Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Astral Out-of-Home, has announced an expansion of its Canadian digital reach, moving immediately into Edmonton with the purchase of Macdonald Outdoor and further plans to build new networks in both Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta’s two largest cities.
Astral, founded in Montreal and now a division of Bell Media, has acquired the nine-unit large format digital OOH network of Macdonald Outdoor in Edmonton. These are all 12’ x 24’ curved digital OOH screens. Greg Macdonald, founder and president, and his team will continue with the company, with Macdonald as general manager, Edmonton.
“In September, Astral also plans to build a second network in Edmonton of a mix of 14’ x 48’ and 10’ x 34’ screens, similar to what Astral offers in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver,” says Ron Hutchinson, senior vice-president, Real Estate Services at Astral Out-of-Home. “And we will enter the Calgary market at the same time with an initial four units, to increase to six by year-end.”
The announcement marks Astral Out-of-Home’s entry into Alberta and the national expansion of its focus on large-format digital advertising. With the additional advertisng faces erected in Edmonton and Calgary, Astral Out-of-Home Digital Network will have 21 large-format faces in Alberta and 73 across Canada.
“We are very pleased to acquire Edmonton’s top digital advertising network and to welcome the Macdonald Outdoor team and its founder, Greg Macdonald, into our ranks,” says Luc Quétel, Astral Out-of-Home president. “Macdonald Outdoor has made a name for itself with the quality of its digital structures and its commercial performance.
“The Calgary and Edmonton markets are the biggest in Alberta, and the fourth- and fifth-most-important in OOH advertising investments in Canada. Our entry into Alberta was a crucial part of our plan to extend our coverage to the national scale.”
“Astral Out-of-Home is an extremely solid organization, and I look forward to continuing to expand our digital network in Alberta,” says Macdonald.
Bell Media properties in Alberta also include television stations CTV Edmonton, CTV Calgary and CTV Two Alberta, as well as radio stations CJAY 92, 98.5 Virgin Radio, 104-9 Virgin Radio, Funny 1060 AM, 100.3 The Bear and TSN 1260.
Follow DailyDOOH