Ocean Outdoor Adds Japan to DOOH Alliance Network via Hit Co. Deal
2026-11-14 · via invidis
Ocean Outdoor has signed an exclusive reciprocal sales agreement with Tokyo-based out-of-home company Hit Co., Ltd., bringing Japan into its international Alliance network. For media buyers running cross-border campaigns, the deal creates a direct sales channel linking marquee screens in London and Tokyo without needing separate local contacts in each market.
Under the agreement, Ocean becomes the exclusive UK sales contact for Hit's Japanese inventory, while Hit represents Ocean's UK portfolio in Japan. Neither company is taking an equity stake or operational control over the other's network. It is purely a sales and marketing arrangement, which is how Ocean has structured its other Alliance partnerships.
The screens involved are among the most recognisable in each country. On the Ocean side, that includes Piccadilly Lights, the BFI IMAX screen at Waterloo, and The Curve in Leicester Square, plus a wider DOOH footprint across 20 UK cities including Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Hit brings Shibuhachi Hit Vision, which the release describes as one of Japan's largest digital signage displays, positioned opposite Shibuya Station's Hachiko Square. Hit also operates Synchro 7 Shibuya Hit Vision, a synchronised seven-screen network around the station, LED displays on Tokyo's Metropolitan Expressway, and OOH sites in Ikebukuro, Harajuku and Osaka.
Why it matters for operators
This is a sales arbitrage play more than a technology or hardware story. Ocean is not deploying new screens or CMS in Japan, and Hit is not expanding into the UK physically. What changes is that a global brand running a campaign across both markets can now book iconic DOOH inventory in London and Tokyo through a single relationship on each side, rather than negotiating separately with multiple local players.
Ocean Outdoor UK CEO Nick Shaw said the partnership lets brands extend their presence by using some of the most desirable screens in digital out of home, and that it gives advertisers a way to coordinate international media and brand-awareness campaigns across the two markets.
The announcement does not say whether the agreement includes shared measurement, unified booking tools, or synchronised content capability between the two networks, details that would matter to agencies trying to run a genuinely coordinated campaign rather than two separately booked buys.
Japan is the latest addition to Ocean's Alliance network, which now spans 13 countries including the US, China, Australia, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and France. That network is distinct from Ocean's directly operated European estate, which the company says comprises more than 7,000 screens across seven countries. The distinction matters for anyone evaluating Ocean's actual operational scale versus its sales reach: Alliance deals extend Ocean's commercial footprint without adding to the screens it owns or manages directly.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from invidis for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
Ocean Outdoor has signed an exclusive reciprocal sales agreement with Japan’s Hit Co., Ltd., connecting landmark DooH locations in London and Tokyo for international advertising campaigns.
Ocean Outdoor is extending its international Alliance network into Japan through an exclusive reciprocal sales agreement with Tokyo-based out-of-home advertising company Hit Co., Ltd.
The agreement allows the two companies to market and sell each other’s premium OoH and DooH inventory to brands, advertisers and agencies in their respective markets. Ocean will serve as the exclusive UK sales contact for Hit’s Japanese portfolio, while Hit will represent Ocean’s UK inventory in Japan.
The arrangement connects some of the best-known digital advertising locations in London and Tokyo, including Landsec’s Piccadilly Lights and the displays surrounding Tokyo’s busy Shibuya Station.
Hit’s portfolio includes Shibuhachi Hit Vision, one of Japan’s largest digital signage displays, located opposite Shibuya Station’s Hachiko Square. The company also operates Synchro 7 Shibuya Hit Vision, a synchronized seven-screen network in the station district, along with LED advertising displays on Tokyo’s Metropolitan Expressway and OoH locations in Ikebukuro, Harajuku and Osaka.
In the UK, Ocean’s inventory includes Piccadilly Lights, the BFI IMAX advertising screen in Waterloo and The Curve, a large-format curved display in Leicester Square. Its wider DooH network extends across 20 UK cities, including Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.
“This partnership allows global brands to extend their presence by leveraging some of the best and most desirable screens in Digital Out of Home,” said Ocean Outdoor UK CEO Nick Shaw.
He added that the agreement gives advertisers an opportunity to coordinate international media and brand awareness campaigns across the two markets.
The partnership extends Ocean’s international Alliance network, which now spans 13 countries, including the US, China, Australia, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and France.
The Alliance arrangement is separate from Ocean’s directly operated European network, which comprises more than 7,000 screens across seven countries.