Following the BJP-led NDA’s sweeping win at the Lok Sabha Elections,
there is a sense of optimism among India Inc. The general opinion is
that this feeling of well-being will lead to further investment by
brands and a loosening of purse strings, which will also help the
advertising industry, including the outdoor segment.
A
government change, pointed out some agency heads we spoke to, usually
increases confidence. For example, Sunder Hemrajani, MD, Times
Innovative Media gave the example of 2009 when the UPA did much better
than expected. “We saw an increase in positive sentiment even back then.
It is the same this time; I am seeing a lot of positive sentiment.
April and May have been very tight for all media but I feel that things
will be even better this time than 2009,” he said.
Though sentiment from India Inc. has been leaning towards a Modi-led
government with its promise of development and progress, the new prime
minister’s recent statements and energetic first few days since securing
victory have also helped. “He (Narendra Modi) seems to be continuing
with the same motto that he used in Gujarat. Since advertising is
perception driven, we could see an increased spending this year,” said
Rajiv Saxena, MD, Blue Ocean Media.
On
being asked whether there were any specific changes that were expected
for the OOH sector, Saxena opined that spending from real estate and
telecom, two sectors which had reduced spending last year, might
increase.
The election year saw a windfall for most OOH agencies, who normally
expect a slow start to any year with business usually picking during the
festive seasons. For example, even after the results were declared, BJP
launched a massive outdoor campaign thanking voters for their support.
The Mumbai leg of the campaign was handled by Bright Outdoor Media and
Yogesh Lakhani, CMD of Bright Outdoor Media informed us that it
comprised of some 135 hoardings across Mumbai. Given the general sense
of optimism in the market, he mentioned that business could improve by
as much as 10 per cent. “In any business there is always a positive and
negative cycle. For the last few years we have had a negative cycle, so
things definitely have to change now,” he said.
Another
way of looking at the massive OOH campaigns run during the elections by
political parties is that it showed the strength of OOH advertising in
creating recall and spreading awareness, opines Sanjeev Gupta, MD,
Global Advertisers. He expects more and more brands to spend on OOH
advertising. When asked for his expectations, Gupta said that June-July
will see a lot of advertising from FMCG brands, tourism, real-estate,
e-commerce, automobile and education sectors also.
The OOH sector has had a good start to the year and with the positive
sentiment in the market, it is no surprise that most OOH agencies are
expecting a boost in ad spends by brands in the coming months. What
remains to be seen is whether this will continue past 2014 and how do
OOH players make use of this perceived change in the business cycle to
create a more robust outdoor advertising ecosystem, which is even more
attractive to advertisers.
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