Transport for London (TfL) has awarded two of the UK’s most lucrative advertising contracts to Global and JCDecaux, continuing successful partnerships with both companies.
Following a highly competitive tendering process, Global will continue to manage TfL’s rail estate offer, including advertising sites on the Tube, London Overground, DLR, tram and the Elizabeth Line.
Meanwhile, JCDecaux will continue to manage advertising at more than 4,700 bus shelters across London.
The new contracts, which start on 1 April 2025, will run for eight years, with an option for TfL to extend for a further two years.
“Advertising income from our estate is a vital source of funding for TfL, so it’s really important we work with ambitious and innovative media partners,” said Emma Strain, customer director at TfL.
“That’s why I am delighted that our trusted brand, environments and the vast, diverse audiences who use our huge estate, are in the hands of internationally recognised commercial media partners, Global and JCDecaux.”
Global and JCDecaux’s successful bids demonstrated how they would use data, digitisation and the vast scope of the advertising space to connect brands with the right audiences.
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Global’s group CEO Stephen Miron described the contract as one of the most prestigious outdoor contracts in the world and said he planned to make TfL “the envy of Metros around the globe”.
JCDecaux will continue to manage advertising at more than 4,700 bus shelters across the capital, seen by 81% of Londoners each week. Co-CEO Jean-François Decaux said he intends to make London the “digital OOH capital of the world”.
The TfL advertising estate has seen a wide range of campaigns and innovations across the network.
These include a ’super-sized’ Adidas shoe on top of bus shelters for the opening of a new Adidas store on Oxford Street, and an immersive ABBA Voyage campaign at Waterloo, where those using the travellators were treated to images of the band’s members and familiar tunes, along with subtle motion advertising at digital bus shelters and 3D advertising being trialled across digital rail sites.
As part of the tender, TfL asked bidders to consider the environmental impact of advertising and continue supporting the Mayor in his aim to get the capital to Net Zero by 2030.
Advertising is an important source of revenue for TfL, with commercial media bringing in approximately £150m last financial year, to be reinvested back into the public transport network.
The new contracts, which began tendering in October 2023, will start on 1 October 2024.
