Although one of his passions is aeronautics, he started working in the oil sector early on, as a mechanical engineer, at Total Energies, in the offshore wells in Angola; followed by Schlumberger, as a senior field engineer, in Brazil. He has coordinated several industrial projects, held the post of director-general and director of the multinational pharmaceutical company GSK - GlaxoSmithKline and has been an advisor to the Minister of Transport. Paulo Vieira Dias Cardoso studied Industrial Mechanical Engineering in France, but his academic curriculum also includes a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Mechanics, completed in Toulouse; a Master’s Degree in Petroleum and Project Management, completed in Paris, and an MBA in Business Management, completed in Lisbon. He is currently the managing director of the multinational JCDecaux in Angola, one of the largest companies in the world for billboards and outdoor advertising. He collects banknotes from all over the world. And another of his passions is reading. 12 Rules for Life - An Antidote to Chaos, by Jordan B. Peterson, is the book that has currently filled pages of his life.
In this issue we’re talking about industry, in the most diverse sectors, so we could not fail to mention JCDecaux, a company in the advertising sector that is a huge name in Africa and the world. How is this sector kept alive?
JCDecaux, in the advertising industry, is the world’s leading outdoor advertising company. The company was created in 1964 in France to provide services with the right to sell advertising space, and created the concept of Street Furniture. With a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 1 million advertising panels in 3891 cities, the global network has the ability to reach huge audiences, offering solutions for advertising campaigns that are increasingly intelligent, dynamic, segmented and focused on results, reaching 410 million people worldwide.
In Africa, JCDecaux has a presence in 24 countries. Angola is the group’s third largest country on the continent, and is among the largest billboard companies, with structures all over the country. The advertising communications sector and business in Angola was worth around US$950 million between 2012 and 2013, as reflected in the results of an study by the APM – Angolan Association of Advertising and Marketing Companies. Since 2014, the sector has suffered successive falls in its revenues, with the start of the economic, financial and foreign exchange crisis, due to the fall in the price of oil, and the case has worsened dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, causing a drop of up to 75% in revenues. JCDecaux Angola, unable to escape this market trend, also had reductions in revenue, but, being a consolidated structure in the country, it has remained in the industry through solid partnerships. There are good prospects for growth, but everything depends on the macroeconomic situation of the country and the pandemic situation in the world, now with the new Omicron variant.
What has been the company’s growth in the countries where it is present and, of course, in Angola?
JCDecaux, being a multinational, present in over 80 countries, has marked the advertising world by bringing innovative solutions, with cutting-edge digital technology and a vast network of advertising services, from airports, bicycles, shopping centres, street furniture, bus stops and toilet cabins. Having structured growth over the years at around 4%, JCDecaux is listed on Euronext, the stock exchange in Paris, France.
According to the IPG Mediabrands report, OOH (Out Of Home - outdoor media) is the most powerful media in the industry, as consumers cannot block or ignore content, as is the case with digital media. By 2019, before the pandemic, Asia-Pacific saw $13 billion growth in OOH sales. That made the region the world’s largest outdoor media market ahead of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at just $9 billion, and the United States, at $8 billion. In Japan alone, about $4.6 billion was spent in the year 2019, while spending in China reached $4 billion. In the post-pandemic era, the paradigm has changed, with digital platforms seeing greater growth.
In Angola, the trend has not changed. There was a reduction in the sector in 2020, but with the gradual opening of the economy, OOH has regained a strategic positioning for Angolan major distribution brands. JCDecaux is positioned to stay in the Angolan market and embrace new consumer trends.
«IN AFRICA, JCDECAUX IS PRESENT IN 24 COUNTRIES, WITH ANGOLA BEING THE GROUP’S THIRD LARGEST COUNTRY»
What is JCDecaux’s strategy and importance in the Angolan economy?
Marketing and advertising have come to have a great influence on what we consume and how much we consume in Angola. In OOH advertising, the goal is to reach the largest number of confirmed consumers or convert people into potential consumers. As an OOH company, JCDecaux is a key company, of utmost relevance to the country’s economy and sustainable development. The Angolan economy needs strong international companies that can invest and contribute to increased tax revenues and job creation.
The history of JCDecaux begins in 1964, with Jean-Claude Decaux. Today, are the guidelines proposed by the founder still taken into account or does each country/company have its own business vision and strategy?
