KULTURFORMAT

What KULTURFORMAT does

KULTURFORMAT GmbH is a Vienna-based outdoor advertising company, wholly owned by Gewista (Austria's largest outdoor advertising operator), that specializes exclusively in the cultural sector. The company rents a curated mix of physical advertising inventory — City Lights with mechanical switching technology (Wechseltechnik) for multi-program rotation, Telelights on A1 telephone booths, Kultursäulen reserved exclusively for cultural clients, Litfaßsäulen, U-Bahn Bahnsteigtafeln, and mini-posters on Lichtmasten and Schaltkästen — across Vienna's 1st district, the Ringstraße, the Gürtel beltway, transit stations, and through Gewista's network nationwide. Product pricing is publicly disclosed per booking period, ranging from approximately €3.30 for switch-box mini-posters to €1,493.50 for premium City Light-Wechsler units on Kärntner Ring, with special reduced "cultural rates" available for arts clients.

The company operates a B2B sales-led motion targeting performing-arts venues (Burgtheater, Volksoper, Volkstheater, Theater an der Wien, Ronacher), international festivals (Wiener Festwochen, ImPulsTanz, Seefestspiele Mörbisch, Theaterfest Niederösterreich, Kultursommer Wien), museums (Albertina, KHM, MAK, Leopold, mumok, Theatermuseum, Kaiserliche Wagenburg, Kaiserliche Schatzkammer), and tourism clients (Tiergarten Schönbrunn, Austrian Leading Sights). Sales are executed by a product-aligned field team (Team Leaders for Culture Classic and Miniposter divisions plus dedicated reps per product line) and supported by a Marketing & Events function, with public relations outsourced to Allegria Communications.

Revenue is generated through unit-priced advertising-space rentals and full-service campaign execution (consultation, media planning, production, and street-level deployment), complemented by long-running ecosystem initiatives including the KUNSTSTÜCK culture award (launched 2019, re-run 2023) and the Premium Screens art-content program in partnership with eight Austrian museums. As of January 2026, Heike Fischer serves as Managing Director, succeeding Daniela Grill; the company employs five people and operates under Austrian GmbH corporate structure at ORBI-Tower, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 13, Vienna.

Name

KULTURFORMAT

Legal name

KULTURFORMAT GmbH

Website

https://kulturformat.at

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KULTURFORMAT is a Vienna-based outdoor advertising firm, wholly owned by Gewista, that rents specialized cultural-sector OOH inventory — City Lights, Telelights, columns, and mini-posters — and runs full-service campaigns for performing-arts venues, festivals, and museums across Austria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Outdoor Advertising

NAICS

Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185), Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (541850)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Static Billboards & Posters (Roadside, Wallscapes) (BPAFALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Street Furniture Advertising (Bus Shelters, Kiosks, Benches, Phone Booths) (BPAFALAD), Transit Advertising (Bus, Rail, Subway, Taxi, Airport Transit) (BPAFALAC)

Keywords

• Outdoor advertising services
• Cultural outdoor media
• City light advertising
• Poster column advertising
• Outdoor media network

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Outdoor Advertising Space Rental: KULTURFORMAT generates revenue through renting out various outdoor advertising spaces to cultural institutions and event organizers. The company offers multiple advertising formats including City Lights, Telelights, Litfaßsäulen, Kultursäulen, Bahnsteigtafeln, Miniposter on lamp posts and switch boxes. Pricing is based on the specific advertising medium, location, and booking duration with rates varying by product type and exposure level.
2. Cultural Advertising Services: Complete service offering from initial consultation and media planning to production and street advertising execution. The company provides full-service outdoor advertising solutions tailored for the cultural sector with special cultural rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KULTURFORMAT rents outdoor advertising space specifically tailored for the cultural sector in Vienna and across Austria. The company provides a full-service outdoor advertising portfolio including City Lights (illuminated displays with switching technology), Telelights (backlit A1 telephone booth displays), Kultursäulen and Litfaßsäulen (advertising columns), Bahnsteigtafeln (subway platform boards), and mini-posters on lamp posts and switch boxes, along with end-to-end media planning, production, and execution services at special cultural rates.

