Pattison Outdoor Advertising Inc. just got a lot more digital with the acquisition of Toronto’s Onestop Media Group.
Founded in 2005, Onestop owns and operates digital advertising networks for the transportation, malls, sports retail, residential and hospitality industries. The company counts Hilton hotels, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and Sporting Life among its clients.
“We had a relationship for the last three years on a joint venture and worked closely on a number of things,” said Michael Girgis, president of Onestop Media. The two companies collaborated on a mall network in 30 malls across 90 markets, and Onestop provided the platform for Pattison’s Calgary airport network, for example. “We saw a common vision and common ground on how to do business in the digital space and this just became a natural next step.”
“My role doesn’t change,” Girgis said. “Onestop Media Group is still the brand…I’m still the president and we get to operate just as we were yesterday.”
“It is just about doing the same thing on a much grander scale with a big machine behind us.”
In a release, Randy Otto, president of Pattison Outdoor Advertising, said the acquisition enables Pattison to offer a “broader range of innovative digital solutions for our advertisers to reach their audience using the digital networks and dynamic media technology of Onestop.”
Onestop, which employs about 45 people, will stay in its downtown Toronto office, said Girgis. It will start to work immediately developing a common platform across the country for Pattison and Onestop inventory, “creating common ad units and making it real simple [for clients] across the board.”
