One of Canada’s best-known out-of-home media brands has vanished from the landscape, a victim of ongoing consolidation in the industry.

Toronto-based Urban Outdoor Trans Ad has been absorbed by Mediacom, which purchased the company from its parent, Standard Broadcasting, for an undisclosed sum.

Urban Outdoor brings with it an inventory of nearly 1,000 backlit outdoor boards, as well as transit properties and a subsidiary, Cieslok Outdoor.

The sale comes just six months after Urban Outdoor suffered a crippling blow, losing the $75-million Toronto Transit Commission contract – the largest such concession in Canada – to Transportation Displays Inc. (TDI) of New York.

In the out-of-home marketplace today, bigger is definitely better, says Mediacom president Brian McLean.

In the past two years, he notes, the competitive stakes have been raised significantly, as new players from the U.S. and Europe have entered the Canadian market – among them TDI, Obie Media, Gateway Outdoor Advertising, Ad Shel and Eller Media (which made its mark by winning the coveted contract for Terminals 1 and 2 of Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport, a contract that was previously held by Mediacom).

The Canadian market for transit vehicle ads, transit shelters and traditional billboards is estimated to be worth some $275 million.

Consolidation, McLean says, means national advertisers will be guaranteed an out-of-home product that is consistent from one end of the country to the other – and they’ll only have to deal with a single company to get it.

"We offer them the same hamburger in Halifax as we do in Vancouver," McLean says. "So they can be assured that the quality, delivery and integrity is going to be the same.

Mariam Hoosen, vice-president, strategy director with Toronto-based media management company Starcom Worldwide, says this kind of consolidation in the out-of-home industry was inevitable, given the number of new suppliers moving into the marketplace.

As some out-of-home companies have expanded, Hoosen says, they have attempted to force advertisers into package buys encompassing multiple markets. But she doesn’t anticipate these kinds of tactics from Mediacom.

"Mediacom and the Urban group have always been very ethical in their way of dealing with media buyers," Hoosen says.

Still, she’s quick to add that buyers hope Mediacom’s expansion won’t have any serious effect on its standards of professionalism and service.

"We’re just hoping that…the way they’ve been servicing the industry will continue – that being bigger doesn’t have to mean [being] arrogant and imposing restrictions on negotiations."

Some Urban Outdoor staffers will stay with Mediacom during the transitional period. But the two most senior executives have left the company.

Ron Hutchinson, formerly president of Urban Outdoor, has remained with Standard Broadcasting as president of Integrated Media Sales, a joint venture between Standard and Telemedia Broadcasting.

John Baird, Urban Outdoor’s vice-president and general manager, has declined Mediacom’s offer to stay with the company, and is considering other opportunities.

Ninety-six per cent of C-suite marketing and media executives nationwide use AI in some capacity and 84% view AI as a major area for investment, according to the 2025 leadership survey report published by Globe Media Group in partnership with the Canadian Media Directors Council (CMDC).

The report, “The Leadership Innovation Imperative,” was officially launched in Toronto on April 30 at the CMDC Media Leadership Dinner and “Voices” Summit.

In its third edition, 100 of Canada’s top media and marketing executives were surveyed on their outlook for the year ahead. The report includes insights from C-Suite and industry leaders on the evolving issues shaping the Canadian advertising landscape with a focus on the future of leadership in a rapidly changing environment. Though the year ahead remains uncertain, the survey can be used as an indicator of what the most senior leaders believe lies ahead, the CMDC says.

Key findings of the survey include that 61% of leaders think innovation is the most critical leadership trait, representing a 17% increase from 2023. Additionally, 99% of respondents expressed concern about advertising dollars not going to local media, growth is now considered the top business challenge, surpassing talent retention. Twenty-eight per cent of leaders polled see themselves as realists, 25% see themselves as accelerators and 22% view themselves as adaptors.

The survey also found that innovation and digital transformation have emerged among the top three company strengths for the first time. The shift mark a decisive move away from maintaining the status quo toward building future ready organizations and teams.

The 2025 report highlights the evolving mindset of Canada’s media and marketing leaders and provides a forward-looking perspective on navigating economic uncertainty while fostering talent and driving growth. Despite economic headwinds, most leaders are planning to maintain or increase their investment levels in the year ahead, according to the report’s findings.

“Innovation and confident leadership are no longer optional – they are imperatives,” CMDC president Shannon Lewis said in a news release. “This year’s report reinforces that the leaders shaping our future are those who lean into change, invest in people and lead with clarity. It’s a powerful reflection of the resilience and ambition across Canada’s media and marketing community.”