The death of cheap reach: QMS banks on quality attention for sold-out Winter Games

Australia’s obsession with summer sport will soon switch to the cooler kind, with the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games opening in February.

For digital out-of-home group QMS Media, the games represent more than just a seasonal shift; they are a validated proof of concept for the "attention economy."

QMS confirmed in December that its Winter Games Network had officially sold out, with nine major advertisers, led by returning partner Allianz, securing their positions. This sell-out follows a record-breaking Paris 2024 performance where QMS reached 11.5 million Australians.

Speaking with Marketing-Interactive, QMS chief strategy officer Christian Zavecz said the rapid advertiser take-up reflects a shift in how Australian CMOs view the outdoor medium – moving away from "cheap reach" toward high-quality, contextually relevant attention.

The 'performance drug' detox

This shift was recently quantified in landmark QMS research launched at SXSW Sydney. The study, which surveyed 25 major Australian marketing leaders, found a stark contrast between local priorities and those in the UK. While 62% of UK marketers still prioritise reach as their primary metric, that number drops to just 35% in Australia.

Instead, Australian marketers are prioritising effectiveness over efficiency. During the research launch, Skingraphica CEO Mat Baxter noted that brands "addicted to the performance drug" are now swinging aggressively back toward long-term brand building.

Zavecz argues that digital out-of-home is the bridge between these two worlds. “Attention is a metric that is seen not only as being critical to effectiveness, but it’s now seen as being almost universal cross-media,” he said.

He said DOOH has evolved from a "glance medium" to a full-funnel workhorse. And while its strength remains top-of-funnel brand building, the integration of programmatic buying and dynamic creative allows it to drive the sustainable growth that CMOs are chasing.

Adjacency and 'borrowed equity'

The Milano Cortina games present a unique logistical advantage for the Australian market. The European time zone ensures that peak competition occurs during the Australian morning and evening commute – a prime time for outdoor media.

To capitalise on this, QMS will deploy a dedicated support centre to ensure results reach screens within 15 minutes of the podium presentation. This immediacy creates what Zavecz calls "borrowed equity."

“It’s not just about the association with the event. It’s about the increased attention and interest amongst consumers on our panels during that time,” he said. “It’s not even just being on the ones with content; it’s being in and around them, and being part of that borrowed equity.”

This strategy has successfully attracted non-official partners into the Games Network, allowing brands to sit adjacent to live breaking news without the price tag of an official AOC sponsorship.

The 15-minute window

The ability to marry a brand’s message with a specific sporting moment – such as a gold medal win – is the killer app for DOOH in 2026.

“Our aim is to get from result to screen within 15 minutes,” Zavecz said. “That immediacy changed the medium. It appeals to brands because they want to be part of that moment. If you look at what Woolworths did [in Paris], they were capitalising on the moment with contextually relevant messaging. People notice that.”

QMS and The Sydney Morning Herald explored this idea via a content partnership with GIO to amplify the brand’s presence during the British & Irish Lions rugby tour in Australia.

As the industry moves into 2026, the launch of Move 2.0 – the industry’s updated measurement system – is expected to provide more granular data on regional and seasonal audiences.

For QMS, the expansion of its Sydney footprint through the City of Sydney and Transport for NSW tenders has provided the scale necessary to compete for larger national shares of the digital pie. Zavecz describes the current market as an "arms race" for attention, where data-driven customer rhythms are replacing traditional business cycles.

“Media is not easy; it is evolving as we speak,” Zavecz said. “The role of broadcast media channels like ourselves, television, and radio is still integral for being able to deliver big results. We’re heading into a pretty big year. The arms race is on.”