Newad adding 550 new screens in Canada, 3,500 over next three years

February 15, 2011 by Dave Haynes

Montreal’s Newad finally pulled the trigger on its digital expansion plans, announcing today an $8 million investment  in digital screens it will be rolling out across Canada over the next three years.

Newad has had digital screens going back more than a decade, and already had several hundred out in the marketplace, but I know they have been very methodically looking around for the right solution that met both media targeting needs and technology costs.

The announcement says the new boards (don’t know who they settled on) will be rolled out in a first batch of 550 to be installed in Newad’s Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver RestoBars network.

With the addition of these new boards, the company will deliver a total of 1.1 million impressions through its Digital advertising network across the country every week. Known for their premium reputation and trendsetting clientele, the venues hosting these new digital boards include La Queue de Cheval (Mtl), Brassaii (Tor), Chicago Chophouse (Cal), Century Grill (Edm) and Republic (Van). Additionally, Newad is also announcing the installation of 3,500 additional digital boards over the next three years – an investment worth over $8 million in total, allotting $2M to Toronto, $1.5M to Montreal, $1.5M to Vancouver; $1M to Edmonton and $1M to Calgary.

“The digital boards, with 22” high-resolution LCD screens and full stereo sound, broadcast 15-to-60-second-long audio/video loops almost instantaneously,” says Philippe Marchessault, Newad’s Executive Vice-President of Operations, Development, and Innovation, Indoor Advertising. “These loops will be interspersed with exclusive content clips adapted to the target market’s lifestyle and interests, which include music, videos, fashion, and upcoming events. The boards can be programmed with RSS feeds or HTML to integrate new information or update campaigns. Newad has been an innovator in digital signage for nearly 15 years, having installed its first video panels in 1997.”