Titan wins new 5.5m contractfor Virgin Trains

Titan Outdoor has won a £5.5m four-year contract with Virgin Trains after a competitive pitch. It is understood that rival CBS Outdoor also pitched for the account.

Titan held the previous contract for the poster and digital sites for five years. It was due to expire at the end of this month, but has now been extended to 2012.

Titan chief executive John Slatkin says/ “Virgin is very strategic as a company and Titan’s aim is to have assets.”

Slatkin adds that Titan hopes to benefit from a push behind Virgin High Frequency, a marketing programme that aims to increase passenger traffic on the network by 30%.

The Virgin Train network runs through London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. Titan also holds the contracts for Network Rail, Stagecoach, SouthWest Trains, Southeast Trains and Onerail.

Titan bought Maiden Outdoor Group in May 2006, taking Titan’s staff to 525 employees worldwide. Following the purchase, the company became the chief UK subsidiary of privately-owned Titan Worldwide.

Slatkin, a former management consultant, was appointed chief executive in November that year.

The outdoor company promoted marketing director Dave Etherington to worldwide marketing director in January this year (MW January 10). It then poached Steve Cox, brand director at CBS Outdoor, to replace him. Cox will take on the role from May this year.