Plan B eyes provincial push, explores new media forms

Plan B eyes provincial push, explores new media forms

SET-listed Plan B Media Plc, an out-of-home (OOH) media operator, will spend 300-500 million baht on media network expansion this year to cash in on growing urbanisation upcountry and to diversify into various forms of OOH media.

LED digital billboards are a key marketing tool offered by Plan B Media.

"Diversification is a key to risk management and maintaining our growth even as we face many uncertainties," said chief executive Parin Lochanakosin.

More Plan B digital screens will be installed in major shopping malls such as Siam Paragon, The Emporium and EmQuartier.

The company will also branch into regular and digital billboards in upcountry areas such as Udon Thani, where consumers have an urban lifestyle similar to the one in Bangkok.

Plan B already provides OOH media services in Chiang Mai, with 260 regular and digital billboards, and has received good feedback.

The company intends to expand its media network, relying on Central Group's shopping projects in major provinces to create city centres where people can pass their time at the malls.

The company is moving to diversify its OOH media into various forms such as point-of-sale advertising as well as WiFi service on public buses.

The expansion plan is expected to boost revenue by 25% to 2.5 billion baht this year. The company has also secured the rights to manage advertising space on the MRT's Purple Line.

Plan B is working on the creation of an OOH media network in Southeast Asia to cash in on the Asean Economic Community later this year.

The scheme will take shape over the next six months. Plan B is in talks with OOH operators in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.

The company has appointed Ron Graham, former chief operating officer of Kinetic Worldwide, a famed OOH media agency, to oversee the expansion plan.

When asked about a dispute related to the company's digital billboards installed above police booths at major intersections in Bangkok, Mr Parin said all of Plan B's digital billboards were installed legally.

The billboards in question are under investigation over whether they violate any laws or regulations.

Of Plan B's total revenue, 40% is contributed by digital billboards, 29% by static billboards, 29% by transit media and 2% by in-mall media.

PLANB shares closed yesterday on the SET at 4.46 baht, down 12 satang, in trade worth 244 million baht.

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