Outdoor Calling

From Outdoor to Outdoors….
Nabendu Bhattacharyya, President Ogilvy Action - India


In 2008, marketers turned in a big way to OOH. There has been a declining ability of other mediums to deliver mass reach through a cost-effective option and there was and is a renewed emphasis on reaching people when they are "out of home".

OOH became the preferred medium of choice. There have been certain factors that greatly contributed to this; amongst them the urbanisation of India has significantly increased the time spent out of home. Fragmentation and clutter across other mediums, leads advertisers to OOH, the cost-efficient option to reach a large number of people effectively.

Out Of Home in India is today an industry poised for take off, with media owners, advertisers and agencies all realising the potential.

The Year That Was…

2008 was the year of promise and potential, a year that saw international players entering India and starting shop. Seeing the potential of the medium, publication houses, as well as the corporate sector entered the fray. For the first time in its history, we saw a couple of PE Investors who invested in Times OOH, Laqshya Media, OOH Media etc.

Authorities across the country initiated "city beautification" drives and introduced new byelaws for OOH. The impact was felt through reduced clutter levels in cities and standardisation of sizes. Some cities witnessed a complete large format media ban, viz. Chennai. There was the introduction of new formats and technology in OOH, through international standards Bus Q, digital media introduction in housing complexes, cafes, restaurants, malls, office complexes, airports and in retail stores. OOH options are today present at almost every touch point possible.

World-class airports were opened in Hyderabad and Bangalore, comparable to the best in the world, with OOH options of a truly international standard. The growth in the overall OOH industry saw tender rates escalating by 200 to 300 per cent for various media options tendered by authorities

"Nett-Nett", the OOH Industry went through a high demand, and equally high growth phase barring the last quarter. A safe estimate would be that the industry grew by at least 20 per cent in 2008.

What Made This Possible….

Changing lifestyles of consumers resulted in a decrease in the "in home time spent" and increase in "out of home time spent". Marketers chased consumers and wherever they went, brands followed, hence the relevance of OOH touch points

As a medium, OOH is highly localised and there are less spillovers, which results in a very cost-efficient medium. You can turn the pages or switch the channels, but in OOH if the content is interesting, it engages the consumer and makes a lasting impression. There is no turning the page, switching the channel, or turning it off, it's in your face 24x7.

Importantly, other mediums are expensive with over 200 TV channels and hardly any time to go through newspapers, however, OOH uses the consumer's dead-time while they are on the move. Through 2008, we saw OOH become an integral part of the media mix, and when any campaign breaks, OOH is positively used as one of the "must-be" medium options. The fact that OOH media is more advantageous than print and radio to penetrate smaller markets has also contributed to its growth.

Some Factors we need to address to ensure growth….

The possibilities for creative innovation in this medium are limited only to one's imagination be it on the technological fronts or through media innovations as it doesn't restrict you to a square or rectangle … the whole world is our Out of home canvas.

There is a need to have communication that unleashes the true potential of the medium. Advertisers need to emphasise more on this.

Research that gives accountability for the rupee spent has long been the need of the hour. The panel set up by MRUC and Hansa Research to measure the efficiencies of outdoor advertising will play a crucial role in the growth factor for the industry. The research is in an advanced stage and results are awaited shortly.

Are we being hit by the economic slowdown?

There have been concerns and nervous smiles, but are we really hit by the economic slowdown is a question everyone wants answered. Yes, along with the other mediums, OOH has definitely felt some effects of the economic slowdown, but comparatively it is much lesser than other mediums. This is simply because it is the most cost-efficient and a very localised medium. Planners can look at tighter media plans and the production costs are negligible. Quick and repeated awareness builder are some of the reasons for OOH being the obvious cost-efficient choice in these days of value for money media options

The Last Quarter Of 2008…

In the initial stages of the last quarter, we sawfinancial categories reducing spends especially international banksand mMutual funds, however, this was compensated by PSU banks becoming highly active to attract consumers by asking them to bank with safe and secure banks. As a result, international banks too spent to protect investments and look at damage control.

Media and Entertainment companies depended heavily on Outdoors while they were in lull periods and they continued to depend on outdoors in the huge channel wars we are witnessing to drive GRP.

In OOH, Telecom has been the lead spenders with over 38% share of the Industry followed by Financials @ 22% & Media & Entertainment @20%.

Although we have experienced a dip of 25% in the last quarter, which in my mind shall continue till the first quarter of 2009, the prime medias across the country are all reserved and will continue to be in demand.

OOH Market - 2009 Trends

2009 shall be the year that separates the men from the boys. We shall witness ONLY serious OOH players sustaining the pressure and standing tall in this market. Already some International players are starting to shut shop and hold back investments for the time being. Fly by Night operators are on their way out from the market and high priced tenders are not bringing any ROI hence I have doubts about their sustainability.

In all likelihood, we shall see traditional media owners expanding from City to State and becoming stronger.

The Future

The medium will continue to grow on the back of changes in inventory. Given its long history, advertisers don't seem to question its efficacy as they do for emerging media. OOH advertisers led by cellular operators, TV channels, print media and organised real estate developers are expected to up the ante as the competition, quite literally, spills over to the streets. The burgeoning of mall spaces as well as the modernisation and expansion of existing infrastructure is bound to increase over the next five years when the Airports Authority of India plans to refurbish over 35 airports in India.

While many are concerned about the economic slowdown, and its effect on Out Of Home, one must understand that with growing internal consumption and the necessity among marketers to advertise, the sector will keep growing. The market scenario may take off a couple of percentage points, but will not result in a significant slowdown. Categories that are important to OOH like consumer goods, telecom, media and entertainment and financial products and services have grown and are continuing to grow in India.