Ocean Outdoor goes mad for Manchester as it lands Arndale Centre DOOH contract win

Ocean Outdoor has bagged a sales and marketing contract to manage all existing out of home (OOH) advertising formats on behalf of Manchester Arndale shopping centre.

The long-term deal covers 37 internal D6 sized screens which will form part of The Loop, Ocean’s small format network, and Arndale Media Wall, a new large format full motion digital out of home (DOOH) screen measuring 108 square metres.  

Under the terms of the agreement, Ocean Labs will also manage experiential brand activations and murals, along with am opportunity for large scale projections on the Arndale skyscraper.

The centre attracts an annual footfall of more than 46 million (source: Global Mutual 2024), ranking it amongst the highest for any retail destination nationally. Covering 1.4 million square feet, a mix of more than 200 retailers, dining and leisure brands includes Apple, Hugo Boss, LEGO and Ralph Lauren.

David Scholes, Asset Manager, retail at Global Mutual, says: “Bringing our out of home portfolio together under an exclusive partnership with Ocean simplifies and streamlines the sales and marketing process and allows us to invest in new formats to enhance the visitor experience.”  

Ocean Outdoor UK CEO Nick Shaw says: “The welcome addition of Manchester Arndale’s interior assets is another milestone in our successful partnership. The iconic centre further consolidates Ocean’s position in Manchester, providing a comprehensive and best in class Out of Home offer in one of the world’s greatest cities.” 

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

DOOH technology will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.