Leading out-of-home specialists Talon and Buntin Out-of-Home Media have announced a strategic partnership aimed at transforming the out-of-home (OOH) landscape. The partnership creates a new entity named Talon-Buntin led by Talon America CEO Jim Wilson. In addition to serving an existing and expanding set of prestigious US client brands, the entity will also support OOH media needs for The Buntin Group, a top Nashville-based brand communications firm.

Talon-Buntin will provide clients with world-class service, innovative technology capabilities, and high touch collaboration to deliver measurable and optimised value, as well as the unmissable outcomes that only OOH can offer.

“Talon-Buntin will operate strategically to unlock the value of OOH. We are committed to building long term relationships with brand marketers and agencies, who can now tap an expanded set of talent, tools and technology to successfully build their businesses,” said Talon America CEO Jim Wilson. “OOH is more powerful than ever with the advent of richer data and technology capabilities for targeting and measurement across the customer journey. As more brands prioritise local relevance, OOH’s advantage is its power of proximity for executing campaigns that drive measurable impact.”

Talon-Buntin unifies two sets of technology consisting of Talon’s Plato and Ada audience targeting and media trading platforms with the benefit of Buntin’s GeoTrak media management platform. Talon America recently announced a partnership in North America with Hivestack to strengthen its programmatic capabilities.

With OOH activity supporting brand and agency clients in 75 markets globally, plus Talon Outdoor’s dominant market share position in the U.K., the partnership builds on Talon America’s growing success as a disruptive force with significant scale and the agility of a fully independent player. The entity is expected to accelerate Talon America’s revenue growth and elevate Talon’s position as a global market leader.

Talon America CEO Jim Wilson will lead the partnership.

For Buntin, the partnership adds scale while maintaining full client continuity. Under the new partnership, all of Talon America’s operations will be aligned under Talon-Buntin and based in Nashville. Jon Carmack, Buntin Out-of-Home Media’s executive vice president/chief operating officer, has been appointed to oversee consolidation operations, reporting to Talon America’s CEO Jim Wilson. The entire Buntin staff will remain unchanged, ensuring uninterrupted service for clients. The addition of Nashville to Talon America’s New York City, Chicago, and Southern California hubs opens immediate access to client business across the US. It also brings with it a direct flight to Talon Outdoor’s headquarters in London and the opportunity for expanded business with global brands.

Talon also brings prestigious talent to the new entity through leaders who are highly regarded in the media industry. Talon Outdoor CEO Barry Cupples is the former global board member of Omnicom Media Group where he served for 25 years. He had run various regions as CEO and his last role was global CEO of all investment. Before founding Talon in 2013, Eric Newnham started and grew Kinetic to over USD $1bn (£721.5m) in OOH billings prior to its WPP integration. In making the announcement, Newnham said, “When we made the determination to substantially grow our presence in the US, Buntin Out-of-Home Media simply stood apart. Their national client roster, GeoTrak system, and longstanding relationships across the industry led us to seek out this partnership. We feel a strong kinship and fully believe there are no limits to what this team can achieve.”

For Jeffrey Buntin, Sr. and Jeffrey Buntin, Jr. both of whom will join Talon America’s advisory board, the partnership equips their team with unmatched ways to drive results for clients. Buntin Group CEO Jeffrey Buntin, Jr. commented, “This partnership gives clients a new OOH offering they cannot find anywhere else. There’s a lot we can help clients do and a lot we will do to fuel innovation across the OOH medium. We look forward to making big things happen together.”