Product overview

KULTURFORMAT is a cultural outdoor advertising company and 100% subsidiary of Gewista, offering a comprehensive portfolio of advertising media specifically designed for the cultural sector. The product range centers on illuminated and backlit advertising formats including City Lights (premium displays in Vienna's 1st district with switching technology), Telelights (on A1 telephone booths at premium locations), and various column formats (Kultursäulen for culture exclusively, Litfaßsäulen for general advertising). The offering also includes high-reach mini-poster formats on Lichtmasten (lamp posts) and Schaltkästen (switch boxes), platform boards in subway stations, and mix-campaign packages. The company provides complete service from consultation through media planning, production, and street advertising deployment, with special cultural rates for arts and event organizers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• City Lights 1st District (City Lights 1. Bezirk) Premium backlit advertising displays in Vienna's 1st district (Innere Stadt) featuring switching technology for multiple programming slots, positioned as design highlights for cultural advertising campaigns.
• City Light Columns Ring and Inner-City (City Light-Säulen Ring und innerstädtisch) Backlit city light advertising columns along Vienna's Ringstraße and inner-city center, offering optimal framing for cultural messages in high-traffic stylish surroundings.
• City Light-Wechsler Kärntner Ring City Light changer units on Kärntner Ring facing the Wiener Staatsoper, featuring switching technology (Wechseltechnik) for multiple campaigns, positioned as a premium highlight location for cultural advertising.
• Telelights Backlit poster displays located on A1 telephone booths at premium locations throughout Vienna, featuring illuminated advertising in exclusive settings for cultural campaigns.
• Kultursäulen (Culture Columns) Distinctive advertising columns reserved exclusively for the cultural industry, offering visual highlights and advertising space for arts and cultural organizations.
• Litfaßsäulen exklusiv (Exclusive Advertising Columns) Established advertising column format offering attractive platforms at highly frequented locations throughout Vienna for general cultural advertising.
• Bahnsteigtafeln (Platform Boards) Advertising displays in Vienna underground/subway stations offering high frequency combined with excellent contact quality and price-performance ratio for cultural advertising campaigns.
• Lichtmasten (Mini-posters on Lamp Posts) Mini-poster advertising along Vienna's Gürtel (beltway) and major city entrances/exits, offering omnipresent outdoor advertising presence for cultural events.
• Schaltkästen (Mini-posters on Switch Boxes) Cost-effective mini-poster advertising on electrical switch boxes, ideal for small cultural organizers with limited budgets.
• Kampagnen (Campaigns / Mix-Campaigns) Mixed campaign packages combining various advertising formats for comprehensive cultural marketing campaigns, available on request.
• Weitere Werbemöglichkeiten (Further Advertising Options) Extended media mix including premium boards, posters, tram advertising, and other outdoor advertising options beyond the core cultural product portfolio.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60 animated spots showcasing art from 8 Austrian cultural institutions on premium digital screens
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Austrian Leading SightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019KULTURFORMAT has been a founding partner of Austrian Leading Sights since 2019. The partnership supports the association of Austria's top cultural attractions (50+ members) in their mission to promote cultural heritage and tourism. KULTURFORMAT provides ongoing media support and promotional services for the organization's annual congress and initiatives.
• GewistacoreOthersKULTURFORMAT is a 100% subsidiary of Gewista, Austria's largest outdoor advertising company. The partnership provides access to Gewista's extensive advertising infrastructure, nationwide network capabilities, and operational resources while KULTURFORMAT maintains its focus on the cultural sector.
• AlbertinaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum partner in the Premium Screens art initiative. Artworks from the Albertina's collection were featured in animated spots displayed on KULTURFORMAT's premium digital screens during summer 2023.
• Kunsthistorisches MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum partner in the Premium Screens art initiative, featuring collections on KULTURFORMAT digital displays to promote cultural awareness.
• MAK (Museum für Angewandte Kunst)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerApplied arts museum partner in the Premium Screens initiative, showcasing design and craft collections on digital advertising screens.