In 1953, in the French town of Beauvais, north of Paris, Jean-Claude Decaux, who was only 16 at the time, firmly believed in the power that advertising had on the sales of a product. One day, left running his parents’ shop while they went on holiday, he decided to put up posters in the street and promote the family business. The effect that the outdoor advertising had was immediately recognised in Beauvais and he soon received requests from other shopkeepers to do the same for them. Ideas for a new business thus began to fizz in Jean-Claude Decaux’s head: that of product promotion, using street furniture.
The consolidation came later, in 1964. France was making great strides towards the urbanisation of its territory. People were moving from the countryside to the city, looking for better conditions. Jean-Claude Decaux began to pay particular attention to the movements of the new inhabitants, especially when it came to travelling by bus. He noticed that many people had to wait for their transport in the rain. He developed a solution that would benefit everyone: he installed free bus shelters at bus stops, asking in return for exclusive advertising rights in these spaces. With this move, Jean-Claude managed to please the Greeks and the Trojans: the municipalities guaranteed shelters at no cost, commuters were protected from bad weather, and brands were able to advertise their products in prime spaces.
Today, the founder’s guidelines are still taken into account in the cities in which JCDecaux operates. After his death in 2016, his sons, Jean-François, Jean-Charles and Jean Sebastien, took on their father’s mantle and went even further in expanding new business worldwide. Each country is an independent business unit with regional reporting but local decisions. The group’s philosophy is to give a degree of entrepreneurial autonomy to the countries, always operating on the basis of local laws, within international ethics and compliance.
«MARKETING AND ADVERTISING HAVE COME TO EXERT GREAT INFLUENCE ON WHAT WE CONSUME AND HOW MUCH WE CONSUME, IN ANGOLA»
We are talking about a company with a remarkable reputation. What kind of services do you offer your clients?
JCDecaux Angola provides urban furniture services to cities and, in exchange, operates these same furnishings as advertising spaces. Our mission is to improve the quality of life in urban areas, while providing space for advertisers to promote their business. Our structures are spread throughout the busiest areas of all Angolan cities, from Cabinda to Cunene, but mainly in Luanda. We have all kinds of advertising supports, from urban furniture (shelters, MUPIs...) to transport, billboards (citilites, superstructures...) and pedestrian, in order to enhance the visibility of the client and ensure the highest return on their business.
In the future, what can we expect from the outdoor advertising sector? Will there be new platforms, or other types of billboards, that keep clients loyal?
I really like something our founder once said: «My entire career is based on a constant search for perfection, a strong focus on design and an eternal obsession to make our equipment/structures useful to society.» This explains that we, JCDecaux employees, have a moral obligation not to keep a dream alive and to constantly innovate the outdoor advertising sector. JCDecaux will not stop innovating, continually offering more services and improving the environment. The future of advertising starts today. Growing urbanisation, increased digitalisation and technological innovations in the sector are changing consumers’ outdoor experiences, whether in public service or advertising communication. Adapting to new contexts, namely to that of the digital reality, has become an inevitability and, more than anything, a challenge.
The worldwide and national success of JCDecaux has always been based on its innovative spirit and its ambitious Innovation and Development policy. The efficiency of this strategy can be seen in all our products and services. This proximity is inspiring, it allows us to continuously adapt to technological and behavioural changes that naturally affect consumer needs.
The future of JCDecaux Angola is based on four pillars: quality, style, functionality, environment (which means an alignment with a strong and durable environmentally friendly design, with low energy consumption and the use of renewable materials).
«JCDECAUX IS VERY FOCUSED ON THE REDUCTION OF CARBON GAS EMISSIONS TO REDUCE THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT»
Increasingly, concern about the environment is a key item on corporate agendas. How has JCDecaux taken this into account?
JCDecaux is very focused on reducing carbon emissions to reduce the greenhouse effect. It is a worldwide concern, yes, and within JCDecaux we have taken this goal further and launched «360 Footprint or Empreinte)», the first environmental, economic and social impact calculator for campaigns in France, which could serve as an example for all business units in the world.
