Clear Media company secretary Gary Ng said the additional panels brings Clear Media's share of the total Beijing bus shelter market up to 40 per cent. He said the acquisition would also boost its ownership of shelter space within Beijing's urban zone three up to 74 per cent.
The city's metropolitan area is divided into five rings, with zones one and two designated as the commercial hub. The panels can accommodate 12-sheet ads, which translate into a much bigger visual impact, said Ng.
"Most of our shelters are within zone three (such as Tiananmen Square), because that is where we find the ad dollars."
According to Ng, his industry suffered a downturn from the outbreak of atypical pneumonia (Sars), but he expected things to return to normal in "a couple of months". In the long-term, Ng expects outdoor panels and billboards to remain the mainstay for advertisers in China as much of the country's media remains in the hands of the Government."Most of the other media is government-owned, except outdoor operations, so that might give operators a little bit more flexibility to attract advertising."