QMS’ City of Sydney network draws big crowds with big events

Digital outdoor media leader QMS has today revealed that visitors to the City of Sydney surged during February, driven by major events including the Sydney Lunar New Year Festival and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.

QMS data shows audience numbers were up 15% in February compared to January, as people flocked to the 26 square kilometres and 33 suburbs that comprise the City of Sydney.

February also saw a strong 9% increase in audiences compared to the total 2024 City of Sydney network average audiences.

The Sydney Lunar Festival, which ran from 29 January to 16 February, attracted big crowds in key precincts within the Sydney CBD and Chinatown, with QMS’ City of Sydney street furniture network delivering a 13% jump in audience numbers compared to the previous week.

The Mardi Gras Festival, which ran from 14 February to 2 March, had a similar impact on City of Sydney audience numbers with a 14% increase in audience achieved, and an 8% and 11% increase respectively in weekend and weekday audiences during the festival.

The jewel of the Mardi Gras Festival – the Mardi Gras Parade – saw audiences in the Oxford Street precinct in Taylor Square up 25%, with evening audiences surging 54% and interstate visitors up 28%.

QMS worked with some of Australia’s leading brands to celebrate the Sydney Lunar New Year Festival, including Crown Sydney, Johnnie Walker and Range Rover. For the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival, QMS showcased campaigns from blue-chip brands Absolut, American Express, Uber, Specsavers, NIB, Universal Pictures and AAMI.

QMS General Manager, City of Sydney, Olivia Gotch, said: “Sydney really came alive during February, and we were thrilled our City of Sydney digital street furniture network was able to place brands at the heart of all the action where it matters most – the streets.

“The City of Sydney’s reputation for hosting major global cultural events is unrivalled and demonstrates its power in uniting large scale community audiences, across all cultures and backgrounds, where we live, work and play.

“For brands, this saw some of the strongest and most contextually relevant campaigns to date across our City of Sydney network, with our advertising partners taking full advantage of the creative platform these events offer and the incremental audience opportunity,” she said.

Complementing the City of Sydney digital street furniture network, QMS has secured several digital large format tender wins in Sydney including Transport for NSW, the Australian Turf Club’s Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, Hills Shire Council, and exclusivity on the M2 Motorway. The wins have increased QMS’ digital large format network in NSW by more than 40%.

Source: DSpark Mobility Data, Contacts, P20+, CoS Assets

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