• by Fern Siegel , July 11, 2018

To enlarge its media reach, out-of-home company Branded Cities has purchased a major portion of the Chicago assets of Red Star Outdoor.

The all-cash deal adds 21 billboards to Branded Cities’ North American holdings. The buy marks the company’s debut in the Chicago market.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Current advertisers are national in scope.

“The inventory is focused on the downtown area, with neighborhood coverage including Streeterville, River North, Gold Coast, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Lincoln Park and Irving Park,” says Michael Galkin, director of marketing-research, Branded Cities.

He added that Branded Cities purchased “a substantial portion of assets, but not all of Red Star’s billboards.”

Red Star Outdoor focuses on OOH in the Chicago market and has an eye for “the best locations for advertisers,” states Dean Manone, Red Star Outdoor partner. He added that Branded Cities can now offer scale at a national level.

Owned by EL Media and Shamrock Capital, Branded Cities has a network of digital and static signage across North America. El Media represents more than 3,700 OOH assets.

Urban coverage includes New York, Los Angles, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, among other high-impact destinations in the U.S. and Canada.