Outdoor media company oOh!Media has bought the majority of content and publishing company Junkee Media for $11.05 million.

The 85 per cent acquisition aims to diversify oOh!Media’s offering and digital strategy to increase consumer engagement and advertiser ROI.

The remaining 15 per cent is with the three Junkee Media shareholders, however oOh!Media has the right to acquire the remaining shares.

The acquisition enables oOh!Media to provide more targeted solutions for audiences and build on its digital and data strategy, said oOh!Media CEO Brendan Cook. The strategy encompasses the company’s origins of outdoor advertising, along with integrated mobile, online and social offerings.

“Native advertising is increasing in importance each year in Australia. This reflects trends in the US, where native advertising is growing at 17 per cent per annum,” said Cook in a statement.

“We started this journey with the launch of content platform Q-view and we later added Hijacked.com.au and ShortPress.com.au to deliver advertisers a 360-degree offline and online marketing channel to reach specific audiences.

“These content platforms have generated new revenue from advertisers, in categories including telco, B2B, travel, tourism and government, who have invested in campaigns that combined out of home advertising with native content running across the social, online and mobile platforms.

“The acquisition of Junkee Media was the natural next step for oOh! as it is a clear market leader and have set the benchmark for native content engagement in a mobile and social world,” continued Cook.

“Junkee Media has superior online real estate, a track-record in connecting with the desirable Millennial audience, and is among the best in the business when it comes to developing native content that works and has proven its ability to amplify advertisers messages through social channels.

“With the rapid growth of short form social mobile video content and Junkee Media’s clear expertise in delivering this content, we are excited about the possibilities of delivering the best content across our market leading digital signage network in environments designed to engage with audiences.”

Junkee Media CEO Neil Ackland (pictured above) added: “We are very excited to become a part of oOh!, a company that clearly shares our ambition to be at the forefront of digital innovation and content. The media landscape is changing at an incredible pace, and together we are uniquely positioned to benefit from the disruption.”