Outdoor industry research organisation Postar has appointed Ken
New, chairman of New PHD and poster company Outdoor Connection, as its
new head.
Chris Dickens resigned from the post earlier this year, when he decided
to set up his own outdoor company selling billboard sites. It was felt
Dickens could not remain at the head of an organisation that evaluates
sites, while running a company that owns some of those sites.
But claims that a similar conflict of interest may arise between New’s
role at Outdoor Connection and his new post were dismissed. Matthew
Carrington, chairman of the Outdoor Advertising Association, said:
’Outdoor Connection is a poster specialist, not a contractor, and so
there is no conflict.’
New was selected for the role by the Council of Outdoor Specialists and
the Outdoor Advertising Association, the joint-funders of the research
operation. His appointment is effective immediately and is for a minimum
of two years.
Alan Simmons, the chairman of poster specialist, Concord, and a member
of COS, said: ’Ken has been chosen for his integrity, he’s hardly going
to bang the drum for Outdoor Connection.’ Carrington added: ’His
reputation and commitment to the medium can only benefit Postar.
Effectively he will be promoting it to agencies, clients and
contractors.’
Postar has already established itself as a benchmark for outdoor
advertising research around the world, but it is still a work in
progress. New said that Postar is ’a very sophisticated piece of
audience research’. But admitted: ’There is work to be done in
developing it further and, at the same time, in promoting its use across
the industry.’
The organisation is still working on a pounds 4 million research
programme to collect data on the environment of the UK’s 60,000 poster
sites. It is hoped such information will enable Postar to produce a
model of vehicle and pedestrian flow past every site.
