World Out of Home Organization schedules first world tour for 2021 – Toronto congress postponed to 2022

Cristina Blanaru Business, Creativity, Digital & Media, Events, Marketing, OOH / DOOH

2021 will see the Organization’s first ‘world tour,’ three events, two of which are hoped to be live, to be held in Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific in the second, third and fourth quarters of next year. 

The ‘tour’ will finish with the WOO Congress, scheduled originally for May 2020 and then delayed to 2021 due to the pandemic, in Toronto in May 2022. 

WOO President Tom Goddard says: “While it’s disappointing to have to postpone Toronto, travel issues and continued health concerns, sadly, made this inevitable. But we are determined to gather in Toronto in May 2022. It will be the biggest reunion the industry has ever seen, with a world class programme and speakers.

“But 2021 is still a big opportunity for us and one we’re determined to grasp. We’ve been discussing with our members a more extensive and diverse calendar of events for some time now – in addition to the big global Congress – and this is our opportunity to put this plan into action. 

“I firmly believe 2021 will be a year of dramatic recovery for the worldwide OOH industry and WOO’s first world tour will be one of our major contributions to ensuring that it is.”  

The World Out of Home Organization is the only global Out of Home Association, working to promote and improve the OOH industry on behalf of its members. Board members include the major International companies  – JCDecaux and Clear Channel – as well as Ströer, Pikasso, and more recently blowUP media, OUTFRONT Media from the US, oOh!Media from Australia and Selvel One from India as well as OOH associations, the OAAA in the US and Alooh from Latin America.

Membership is open to all companies who operate in the OOH sector and, as a non-profit Organization, funds are reinvested in industry issues such as research and the annual international congress. WOO is a member of EASA and ESOMAR in Europe, as well as a founding member of ICAS, and actively works to help the membership with legislation issues within their own countries as well. It also aims to lobby for Out of Home advertising with authorities, international organizations, opinion formers and other elements of the communication media.