• Leopold MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerModern art museum partner in the Premium Screens initiative featuring Egon Schiele and other modernist collections.
• mumokminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum of modern art partner showcasing contemporary art collections on KULTURFORMAT premium digital screens.
• TheatermuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheater museum partner in the Premium Screens initiative featuring theatrical collections on digital displays.
• Kaiserliche WagenburgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImperial carriage collection partner in the Premium Screens initiative showcasing historic carriages.
• Kaiserliche SchatzkammerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImperial treasury partner featuring imperial treasures in the digital Premium Screens art initiative.
• ImPulsTanz FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing media partnership spanning over 20 years with Vienna's premier international dance festival. KULTURFORMAT provides outdoor advertising services for the festival's annual program of performances, workshops, and events.
• Lumsden & FriendsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvertising agency partner responsible for KULTURFORMAT's creative campaigns including the 'tierisch gute Kulturflächen' animal-themed advertising campaign.
• Allegria Communications GmbHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic relations agency handling KULTURFORMAT press communications. Contact persons: Mario Reiner and Enya Fischer.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• JCDecaux: JCDecaux is the world's largest outdoor advertising company, with extensive European street-furniture and transit presence (including Austria via EPAMEDIA). It is comparable in operating model (owning OOH infrastructure and renting to advertisers) and overlapping product categories like phone-booth displays analogous to KULTURFORMAT's Telelights.
• Lamar Advertising Company: Lamar Advertising is one of the largest U.S. outdoor advertising operators, primarily focused on billboards and digital displays. Comparable as a traditional OOH inventory owner renting to advertisers, though its scale and geography differ significantly from KULTURFORMAT.
• Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings: Clear Channel Outdoor is one of the world's largest OOH companies operating billboards, street furniture, transit, and digital displays. Comparable to KULTURFORMAT at the operating-model level (owning OOH real estate and selling impressions) though with vastly broader geographic and category reach.
• Gewista: Gewista is the parent company of KULTURFORMAT and Austria's largest outdoor advertising operator. While Gewista covers all OOH categories nationwide, KULTURFORMAT operates as its dedicated cultural-vertical subsidiary, making Gewista the closest comparable for the underlying ad-space business model and infrastructure.
• Ströer SE & Co. KGaA: Ströer is a leading German/DACH outdoor and digital-out-of-home advertising company, operating billboards, street furniture, and transit media. Comparable to KULTURFORMAT as a multi-format DACH OOH operator selling space to a broad advertiser base.
• Outfront Media Inc. Outfront Media is a major U.S. OOH operator with a portfolio spanning billboards, transit, and digital displays. Operationally analogous to KULTURFORMAT as a real-estate-based OOH space seller, but at vastly greater scale and with no cultural-vertical specialization.

Others

• Kinetic Worldwide: Kinetic is a global OOH media-buying and planning agency that plans and purchases outdoor media on behalf of advertisers. Thematically adjacent to KULTURFORMAT as an OOH intermediary, though operating on the buy-side rather than the sell-side.

Direct peers

• Wall GmbH: Wall is a German street-furniture OOH specialist focused on bus shelters, telephone booths, and urban public infrastructure advertising. Directly comparable to KULTURFORMAT's Telelights (A1 phone booth displays) and other city-center illuminated formats, though in a different geography.
• EPAMEDIA GmbH: EPAMEDIA is the Austrian OOH market arm of JCDecaux, operating street furniture, billboards, transit, and digital OOH across Austria. It is KULTURFORMAT's most direct Austrian competitor, offering overlapping media formats (City Lights-style, columns, transit) but without KULTURFORMAT's cultural-sector specialization.

Regional players

• IGPDecaux: IGPDecaux is a JCDecaux joint venture operating street furniture OOH in Italy, with comparable product formats (illuminated urban display panels, transit advertising). Regionally comparable in operating model but does not compete directly in Austria.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kulturformat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KULTURFORMAT