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Free advertising planned for Auckland Festival AK07 could be at risk because of the city council's proposed bylaw banning billboards from the centre of town.
Outdoor Advertising Association of New Zealand spokesman Tim Simpkins said four billboard companies - APN Outdoor, Media One, Advantage Media and Eyesight - had committed "tens of thousands of dollars" in free media to promote the event.
AK07, a biennial arts festival, takes place in March next year.
Simpkins, general manager of APN Outdoor, said he could not speak for the companies but "I ask myself why would I support the council that was trying to put the billboard industry out of business?"
APN Outdoor New Zealand is owned by the company that publishes the Herald.
The Auckland City Council un-veiled plans last week for tighter restrictions on the use of billboards and signs. Billboard operators, advertising agencies and the Advertising Association of New Zealand are all lobbying against the move, which they say will cost 150 jobs - far more than the council's estimate of 90.
The industry is sceptical that councillors will consider a compromise on the plan, which includes a full-scale ban in the Queen St valley and restrictions in the rest of the CBD and city fringe shopping centres.
The Outdoor Advertising Association says advertisers need to reach the heart of the country's biggest commercial centre.
Simpkins said that when councillors discussed the draft bylaw last week, they seemed to understand his explanation of how the change would have an effect beyond Auckland. He had also told them why the council was wrong to believe billboard spending would migrate to other media.
Another billboard company that asked not to be named is looking at a legal challenge, saying it had spent thousands of dollars developing sites based on recent council approvals.
Auckland City Council has had a long battle with billboard companies and has tried to regulate the industry in the past. It says it wants to control billboards and other signs to make Auckland more attractive and an international city.
