Visual Vibe Calls for partnership between Municipal Corporations and Jamaica’s Digital Out-of-Home Industry

Visual Vibe, operator of Jamaica’s largest digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising network with more than 300 screens island-wide, is inviting the country’s municipal corporations to deepen their engagement with the outdoor advertising industry, as councils across the island review fees, permits and enforcement practices affecting digital screens.

The company, which is owned by Kintyre Holdings (JA) Limited, was clear that it fully supports the councils’ efforts to bring order to the sector. Visual Vibe is in complete agreement with municipal action to clamp down on illegal and unpermitted screens, and welcomes a more regulated industry. Proper regulation, the company noted, protects compliant operators, raises standards, and creates the certainty that attracts new investment.

“We want a well-regulated industry. Legitimate operators have nothing to fear from rules that are clear, fair and consistently applied — in fact, we benefit from them,” said Tyrone Wilson, Founder, Chairman, President & CEO of Kintyre Holdings, owners of Visual Vibe. “What we are asking for is balance. The digital out-of-home segment is still young in Jamaica, and it cannot be approached as though it is able to fund municipal budgets. If we get the framework right together, the industry will grow, and so will the revenues that flow from it — sustainably.”

The real economics of a digital screen

Visual Vibe noted that there is a common misconception that digital screens are installed once and simply generate income thereafter. In reality, each screen carries significant recurring overheads, including:

•    Electricity — which has increased significantly in recent periods, driven by hurricane-related disruption and global energy pressures linked to ongoing conflicts;

•    Agency fees and commissions — paid to the advertising agencies through which much of the industry’s business is booked;

•    Maintenance and repairs — screens operate outdoors in harsh conditions and require continuous servicing; a single hurricane can require the replacement of an entire screen;

•    Security and theft — operators must invest in protecting equipment against vandalism and the theft of components;

•    People and logistics — sales teams, content and network management, and transportation for routine route checks across the island;

•    Insurance, connectivity and software — the systems that keep a network running reliably, 24 hours a day.

When municipal fees and charges rise sharply on top of these overheads, operators cannot simply pass the increases on. Advertisers — quite fairly — will not pay more simply because an operator’s costs have gone up. The result is that escalating charges do not generate more revenue for anyone; they simply push compliant companies toward a position where the business is no longer viable.

A more constructive approach to enforcement

Visual Vibe is also encouraging municipal corporations to consider more measured and respectful methods of enforcing their positions. Some current approaches are unnecessarily public and can cause embarrassment for the brands whose advertisements appear on screens. Advertisers — the clients who ultimately pay the bills across the entire industry — will not remain in an environment they perceive as hostile; they will simply move their budgets to other media. Discreet, professional engagement between councils and operators achieves compliance without damaging the commercial ecosystem on which municipal revenues themselves depend.

Screens that serve the public good

The company emphasised that networks like Visual Vibe’s are not operated solely for commercial gain; they are national infrastructure with a public-service dimension:

•    Missing children alerts — through a formal partnership with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Visual Vibe broadcasts urgent Ananda Alert messages for missing children across its island-wide network, helping to bring children home safely;

•    Emergency communications — during natural disasters such as hurricanes, the network is used to carry emergency and public-safety messaging to communities in real time;

•    Support for culture and entertainment — advertising for cultural entrepreneurs, events and creatives is frequently offered at heavily discounted rates, and at no cost where the nation’s cultural icons are involved, as part of the company’s commitment to Jamaica’s creative economy.

“These screens do work that never shows up on an invoice,” Mr. Wilson said. “When a child goes missing, our network becomes part of the national response. When a storm is approaching, it becomes a public warning system. That is the industry the councils are regulating — and it is one worth protecting.”

Dialogue is already working

Wilson noted that several municipal leaders have shown a genuine willingness to understand the industry. “I recently had an excellent meeting with Mayor Andrew Swaby, who took the time to sit with us and appreciate the inner workings of this business — the costs, the risks, and the opportunities. He was clear that this insight will help him and his team make better-informed decisions when it comes to enforcement. That is exactly the kind of engagement we are inviting from every municipality across Jamaica.”

A shared policy framework for a growing industry

Visual Vibe is proposing that municipal corporations and outdoor advertising operators collaborate on a joint policy document to guide the regulation of the industry as it grows — covering permitting, standards, safety, fees and enforcement. Operating in an environment where rules are implemented ad hoc and differ from parish to parish is not good for business and will ultimately undermine the very industry Jamaica is trying to build.

The opportunity is substantial. Globally, digital out-of-home is one of the fastest-growing advertising channels: the market is estimated at more than US$22 billion in 2026 and is projected to exceed US$56 billion by 2034, growing at roughly 12 per cent per year. Around the world, DOOH networks are becoming core smart-city infrastructure — supporting public information, safety and commerce — while creating jobs in sales, engineering, content production, logistics and technology. Jamaica has every opportunity to capture its share of that growth, and the employment that comes with it, if industry and municipalities build the framework together.

Visual Vibe is demonstrating its own confidence in that future. The company is expanding its network with ten additional screens this month, and has built media partnerships spanning national television, print and radio — evidence that compliant operators will continue to invest, hire and grow wherever the regulatory environment allows them to do so.

“Every screen we add represents jobs — for technicians, sales professionals, content creators and drivers — and represents new advertising capacity for Jamaican businesses of every size,” Mr. Wilson added. “That is what is at stake when we talk about getting this framework right.”

“We have to work together to grow this industry, rather than bring it into disrepute,” Mr. Wilson concluded. “Visual Vibe stands ready to sit with every municipal corporation, share our data and our experience, and help craft rules that work — for the councils, for operators, for advertisers, and most importantly, for the Jamaican people who benefit from these screens every day.”