Clear Channel Outdoor has started the global rollout of its Connect platform, which brings together OOH and mobile.

Connect panels on outdoor advertising sites feature NFC chips and QR codes – or, in Latin markets where they are being deployed in the coming months, an SMS shortcode – all of which drive consumers to a mobile site relevant to the ad being displayed.

Connect first launched in the UK in March last year, at 10,000 sites – a number which Clear Channel is increasing to 15,000.

Since then, it has rolled out to four other European markets, as well as Singapore. By June 2014, Connect will also be deployed in 15 new markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Sweden and the US.

“We have made this investment because all our intelligence tells us this is what consumers want, to be able to engage with brands individually, immediately and effectively,” said Clear Channel CEO William Eccleshare. “We are bridging the online and offline worlds by combining our outstanding audience reach with personal engagement through mobile devices. The global rollout of Connect accelerates the metamorphosis of out-of-home advertising from being the oldest form of advertising to the most modern and creative.”