After Congress and BJP, AAP enters 'outdoor' fray

MUMBAI: Barely days for the city to go to polls, and a party which had hitherto relied on unconventional methods such as word-of-mouth, foot soldiers and dharnas to gain popularity, has finally taken refuge in mainstream advertising, albeit out-of-home (OOH).

Indeed, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its most public face, Arvind Kejriwal, are the latest to find their way to a string of hoardings plastered across Mumbai in the lead-up to voting day on 24 April.

In the hoardings, Kejriwal is seen asking Mumbaikars for votes, alongside slogans in Hindi which read: “Jitne Sitam Karna Hai Kar Lo, Lekin Desh ko Badal kar Rahenge”, “Is baar Imaandaar” et al.

 According to Global Advertisers, which has the mandate for the main political parties, while BJP and Congress are utilizing 17 to 20 per cent and 25 to 27 per cent of the total outdoor hoardings, respectively, AAP is utilizing only 7 to 8 per cent.

In terms of monies spent, “If Congress is spending around Rs 50 crore and BJP about Rs 20 crore on outdoor, AAP, which does not have as much money as BJP and Congress, should be spending much less than Rs 3 to 5 crore. However, it is important to note here that unlike Congress and BJP that are creating a very strong presence through TV and print advertising, AAP’s advertising backbone comprises just outdoor and word-of-mouth,” informs Global Advertisers managing director Sanjeev Gupta.

 For AAP, the outdoor agency is currently focusing on Mumbai’s high-visibility regions such as Worli, Andheri, Dadar and Thane. Despite having been approached at the nth hour, the agency’s media planning and buying teams have selected some of the best sites for the party.

In this election year, Indian advertising is expected to witness an overall boost of around Rs 1,000 crore from political advertising, with outdoor advertising expected to see a 10 per cent rise within that. “We at Global expect to witness as much as a 30 per cent rise in our revenues just from political advertising,” says Gupta.

While TV and print exude national presence, outdoor is very important for parties to reach out to masses who stay in the country’s hinterland. “And since the 2014 elections are being considered to be one of the toughest elections of all time, parties are more than willing to dig deep into their pockets and spend on advertising, especially outdoor, since their vote bank lies within these tier 2, 3, 4 markets,” Gupta points out.

 

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Election tracker: Battling it, out-of-home

 
MUMBAI: This general election may be the first among many, where media has been so extensively (and blatantly) used by political parties and their prime ministerial hopefuls.

Far from fighting shy of marketing themselves, the main players – Congress and BJP – have spent nearly Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore each on publicity campaigns. An additional Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 crore will be spent on related activities such as banners, hoardings, organization of public meetings and transportation of key campaigners, among others. Not surprisingly, media agencies estimate around 2 to 2.5 per cent of overall advertisement spends this year to come from elections.

One can switch a channel, turn a page or surf away, but hoardings are hard to ignore or even miss. And this is the reason why of the whole advertising budget, parties are spending approximately 10-15 per cent of the total budget i.e. close to Rs300-400 crore on OOH, if not less, as per industry sources.

Possibly, with advertising rates on general entertainment channels (GECs) on television being prohibitive and posters having been banned in several cities of the country, outdoor remains the only viable option for election propaganda as it is cost-effective and has high reach as well. So you have hoardings of calling for a ‘Modi Sarkar’ or boating of ‘Bharat Nirman’ with NamO and RaGa staring down at you from the most non-descript locations in the country. What’s more, they have illumination for better visibility at night.

With elections just round the corner, outdoor advertising has picked up significantly, mostly fuelled by political parties, which is quite unlike the usual scenario where outdoor advertising is more prominent during the second half of the year.

Speaking of the growing appeal of OOH, Madison OOH Media Group CEO Arminio Ribeiro, says: “Given the flexibility of this medium in terms of narrow- and broad- casting and its localization and rapid awareness build-up benefits, outdoor has appealed to political parties to get their message across to the electorate through its multiple formats.”

In order to get the best quality hoarding, tapping the most crowded route through buses or railway has certainly increased the competition. Everyone is trying to avail the benefit of this golden opportunity and those who have the diverse range of inventories are the main gainers.
  Sanjeev Gupta, managing director of Global Advertisers, which has been roped in for outdoor by both Congress and BJP, says, “With changing trends, political parties have also changed their approach and have become more professional. Therefore, our media plan included a mix of outdoor inventories to expand the reach of these campaigns and we expect to see more demand for outdoor in the coming months.”

While Postercope Asia Pacific regional director, Haresh Nayak, says: “Tier II and Tier III markets have been the focus for the last year, continuing to grow this year as well, showing deep penetration in rural areas to create brand awareness.”

 Indeed, the FICCI-KPMG 2014 report finds that the OOH industry has grown by 5.5 per cent from CAGR (2007 to 2013), what with clients from real estate, telecom, media, auto, and now politics, driving it forward.

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Political Parties take OOH route to be in the media

For years, posters and hoardings have been an important tool for local politicians to connect with their voters and make their presence felt. In tune with globalization and changing times, a majority of National Parties restructuring into a corporate management. Therefore, for creating awareness about their social initiatives, political campaigns, displaying hoardings of their leaders on birthdays, festivals or to announce public meetings, they have appointed specialized media agencies.     Recently, Global Advertisers gave US President Mr. Barack Obama huge political mileage by welcoming him in India with a giant-sized billboard. at Marine Drive. The hoarding was extensively covered by the international print and online media as well as news channels. It was a one-of-its-kind iconic outdoor display that has made history in the world of outdoor media. In Mumbai and around at least 500 political hoardings fill the skyline on a regular day. Global Advertisers, Managing Director, Sanjeev Gupta believes that “Reaching to masses has never been so easy for any political leader. We are regularly approached by many political parties in the peak season of Ganesh festival, Dr B.R. Ambedkar's birthday or on a frequent basis to communicate their social agenda through our hoardings across Mumbai and India.” Changing marketing trends in social arena has also pushed the demands of political parties. Rallies, posters, banners are now passé. Fresh social networking ideas, innovative and interactive hoardings, mobile marketing are in vogue and at times PR agencies are handling the accounts of many a National Party. Out-of-Home has always been popular among political parties. For hoardings are strategically located and communicate any message 24 x 7 without any breaks – forcing attention as well as desired action. Global Advertisers has successfully designed, planned, and executed massive campaigns for national parties during several Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha elections. Political hoardings are the primary tools of communication and no wonder parties such as: Congress, BJP, NCP, MNS, Shiv Sena allot enough budget to outdoor advertising . Recently, Global has executed public awareness campaign for National Congress Party, engaging highly visible hoarding at Sion – creating more than expected impact. Similarly, welcome hoardings for Sonia Gandhi, congratulatory hoardings for leaders, and best wishes message from political head honchos are a common sight in Mumbai’s skyline.