Technology developments will be key for OOH in 2015 - Global Advertisers

On the back of a great 2014, the OOH sector is hoping to build on its success in the coming year too. With political stability in the centre and certain sectors like automobile and telecom once again ready to spend, agencies are expecting ad spends to increase even further this year.

However, there are still some hiccups with traditional spenders like retail and real estate.

Sanjeev Gupta, MD of Global Advertisers, says there is enough existing, ready to sell real estate stock to last two years. This coupled with liquidity crunch and high lending rates have made the going tough for the real estate sector, he claims.

“These factors are at work across all important sectors like retail, manufacturing, jewellery and apparel, electronics and banking. One expects these conditions to prevail for the better part of next year. The most important response from the advertising industry to these challenges has been a willingness to craft campaigns that are shorter, cost-friendly and also make concessions in bill settlement schedules for clients,” he opined.

Others like Blue Ocean Media MD Rajiv Saxena feels that real estate and government spends will be better this year and contribute to an improvement in the ad spend scenario, though he agrees that things will be much clearer by the end of March.

“As I see, 2015 will continue to bring in & also accelerate the growth in the OOH industry as a whole. More importantly, the thing that encourages me is that all the four major stake holders in the business, viz. clients, agencies, media owners and regulatory authorities have started to understand and appreciate the efficacy of the medium as also that standard processes and protocols are required and concrete steps are being taken to bring in core changes in the way this business is structured and run,” said Kaushik Chakravorty, Co-founder and Director of Street Talk.

Both Gupta and Hiyav Bajaj, MD of TDI, expect the OOH sector to grow in the range of 10-15 per cent in 2015. Saxena also said that ad spends on OOH are expected to be better than 2014.

Election year brings smile on outdoor agency- Sanjeev Gupta

Mumbai: March 18, 2014: 

2014 being the election year, hope from the new government to bring back the economic growth of India is raising amongst advertisers and thus outdoor advertising industry is looking forward to rise in ad spends from all the major sectors.The government has estimated a 4.9 per cent rise in economic growth this financial year, against a decade-low of 4.5 per cent last year. The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), auto, retail and electronics sectors, ad spends in telecom will also rise this year, as operators aggressively push 3G and 4G services. Last year, FMCG accounted for 29 per cent of the overall advertising expenditure, followed by retail (12 per cent) and auto (eight per cent).

Sanjeev Gupta, MD , Global Advertisers

The advertising industry is growing across the board in outdoor, digital, creative and media. It’s important to note here that our approach should be focused on innovation, diverse range of outdoor inventory and strategic media planning. Outdoor has come up as an effective mass communication tool for targeting people on the go. Political outdoor campaigns in 2014 has already raised ad spend on this medium which are mainly executed on large display, bus media, railway media, and thus leaving no stone unturned to gain the attention of voters. In coming months banking and financial sector is also expected to advertise via outdoor platforms. At Global Advertisers, we have already expanded our inventories at prominent locations of Mumbai and tier II and tier cities.

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Global Advertisers wishes everyone a very Happy New Year

 

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Lok Sabha polls, TV ad cap issue to keep OOH industry buoyant in 2014

The OOH industry saw steady growth in 2013 amid economic slowdown and budget uncertainties, which caused brands to tighten their purse strings. Buoyed by the State Assembly elections and the ad cap issue on TV, the OOH industry ended the year on a relatively positive note. With the Lok Sabha elections slated for 2014, the OOH industry can look forward to a steady stream of business in the year ahead as well.

exchange4media lists some of the key trends observed in the OOH industry in 2013…

State elections provide a late boost
The State Assembly elections in 2013 proved how vital OOH is for political parties, and with the general elections coming up in 2014, it is easy to see why there is a sense of optimism in the air. With most cities banning posters, outdoor advertising was a clear winner as parties looked to the medium to make their presence felt. One key change was the strategic approach to outdoor advertising that was undertaken by political parties. From performance tracking of advertisements to a more targeted approach towards hoarding placements, this shift in the mindset will definitely be more noticeable in 2014 and will keep agencies on their toes.

Ad cap pushes brands to try other options
The continuing ad cap issue in TV has also caused brands to look at other mediums, and radio and OOH seem to have been the main beneficiaries of this. “2013 was a special year for the outdoor industry as it found its place in mainline promotion plans of brands, with hoardings still the most popular format,” said Sanjeev Gupta, MD, Global Advertisers. According to him, with OOH being cost-effective and providing a wide range of inventory to advertisers, it gained maximum mileage from this situation.

Advertisers change strategy
“Brands have shifted focus to 360 integration; through cross promotions, experiential and engagement activities. There is an evident trend that has emerged towards investment in media with focus on RoI, especially in smaller cities,” said Nabendu Bhattacharyya, Founder & MD, Milestone Brandcom. Sunder Hemrajani, MD, Times OOH also agrees that both clients and brands are looking for more value in their investments in terms of innovation. They don’t want to just spread awareness, but want value, and with more and more brands preferring engagement rather than just reach, digital hoardings provide a great opportunity for OOH players to come out with new, innovative campaigns. It could also pave the way for integration of the outdoor with the mobile platform. Though 2013 saw a few agencies experiment with digital hoardings, it has still to become widespread, especially since municipal corporations have restrictions on the size and placement of hoardings for reasons of traffic and safety.

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