'Thinking differently about outdoor medium is the answer to all our challenges'
Over the years, OOH has seen significant evolution in technology, ranging from static billboards to interactive digital displays. At the e4m OOH Conference 2024, held in Mumbai, Sonam Saini, Assistant Editor, exchange4media Group moderated a panel with esteemed industry experts to discuss how traditional advertising on the outdoors is being revolutionised by digital technology. Arkaprava Ray, Head, Marketing Strategy, Brand Partnerships and Events, HSBC India; Aatika Ehsan Ansari, Head of Media-Digital, Pernod Ricard India; Neeraj Joshi, Head of Marketing - Zee Studios; Anushree Bhardwaj, Director Marketing - Lionsgate India, and Vikas Nowal, Country Head, Interspace Communications graced the discussion with their insights. Kickstarting the discussion on a fun note, the panellists shared the most interesting OOH activations they have seen in the recent past that stuck with them. For Ansari it was a London Burger King billboard which smelled like a grilled burger. The moment a passerby was close to that board, any app that they opened on their phone reminded them to grab a burger. She also lauded the efforts by Netflix for Heeramandi on the Western Express Highway. Ray added, “I mostly travel from Bombay to Pune and see a Jeep billboard there after the toll naka and it stands out the most because it's so innovative.” Apple hoardings always stand out for Bhardwaj. Nowal quipped, "A picture says a thousand words." For Bharadwaj, Zomato’s simple red billboards with quirky captions are impressive. Joshi lauded Amazon Prime's show Panchayat, which took the unconventional route recently by branding on vegetables. Ray believes the relevance of digital OOH depends on how good the quality of creative is. “Today is when you have 8-10 brands in your inventory, you have to play around with your creativity to get maximum impressions. Programmatic is another thing that will revolutionise the OOH game for it can track eyeballs and give data on what grabs a consumer’s attention,” he said. As per Nowal, the OOH industry still can't make their output engaging so there is a need to create a little experience for a consumer and it doesn't have to be expensive. For a marketer, getting value out of the investment is more important than the spending. In terms of integrating traditional out-of-home with digital, there still isn't a classic case of both because we are still at a very nascent stage, he added. Joshi opines that if one can think differently about outdoor as a medium, there might be a better answer to all the challenges. Ansari addressed that a unified buying platform or a unified measurement platform is the major challenge of the OOH industry as of now since everyone is coming up with their own set of solutions. Sooner or later, the space will become a platform in India where you don't have unique buying or planning. Trackability becomes an issue then. Towards the end, Nowal shared how OOH can modify its approach to remain competitive. He said, “Currently we should focus on the integration part. Print happens in silos, and so do TV and radio. We need to think of ways as to how out-of-home could contend for digital amplification.” “We need to plan for a multi-screen consumer because we see more and more of OOH becoming digitally enabled. Another is as outdoor becomes digitally enabled we need to make content like digital did like 3-second or 5-second content to grab the attention in the first few seconds,” added Ansari. Ray highlighted, “Interactiveness is coming up in a big way when it comes to digital outdoor but there is a long way to go.”
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