Branded Cities
Founded 2006 · 92 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
Branded Cities is an out-of-home media company that operates advertising placements across urban environments, and frames its corporate social responsibility around sustainability, community impact, charitable support, and mission-aligned partnerships.
Also known as Branded Cities Network
Founders & leadership
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Branded Cities is an out-of-home (OOH) media company that owns and represents digital and static advertising signage in high-traffic, landmark locations across North America. Its inventory includes spectacular advertising displays, media towers, digital displays and creative advertising displays, sold to national and local brands. The company also offers creative and production services, a mapping tool for viewing coverage, and a proposal-request process for campaign planning.
U.S. markets include New York (Times Square, Bryant Park, Madison Square Garden, Port Authority and Lincoln Tunnel areas), Los Angeles (Sunset Strip, Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 405 corridor), Chicago (downtown wallscapes and large-format bulletins in Bucktown, Wicker Park, River North, the Magnificent Mile and the MART), Philadelphia (the East Market Digital Domination, four full-motion screens on Market Street), San Francisco (SoMa), Washington D.C. (a 14-screen digital network around Metro stations), Phoenix (Westgate Entertainment District, cited at over 22 million annual visitors), Denver (large-format spectaculars near the Colorado Convention Center, Denver Performing Arts Complex and the 16th Street Mall) and Las Vegas (Harmon Corner and the bLVd on the Las Vegas Strip). Company materials also cite Canadian markets including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, with assets at Yonge–Dundas Square in Toronto.
Campaigns run on its inventory have included brands such as Apple, eBay, Saucony, Hoka, Welch's, Glenfiddich, Johnnie Walker, Ray-Ban | Meta, UFC, Nike, Spotify, Prada, Versace, Samsung and Postmates, according to the company's case-study and weekly recap postings.
Business model
Branded Cities monetizes advertising inventory in public spaces, either through signage it owns or through exclusive long-term representation agreements with property and asset owners, such as its arrangement with GH Media Group to sell advertising on the bLVd display on the Las Vegas Strip. Ancillary creative and production services support advertiser campaigns.
Revenue is generated from selling advertising placements on digital and static OOH displays to national and local brands, including full-motion digital ad spots sold in timed rotations (for example, 10-second spots in a three-minute loop on the planned Rogers Tower display in Toronto), plus creative and production services.
Traction
Operates signage across nine listed U.S. markets plus Canadian markets; Phoenix inventory at the Westgate Entertainment District is cited as reaching over 22 million annual visitors, and Toronto's Yonge & Dundas square is cited as attracting over 146,200 daily residents and tourists with 245+ annual events. The company publishes weekly recaps of live brand campaigns across its inventory.
Latest developments
The company's blog continues to publish weekly campaign recaps, with entries dated into August 2026 covering campaigns for brands including Essentia, Sony PS5, Kalshi, Versace, Barclays, Postmates, OpenAI, Spotify, Nike and Google Gemini across New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Denver and New Jersey locations.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions itself as a leading iconic and spectacular OOH media company in North America, emphasizing assets in Times Square, the Las Vegas Strip, West Hollywood, Union Station and Toronto's Yonge–Dundas Square. Company statements describe it as the first OOH company to offer over 50,000 square feet of media space from one vendor at Yonge & Dundas, which it calls the largest OOH advertising domination in Canada, and claim its two Las Vegas signs reach 90% of that market.
Focus on spectacular, large-format and "domination" packages in a limited set of iconic locations rather than broad billboard networks; assets include Harmon Corner in Las Vegas, described as one of the largest single-advertiser displays in the world at the size of 27 standard 14x48 billboards, and the bLVd at 7,875 square feet (45' x 175'), plus synchronized digital networks such as the Yonge & Dundas spectaculars and the D.C. digital network.
Technology
Full-motion, dynamic LED digital displays and media towers alongside static signage, with capabilities for synchronized real-time campaigns across networked spectaculars and daypart targeting; the company maintains an internal technology function and a marketing research and analytics function.
Go-to-market
Direct sales through an in-house sales organization led by a chief revenue officer and VP of sales, supported by an online mapping tool for coverage, proposal requests, case studies, and a blog publishing weekly campaign recaps and industry commentary.
National and local brand advertisers and their agencies seeking large-format, high-visibility placements in major metropolitan markets and landmark destinations.
Geography
United States markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas. Company press materials also list Canadian markets including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, and reference Miami; Canadian operations are marketed via brandedcities.ca.
History
Company materials give the founding year as 1998 on the homepage and 1999 on the About Us page. Ownership is attributed to EL Media and Shamrock Capital, with EL Media described as an affiliate of The Ellman Companies, a privately owned media, real estate and investments group founded in 1972 with interests in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. Recent corporate activity includes a December 2020 exclusive long-term representation agreement with GH Media Group for the bLVd display in Las Vegas, a January 2021 long-term agreement with Rogers Sports & Media to redevelop the Rogers Tower at Yonge & Dundas in Toronto, and an April 2021 all-cash acquisition of a portion of City Outdoor's San Francisco assets.
Risks & controversies
Company sources state differing founding years (1998 on the homepage versus 1999 on the About Us page). Financial terms of its acquisitions and agreements have not been disclosed.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsAll-cash acquisition of a portion of City Outdoor's San Francisco assets, adding two signage faces in the SoMa neighborhood and marking Branded Cities' entrance into the San Francisco market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Branded Cities entered a new long-term agreement with Rogers Sports & Media for the re-development of the Rogers Tower at 33 Dundas St E., adding more than 3,000 square feet of digital signage and a planned 34ft W x 90ft H display; overhaul set to begin in Q3 2021. It is the company's fourth media tower at Yonge & Dundas.
Branded Cities and GH Media Group announced an exclusive long-term agreement for Branded Cities to sell digital advertising and integrated marketing campaigns on a full-motion LED display at Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue, marketed as the 'bLVd'.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Branded Citiesbrandedcities.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Branded Cities do?
- Out-of-home media company operating digital and static spectacular signage in landmark U.S. and Canadian locations.
- Who are Branded Cities's investors?
- Branded Cities's investors include Shamrock Capital.