Netflix spend on OOH FY’ 19 doubled, Sacred Games takes the lead

American OTT platform, Netflix’s recent original series Sacred Games produced by Phantom films has set new records by spending humungous amount on Out of home for their ongoing season of Sacred Games. A 50-feet huge poster of sacred games is grabbing eyeballs in the Capital and other metropolitan cities. Gone are the days, when such kind of investments was done for big investment films, now the OTT platform has gone all out to do the promotions. Experts also suggest that the American OTT platform is also spending generously on the medium.

“Netflix spend in FY’19 doubled as compared to FY’18 on Times OOH properties, and they continue to spend in FY'20. This is a clear indicator of how compelling they find the OOH medium. It is definitely worth it, as the contextual advertising creates a deeper engagement with their audience,” said Rohit Chopra, Chief Operation Officer, Times OOH.  

If you thought OTT platforms were all about digital presence, Netflix will prove you wrong. For advertising, Netflix has been taking the traditional billboards route as well as transit media route. Billboards may seem pretty quaint in the age of social media, but Netflix and Phantom Films has already shown it knows how to use them for maximum effect. 

 Anjum Tanwar, President, Brandscope told us that to unveil the most anticipated 2^nd season of Sacred Games, the platform chose to be more grandeur this time around. “The mediums of OOH platform were treated differently to create the WOW factor. This has not only captured maximum attention but has also created a successful transition in the viewer’s mind, from being a mere programme to an experience.”   

 VV Rajan, co-founder, CMO, UrbanIQ said, “The fact that digital companies like NetFlix, Phantom films are investing so much on Out of home media further cements the fact that recency theory works big time on OOH. The campaign or rather the show that they are promoting are big ticket properties on their OTT and these are drawing so many audiences to their platform, it is only imperative that outdoor is part of a major share of their spends. Also OOH is the only medium delivering the right mix of impact, immediacy and opportunity for their mobile target audiences.”

He added, “OOH medium is consistently being tried and tested by many brands within this category and this means that it is working. What would be interesting though is how the overall OOH is being used by these brands. These brands are clearly targeting the mobile and upwardly audiences coupled with mobile-only subscription models. With so many regulations by the local bodies across India, digital OOH is getting solid prominence on the back of data and measurability, how the mix of regular OOH and DOOH will be part of their overall media strategy remains to be seen!”

 So, why has outdoor become the favourite advertising medium for OTT players? Does it serve a special purpose, beyond the obvious?

 “OOH, we believe, works best for an OTT platform like Netflix, because people are bound to consume content when they’re in transit, so seeing a creative for Sacred Games 2 at the point of consumption works as a gentle reminder. That’s why most static sites were chosen at Departure when it came to Airports. Moreover, the Target Group is also a definite reason. Many Airport passengers at Delhi and Mumbai are Netflix subscribers. We know that nearly half of Mumbai airport Passengers have subscribed to Netflix as per the latest research that was commissioned with Nielsen on the Mumbai Airport passenger profile. Mumbai Metro on the other hand is a frequent mode of transportation for young travellers – again a very relevant target group for OTT category,” Chopra shared.

According to Tanwar, “With power of street increasing day by day and consumers spending more time commuting from point A to B, OOH platform becomes critical choice for marketers. The fact that OOH platforms are unskippable and unavoidable, one can see the skylines of the city points dominated by brands that consumers register thereby increasing recall. Additionally, OOH is not an intrusive medium, it’s completely risk free and that’s what brand are looking out for today. Also currently the combination of OOH and DOOH serves special purpose for any brand wherein they are able to use dynamic programmatic content which can be catered to the right audience at the right place and at the right time.”

 So, do grand investments like these give brands the ROI they expect?

“OOH is worth by strategically identifying the markets, one can control the volumes and can amplify according to market potentials,” said Pramod Bhandula, Managing Director, JCDecaux India.   

Tanwar added, “As soon as the OOH campaign is executed, ROI can be derived by witnessing online searches for actual subscribers and downloads during or immediately after the campaign. Data and technology in OOH can help geo target to see online search trends as to how many consumers googled the ad being displayed in that location. Other platforms where the media is extensively covered through print or social media posts, also help brands garner desired ROI.