An advertiser can buy a package of 500 bus shelters and the package can be skewed towards shelters close to Marks & Spencer or Tesco for different advertising campaigns. While his role in spending $2.5bn to build outdoor businesses in Europe, Asia and China is interesting, it is his range of media roles and the knowledge they bring that is even more significant."I am very privileged and lucky in that I am exposed to the newspaper sector, the magazine sector, the advertising sector, the radio sector and you learn a lot from just listening from what is going on in world economics," says Parry, who wanted to be a petroleum geologist because that was where the big money was at the time. It only took one trip to a North Sea oil field to disabuse him of that notion. At his day job - ClearChannel - Parry is an enthusiast for outdoor, the sector where much of the company's growth and profits are currently coming from The reasons are very clear. As the television audience fragments it is becoming more costly for advertisers to reach the mass audience. "The beauty of outdoor was it was largely ignored which allowed us (ClearChannel) to build up this very strong worldwide business."Last year the US company had revenues of more than $9bn of which commercial radio accounted for $3.7bn, outdoor $2.4bn and live entertainment $2.7bn.
02/12 - 08/11 Buy Lynyrd Skynyrd Tickets performing in Cedar Park Center, Centurytel Center. Lynyrd Skynyrd is performing in Cedar Park, Bossier City and Charleston. Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets
09/11 - 11/11 Bag Andre Rieu Tickets playing in Fox Theatre, HSBC Arena. Andre Rieu is playing in Detroit, Buffalo and Uniondale. Andre Rieu tickets
05/11 Shop for Rammstein Tickets performing in Tacoma Dome, The Forum. Rammstein is performing in Tacoma, Inglewood and Las Vegas. Rammstein tickets
Once an advertiser might have bought a handful of poster sites. The outdoor industry argues it is more cost-effective in reaching the masses."It's a bit more of a blunt instrument than magazines or newspapers, but for most campaigns there is no harm in being a relatively blunt instrument because they want to get across a broadcast message," explains Parry.The international world of outdoor is now dominated by three companies led by ClearChannel and followed by the French group JCDecaux and the American multimedia player Viacom. The problem with television as a business is that there is just too much of it and it's bloody difficult to make money," says Parr. Parry is responsible for all the ClearChannel businesses outside the US. Then ClearChannel's great rival JCDecaux, was the innovator with back-lit screens and indeed a profusion of street toilets in exchange for municipal advertising space.Now, apart from the latest scrolling screens, in order to win municipal advertising space ClearChannel provides for "free" everything from flower pots, trees, sculpture to street internet systems - and, yes, toilets."As a business person I have always liked those niches of the media that don't suffer from glamour ratings and oversupply. If I am brutally honest I have never been able to work up much enthusiasm for the public toilet but I recognise that's part of our business as well. It's not the one I dream about at night," he adds quickly.Fifteen years ago the outdoor - or poster - business was just about that, posters Paper stuck on plywood.
His reach into British life, not just media, is breathtaking. "If you go and have a pee in Westminster it's in one of our toilets," he notes with pride. On Tuesday he held his summer party which provided a platform for the likes of Kelvin MacKenzie and David Montgomery to hold forth. "I have to say I never thought I'd find myself in the toilet business. ClearChannel, which runs live music events and owns 22 theatres including the Lyceum and the Dominion, is a co-sponsor of Bob Geldof's epic event."Last week was busy for me," admits Parry, chairman of ClearChannel International, with more than a touch of British understatement.