The «360 Footprint», already available in France, provides fully transparent information to clients on the impact of JCDecaux campaigns. At the client’s request, JCDecaux will provide a comprehensive assessment, including a macroeconomic summary of the campaign’s impact (or the campaign plan), based on four main indicators: carbon impact, measured in CO2 emissions; water impact, measured in cubic meters (m3); social impact, measured in full-time equivalents, supported in the French or local economy; economic impact, measured in Euros or local currency, generated in the French or local national economy.JCDecaux will also recommend additional ways to reduce the advertiser’s environmental impact for increased awareness and responsibility. This will ensure a real assessment of the environmental, economic and social impact of campaigns.Since its creation, the group has continuously innovated to reduce its environmental impact, with eco-designed street furniture, and to have 100% renewable energy. Its goal is to achieve carbon neutral status in its activities by the end of 2021 in France, and 100% clean and renewable electricity worldwide by 2022.
In this issue we’re talking about industry, in the most diverse sectors, so we could not fail to mention JCDecaux, a company in the advertising sector that is a huge name in Africa and the world. How is this sector kept alive?
JCDecaux, in the advertising industry, is the world’s leading outdoor advertising company. The company was created in 1964 in France to provide services with the right to sell advertising space, and created the concept of Street Furniture. With a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 1 million advertising panels in 3891 cities, the global network has the ability to reach huge audiences, offering solutions for advertising campaigns that are increasingly intelligent, dynamic, segmented and focused on results, reaching 410 million people worldwide.
In Africa, JCDecaux has a presence in 24 countries. Angola is the group’s third largest country on the continent, and is among the largest billboard companies, with structures all over the country. The advertising communications sector and business in Angola was worth around US$950 million between 2012 and 2013, as reflected in the results of an study by the APM – Angolan Association of Advertising and Marketing Companies. Since 2014, the sector has suffered successive falls in its revenues, with the start of the economic, financial and foreign exchange crisis, due to the fall in the price of oil, and the case has worsened dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, causing a drop of up to 75% in revenues. JCDecaux Angola, unable to escape this market trend, also had reductions in revenue, but, being a consolidated structure in the country, it has remained in the industry through solid partnerships. There are good prospects for growth, but everything depends on the macroeconomic situation of the country and the pandemic situation in the world, now with the new Omicron variant.
What has been the company’s growth in the countries where it is present and, of course, in Angola?
JCDecaux, being a multinational, present in over 80 countries, has marked the advertising world by bringing innovative solutions, with cutting-edge digital technology and a vast network of advertising services, from airports, bicycles, shopping centres, street furniture, bus stops and toilet cabins. Having structured growth over the years at around 4%, JCDecaux is listed on Euronext, the stock exchange in Paris, France.
According to the IPG Mediabrands report, OOH (Out Of Home - outdoor media) is the most powerful media in the industry, as consumers cannot block or ignore content, as is the case with digital media. By 2019, before the pandemic, Asia-Pacific saw $13 billion growth in OOH sales. That made the region the world’s largest outdoor media market ahead of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at just $9 billion, and the United States, at $8 billion. In Japan alone, about $4.6 billion was spent in the year 2019, while spending in China reached $4 billion. In the post-pandemic era, the paradigm has changed, with digital platforms seeing greater growth.
In Angola, the trend has not changed. There was a reduction in the sector in 2020, but with the gradual opening of the economy, OOH has regained a strategic positioning for Angolan major distribution brands. JCDecaux is positioned to stay in the Angolan market and embrace new consumer trends.
«IN AFRICA, JCDECAUX IS PRESENT IN 24 COUNTRIES, WITH ANGOLA BEING THE GROUP’S THIRD LARGEST COUNTRY»
What is JCDecaux’s strategy and importance in the Angolan economy?
Marketing and advertising have come to have a great influence on what we consume and how much we consume in Angola. In OOH advertising, the goal is to reach the largest number of confirmed consumers or convert people into potential consumers. As an OOH company, JCDecaux is a key company, of utmost relevance to the country’s economy and sustainable development. The Angolan economy needs strong international companies that can invest and contribute to increased tax revenues and job creation.
The history of JCDecaux begins in 1964, with Jean-Claude Decaux. Today, are the guidelines proposed by the founder still taken into account or does each country/company have its own business vision and strategy?
In 1953, in the French town of Beauvais, north of Paris, Jean-Claude Decaux, who was only 16 at the time, firmly believed in the power that advertising had on the sales of a product. One day, left running his parents’ shop while they went on holiday, he decided to put up posters in the street and promote the family business. The effect that the outdoor advertising had was immediately recognised in Beauvais and he soon received requests from other shopkeepers to do the same for them. Ideas for a new business thus began to fizz in Jean-Claude Decaux’s head: that of product promotion, using street furniture.
