Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-110-btb-x-woo-conference

In this special episode of Behind the Billboard, we’re coming to you from the World Out of Home Organization’s 2026 Congress in London - or, as the room has it, WOO! Recorded from a makeshift studio inside the Hilton on Park Lane, this episode captures the energy, ideas and occasional chaos of a global out-of-home industry gathering in full swing.

Across a series of fast-paced conversations, Dan and Hugh welcome some of the most interesting voices in outdoor advertising, creativity, innovation and effectiveness. First up is Tim Bleakley, Chairman of the Ocean Group and board member of the World Out of Home Organization, who sets the scene for the Congress and makes a passionate case for creativity as the medium’s greatest strength.

They’re then joined by multi-award-winning creative leader Katy Hopkins, who talks about the power of simplicity, spectacle and real-world experiences, from Birds Eye fish fingers to iconic special builds. James Murphy and Matthew Straker-Taylor from New Commercial Arts discuss outdoor’s unique creative constraints, its ability to build brands with stature, and why the medium still has the power to become part of culture.

Innovation director Dino Burbidge brings the tech perspective, exploring what happens when data, location and creative ideas come together - and why the best technology in out-of-home should feel like magic, not machinery. Mel Blood of Ocean Labs and Orlando Wood of System1 dig into emotional response, deep-screen technology, brand building and how digital out-of-home can create shared meaning in the real world.

Finally, Neil Morris of Super Optimal joins the show to talk about creative effectiveness, the importance of design, and why bad outdoor ads waste real money - especially for smaller advertisers discovering the medium for the first time.

Along the way, the guests share the billboards at the end of their streets, their favourite outdoor ads of all time, and their hopes for where the industry goes next. It’s a lively, opinionated and inspiring snapshot of an industry thinking hard about creativity, technology, culture and the enduring power of being out there in the world.