Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
UB Media Inc., Montreal, has acquired KB Media Inc., Toronto, with terms of the buy kept confidential.
This deal asserts UB Media’s position as a dominant player in the indoor advertising industry by increasing UB’s presence in the Resto-Bar media market by an additional 450 20″ digital screens and over 500 3′ x 2′ backlit panels.
KB Media, founded in 2009 and owned by David Brisson, established a network of advertising faces incorporated into mirrors placed in the restroom of high-end eateries and bars across Toronto. In 2010, it announced a multi-million dollar investment to upgrade its inventory, the entirety of which UB has now acquired.
“We were always impressed with the quality of KB’s venues and had long felt that KB’s network was solid, but that the products required slight modification to achieve market traction,” says Michael Minicucci, UB Media president and owner. “We’ve changed KB’s static product from a mirror with a motion-sensor activated billboard to a standard 36″ x 24″ backlit that is constantly lit. On the digital side, by reversing the action of the motion sensor and adding audio capabilities, we believe we have remedied the product’s weaknesses and are prepared to re-launch this product as a vital component of Canada’s Resto-Bar media market.”
We asked Ron Deschenes, UB’s director of business development, why buy a company and then change immediately what you’ve
bought?
“Most of the mirrors KB had installed were not located above the sink and were not used as functional vanity mirrors, but in fact were located on other walls inside and outside of the restroom environment where we felt a 3′ x 2′ backlit or audio-enabled digital screen would make more sense,” says Deschenes. “We realized that with some modification to bring the products in line with industry-standard media formats, the inventory would be much more valuable.”
Backlits are located in restrooms and main areas of the bar, brightly illuminated to attract attention from all corners of the room. Digital Screens are located exclusively in the restrooms in order to provide an uninterrupted, captive exposure to the consumer.
UB’s Classic Boards, 13″ x 17″ static posters, will be installed in all new locations. In addition to the Toronto market, UB intends to expand this network of digital and static advertising faces into the Montreal and Vancouver markets.
Speaking of the company’s expansion, Deschenes, says, “UB now enables advertisers to reach patrons from several engaging touchpoints – through our traditional Classic Boards as well as our new inventory of Backlits and Digital Screens. Digital in the restrooms and backlits in the main room compliment UB’s Classic Boards, 13″ x 17″ static posters, perfectly and provide us with a wholly congruent product set to our major competitors.”
The acquisition adds over 1,000 facings to UB’s Resto-Bar network, which now claims over 7,000 media facings across the country in Canada’s major markets.
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