Neo acquisition drives a new kind of in-mall Traffic

http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/media/article.jsp?content=20100914_150152_7796
Mall advertising company Traffic has expanded its product offering with the acquisition of digital ad firm Neo Advertising Canada. The company has also changed its name to Neo-Traffic. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Traffic specializes in static mall displays and offers experiential marketing capabilities through its Promotions Speed division. Neo Advertising operated approximately 500 digital screens in the food courts of 60 malls across the country.
The merger gives the newly created company a combination of static and digital inventory in 120 of the country's largest malls. The company says it reaches 2.8 million customers a day.
According to Neo-Traffic vice-president and co-founder Ronald Tapiéro, the two companies have had an informal working relationship for the past two years.
"[Neo Advertising] wanted to get out of Canada to focus on their business in Europe, and we were interested in moving into the digital business," said Tapiéro of Monday's transaction. "For us it was a perfect opportunity, and because we knew the company well, it was a pretty easy deal to make."
Tapiéro said there are no short-term plans to transform any of Neo-Traffic's existing static inventory into a digital format, but predicted an industry-wide adoption of digital technology within the next 10 years.
"Some advertisers are still more interested in static and some are more interested in digital," he said. "The fact that we have all different formats helps ensure we meet all their needs."
The deal will have no impact on advertising rates, said Tapiéro.