Montreal-based mall advertising firms Neo Advertising and Traffic have merged their respective sales teams into a single unit, one that will offer advertisers and media buyers access to digital, static and experiential marketing opportunities in more than 100 Canadian shopping centres.
Neo operates a digital network of high-definition LCD screens in malls across Canada, while Traffic specializes in static indoor and outdoor advertising products. Traffic’s parent company, Media Group, also owns the experiential marketing firm Speed Promotions.
“Instead of having agencies and advertisers dealing with one rep from Neo and one from Traffic, and having these companies in competition, we thought it was a better offer for the industry to have them combined,” says Ronald Tapiero, vice-president and co-founder of Traffic. “And instead of having 60 malls each, we now have 105 malls, so the offer and the reach is much more interesting in terms of properties and in terms of products.”
Under the terms of the one-year deal, Neo and Traffic will remain as separate entities. However, Tapiero says there is a possibility that the pooling of the sales resources could be the precursor to a more formal corporate merger.
“Everything is open, but it’s too early to think of the different options,” says Tapiero. “They have been discussed, but before you marry someone you have to date them for a little bit.”
The Neo-Traffic sales team currently operates out of offices in Montreal and Toronto, with a Vancouver location slated to open in the coming weeks.
