Behind the scenes of OOH creativity at e4m Neons OOH 2025

At the e4m Neons OOH Conference 2025, the session titled “The Creative Relay: Faces Behind Ideas” brought together key voices from the outdoor advertising industry. Ramesh Bhaskaran, Chief Creative Officer at Madison OOH; Ankur Garg, Associate Vice President at Rapport Group; and Prash Gaikwad, National Creative Director at GroupM OOH Solutions, shared campaign case studies and discussed the thinking behind their work. 

The session focused on the practical aspects of creativity in OOH — what drives an idea, how it’s executed, and what it takes to make it land in the real world.

“In a world where every brand is trying to grab attention, disruption is the best tool,” began Bhaskaran, as he introduced his session. For him, creativity isn’t just about being different—it’s about being meaningfully different. Through a series of campaign stories, he took the audience behind the scenes of ideas that made a mark, not just for their innovation but for the emotional responses they evoked.

The first example he shared was Pulse Ek Avtaar Anek, a campaign launched during Ganesh Chaturthi for Pulse Candy. Inspired by the brand’s quirky identity and the many forms of Lord Ganesha, the team created an experience where devotees could generate their own personalised avatar of the God using AI. “These personalised visuals of Bappa were then projected on a large screen at the pandal, leaving everyone in awe,” he shared. 

The avatars were also sent to users via WhatsApp, allowing them to easily share their creations across social media. “What made the campaign stand out wasn’t just its technicalities, but its cultural relevance,” shared Bhaskaran.

Though the idea had initially been rejected a year earlier, the team’s belief in its potential led them to pitch it again—this time, with more conviction. Bhaskaran noted that the key takeaway was persistence. “Even great ideas need the right timing and the right push to come to life,” he said.

The next campaign was born not from a client brief but from a spontaneous team conversation. “One of my teammates told me that it's very easy for us humans to stay indoors with the AC on. What about the animals and birds?” Bhaskaran recalled. Without waiting for a brief, the team created a campaign to encourage people to place bowls of water outside for birds. “When advertising doubles up as an act of care, it does wonders,” he reflected.

For the launch of Caltex, Bhaskaran’s team aimed for scale with a bold idea. They used 3D mapping to transform the Gateway of India into a visual canvas for the brand’s introduction. “We wanted something iconic. We wanted something symphonic,” he said, describing the vision. The campaign was live-streamed in the Taj Mahal Palace ballroom and shown on DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) platforms across the country. It was their first time using 3D mapping at the Gateway. The team took on the risks of a live event and delivered. As Bhaskaran put it, “We must take a chance.”

As the session drew to a close, Bhaskaran circled back to the people behind the ideas. “It’s never one person’s effort,” he said. “Everyone from creative to business operations comes together to bring life to us.” The campaigns he shared weren’t just examples of creativity—they were reminders that disruptive ideas are built on passion, persistence, and the power of collaboration.

Gaikwad was next to take up the stage. At the outset of his talk, he discussed the future of Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising. He explained that creativity alone is no longer enough. He finds greater joy in exploring newer ways of reaching audiences and redefining marketing through innovation. 

“The future of OOH is data, digital, and dynamic,” he stated firmly. According to Gaikwad, data is crucial for sharp audience targeting through tools like geotargeting and geofencing. Digital, on the other hand, enriches the creative process by introducing technology that allows for interactive experiences. And by being dynamic, OOH creatives can become more enduring and memorable. “It’s all about people and places,” he explained. “Adding value to the creative means understanding who the audience is, and where they are.”

To demonstrate this, Gaikwad presented a case study on Pringles. “Pringles didn’t use any traditional media,” he pointed out, “and yet, they made magic.” The campaign used a mix of 3D anamorphic billboards that showed chips popping out onto cars, CGI-animated highway scenes where Pringles boxes opened in a domino effect, and airport installations that turned arrival sections into mock chip factories.

The brand saw a 14.4% growth in brand performance, and its market share in the premium snacking segment jumped from 4.1% to 7.3%. 

Next, he shared another campaign—this one for Sprite, during a cricket season in Ahmedabad.  “It showed the live temperature from the stadium. As the match got more intense, the temperature on the billboard increased.” The campaign encouraged viewers to scan the board, triggering a fun interaction that linked the rising heat with the need for a cold Sprite. 

In closing, Gaikwad recounted a recent campaign for an online fashion brand with the brief: 'fresh fashion.' “We thought, what keeps things fresh? A refrigerator!” he recalled. That insight led to the creation of a mobile truck display styled like a fridge, stocked with fashionable clothing to illustrate the freshness of their collection in a visually engaging way. “It’s just not about the creative,” he said, “it’s about turning the message into a conversation.”

Ankur Garg opened his session with a reflection on how creativity isn’t just a gift—it’s serious business. “In today’s marketing landscape, it demands more than ideas; it requires integrated amplification across platforms.”

Garg noted how the focus of agencies has shifted over time. “Earlier, we would think about the audience, the media placements, and the message our client wanted to put forth. But today, we also need to think about tech integrations and elevated storytelling.” 

He also pointed to new points of purchase, such as media-tech and e-commerce platforms that are changing how brands connect with consumers. “There’s a lot of syndicated data available to do this,” he added, referencing tools like TGI that help marketers understand where affluent audiences are engaging—be it shopping malls, corporate hubs, or DOOH retail formats.

At Rapport, Garg explained, the team uses a proprietary MAP framework alongside syndicated data to build iconic campaigns. He introduced one such success story: Quality Walls’ Nolen Gur Drone Show in Kolkata during Durga Puja. “Business grew by 30% just that summer,” Garg noted. 

The campaign celebrated the launch of a new ice cream flavour inspired by the beloved Bengali sweet, Nolen Gur. To make the launch memorable, Quality Walls orchestrated a drone and light show using 500 drones, showcasing formations that reflected Bengali culture and the festive spirit. “We achieved 80% reach in 20 days,” he shared, adding that the Top of Mind (TOM) brand recall was higher than during peak summer, a season traditionally strong for ice cream sales.

But for Garg, the innovation wasn’t just in the spectacle. “It’s not about the drone show,” he said. “It’s about the data behind it—and the creativity of the formations. What are we going to achieve? What will we display?” 

This spirit of pushing boundaries continued with what he called one of the agency’s most socially meaningful campaigns—HUL’s Smart Bus Shelter in Banaras. Set in a city known for its spiritual symbolism of life beyond death, the campaign responded to real-world infrastructure challenges. “Hindustan Unilever saw opportunity in the problem,” Garg explained. The solution: the world’s first 100% recyclable, solar-powered bus shelters.

These shelters, made from sustainable materials, were designed to live on even after their intended use. They cut down harmful emissions equivalent to removing 2 lakh cars from the roads annually or planting 38,000 trees each year. Over a 25-year lifespan, they aim to prevent more than a billion carbon footprints. 

“This is the kind of campaign we’re most proud of,” said Garg. “It’s not just about marketing or creativity—it’s about what we’re giving back to society.”