
planners and advertisers.

The Getmemedia directory allows agencies and advertisers to search by
demographic or life-stage group, and to view the results by media route,
date or price. It is billed as a "neutral" tool that lists search
results based on relevance, and is backed by both Isba and the IPA.

In the latest quarterly panel audit, published in February by outdoor
audience research body Postar, Titan's installed base of panels fell to
7,954 from 8,842 in November.

Some fluctuation in quarterly data is normal, however. The number of
JCDecaux panels were up by 333 to 9,739 panels in February, while Clear
Channel lost 90 panels, giving it a total figure of 6,288 panels.