The consolidation came later, in 1964. France was making great strides towards the urbanisation of its territory. People were moving from the countryside to the city, looking for better conditions. Jean-Claude Decaux began to pay particular attention to the movements of the new inhabitants, especially when it came to travelling by bus. He noticed that many people had to wait for their transport in the rain. He developed a solution that would benefit everyone: he installed free bus shelters at bus stops, asking in return for exclusive advertising rights in these spaces. With this move, Jean-Claude managed to please the Greeks and the Trojans: the municipalities guaranteed shelters at no cost, commuters were protected from bad weather, and brands were able to advertise their products in prime spaces.
Today, the founder’s guidelines are still taken into account in the cities in which JCDecaux operates. After his death in 2016, his sons, Jean-François, Jean-Charles and Jean Sebastien, took on their father’s mantle and went even further in expanding new business worldwide. Each country is an independent business unit with regional reporting but local decisions. The group’s philosophy is to give a degree of entrepreneurial autonomy to the countries, always operating on the basis of local laws, within international ethics and compliance.
«MARKETING AND ADVERTISING HAVE COME TO EXERT GREAT INFLUENCE ON WHAT WE CONSUME AND HOW MUCH WE CONSUME, IN ANGOLA»
We are talking about a company with a remarkable reputation. What kind of services do you offer your clients?
JCDecaux Angola provides urban furniture services to cities and, in exchange, operates these same furnishings as advertising spaces. Our mission is to improve the quality of life in urban areas, while providing space for advertisers to promote their business. Our structures are spread throughout the busiest areas of all Angolan cities, from Cabinda to Cunene, but mainly in Luanda. We have all kinds of advertising supports, from urban furniture (shelters, MUPIs...) to transport, billboards (citilites, superstructures...) and pedestrian, in order to enhance the visibility of the client and ensure the highest return on their business.
In the future, what can we expect from the outdoor advertising sector? Will there be new platforms, or other types of billboards, that keep clients loyal?
I really like something our founder once said: «My entire career is based on a constant search for perfection, a strong focus on design and an eternal obsession to make our equipment/structures useful to society.» This explains that we, JCDecaux employees, have a moral obligation not to keep a dream alive and to constantly innovate the outdoor advertising sector. JCDecaux will not stop innovating, continually offering more services and improving the environment. The future of advertising starts today. Growing urbanisation, increased digitalisation and technological innovations in the sector are changing consumers’ outdoor experiences, whether in public service or advertising communication. Adapting to new contexts, namely to that of the digital reality, has become an inevitability and, more than anything, a challenge.
The worldwide and national success of JCDecaux has always been based on its innovative spirit and its ambitious Innovation and Development policy. The efficiency of this strategy can be seen in all our products and services. This proximity is inspiring, it allows us to continuously adapt to technological and behavioural changes that naturally affect consumer needs.
The future of JCDecaux Angola is based on four pillars: quality, style, functionality, environment (which means an alignment with a strong and durable environmentally friendly design, with low energy consumption and the use of renewable materials).
«JCDECAUX IS VERY FOCUSED ON THE REDUCTION OF CARBON GAS EMISSIONS TO REDUCE THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT»
Increasingly, concern about the environment is a key item on corporate agendas. How has JCDecaux taken this into account?
JCDecaux is very focused on reducing carbon emissions to reduce the greenhouse effect. It is a worldwide concern, yes, and within JCDecaux we have taken this goal further and launched «360 Footprint or Empreinte)», the first environmental, economic and social impact calculator for campaigns in France, which could serve as an example for all business units in the world.
The «360 Footprint», already available in France, provides fully transparent information to clients on the impact of JCDecaux campaigns. At the client’s request, JCDecaux will provide a comprehensive assessment, including a macroeconomic summary of the campaign’s impact (or the campaign plan), based on four main indicators: carbon impact, measured in CO2 emissions; water impact, measured in cubic meters (m3); social impact, measured in full-time equivalents, supported in the French or local economy; economic impact, measured in Euros or local currency, generated in the French or local national economy.JCDecaux will also recommend additional ways to reduce the advertiser’s environmental impact for increased awareness and responsibility. This will ensure a real assessment of the environmental, economic and social impact of campaigns.Since its creation, the group has continuously innovated to reduce its environmental impact, with eco-designed street furniture, and to have 100% renewable energy. Its goal is to achieve carbon neutral status in its activities by the end of 2021 in France, and 100% clean and renewable electricity worldwide by 2022.
