APPLICATIONS / NEWS 16 email: editor@signlink.co.uk Issue 262 - December 2025 | January 2026 Out-of-home (OOH) advertising site, The Manchester Screen, has been announced as the largest combined banner and digital billboard in the UK, after coming under fresh ownership. The 306sq m digital screen, which is already claimed as the second-largest digital outdoor billboard in Europe, can now be paired with an 834sq m static banner. According to new owner, Katie Smith, this creates the UK’s largest combined banner and digital display. Previously owned by Elonex Outdoor Media, The Manchester Screen appears to now operate as its own legal entity, with Smith as its owner and Klaudia Kania listed on LinkedIn as creative director. Smith previously worked as head of agency and specialist sales for Elonex, with Kania also working there as head of creative. Speaking of The Manchester Screen, Smith says: “With over 1140sq m of continuous advertising space, it enables brands to dominate one of the North’s busiest routes through both static and dynamic formats. By extending beyond the digital display, the whole element allows campaigns to live seamlessly across physical and digital space – offering an opportunity that’s unmatched anywhere else in the UK.” The Manchester Screen wraps around the Victoria Warehouse in Salford Quays, reportedly capturing more than 21.6 million annual impressions from passing traffic. The site has hosted campaigns for brands including JD Sports, O2, PaddyPower, and Calvin Klein. Recently JD Sports launched the first campaign on the new ‘supersized’ site, promoting the annual retail conference of the sports-fashion retailer held at Victoria Warehouse. The campaign features a giant replica of JD Sports' signature yellow bag suspended from the roof, aiming to create a striking visual impact above the venue. Speaking of the JD Sports campaign, Smith says: “It’s amazing to see the first screen and billboard promotion come to life with JD’s takeover. Not only does it create huge impact for the 250 conference attendees, but it also grabs the attention of everyone passing through this key gateway between Manchester City Centre and Media City, Salford.” Manchester Screen becomes UK’s largest combined print and digital billboard The new combined vinyl and digital billboard measures at roughly 1140sq m ‘Giant’ Manchester wayfinding totems transformed with new installation By Jonathan Pert A standout feature of Manchester’s Exchange Quay business and office park has been its large-scale wayfinding totems, with the ‘giant’ arrows installed as part of a refresh project completed in 2021. Once a uniform, monochromatic orange, taken from the business park’s feature brand colours, the striking totems have now been transformed as part of an environmental branding scheme by architectural design agency, Jasper Sanders + Partners. The transformative signage and graphics project was installed by Zenith Signs, a Tadcaster-based sign-maker which offers a full service including external and internal signage, wayfinding, window manifestations, and wall graphics. According to Jasper Sanders + Partners, the new totems aim to “form a vibrant, contemporary and ever-changing experience of colour, angles, and light, mirroring the campus’s fluid interchange of people, work, and ideas.” Each steel totem features a spectrum of interconnected colours, which were selected following detailed colour studies, with different hues and tones on every face. The varied colours of the totems aim to transform them from functional wayfinding signage into attractive sculptural forms within the landscape. Lead designer on the project, Nathalie Kenning, reportedly approached her colour study in the form of a branding exercise, in order to create an identity for each totem that related to nearby tenants and their branding. The colour palettes, which were designed to work with the existing architecture, were also inspired by sculptures and the surrounding landscaping. Kenning explains: “Each totem is context-specific and relates directly to the building it announces, reflecting its internal character while also maintaining a collective identity with the other totems across the campus. Like the individuals who work within Exchange Quay, each one is distinct yet connected, reinforcing the idea of collaboration within a greater whole.” Beyond the wayfinding remit, the redesign of the external architecture also extended to the external podium level, where a series of four former smoking shelters have been repurposed as outdoor meeting and social spaces. By Jonathan Pert Each totem features a spectrum of colours, with different hues and tones on every face
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