No matter how glued the current generation is to the digital world, when one steps out of the house, OOH billboards with captivating slogans still catch the eye of a passerby and create a strong recall value.
More so now sinceOOH advertising, too, has been experiencing a shift towards digital formats - digital billboards, interactive displays and augmented reality experiences.According to EY's M&E Report 2023, OOH media grew 86 per cent in 2022 to Rs 37 billion, reaching around 94 per cent of the pre-Covid levels.
2023 has been a year of resilience and adaptation for the OOH industry, as per Amarjeet Hudda, COO, Laqshya Media. The year has been remarkably progressive for Out-of-Home advertising in terms of spending on overall advertising.
As for Rohit Chopra, COO ofTimes OOH, in 2023, the OOH industry experienced a resurgence, leaving behind losses incurred during the pandemic. “Business rejuvenated with both existing and new clients increasing their spending to reclaim market shares and re-establish connections with the masses.”
Talking about other major shifts, Haresh Nayak, Founder and CEO of Connect Network, highlighted, “Integration with other channels like mobile and social media to create more integrated and cohesive marketing campaigns, location-based targeting with improved geotargeting capabilities have enabled advertisers to deliver more accurate planning capabilities.”
Technological adaptation wins
Experts across the board agree that tech integration was the OOH industry’s sweetest pie in 2023. Hudda believes greater technologyadoption like AIand data analytics for hyper-targeted campaigns played a major role.
The EY report also revealed that digital OOH media contributed to eight per cent of the segment’s revenues.
Dipankar Sanyal, CEO, Platinum Communications, highlighted that data-based planning and an increase in digital OOH across touchpoints were also some significant developments.
Chopra further said several players like traditional vendors were launching good quality digital media on roads in metro cities like Mumbai.Nayak said, “Rapid expansion of digital OOH across India, advanced data analytics and AI technology around data and technological innovations and integration are the main highlights of 2023.”
In other developments, the sector saw an increased emphasis on sustainable and eco-friendly OOH solutions, surge in interactive OOH campaigns and leveraging of anamorphic AR/VR experiential elements.
Times OOH executed several long-term campaigns on OOH from leading categories such as automobile, fashion and lifestyle, mobile handsets and jewellery.
As for Laqshya Media, sectors like real estate, organised retail, entertainment, auto and technology sectors emerged as the biggest spenders leveraging OOH advertising to connect with audiences.Challenges in the New Year
While there were numerous growth opportunities for the outdoor advertising industry this year, the players faced a fair share of challenges too.
Sanyal shared that the industry was still missing out on the planning metrics and rating system. “We will continue to fight for retaining our six per cent share of the advertising spend. The dream of taking the OOH advertising share to 10-15 per cent, however, remains distant.”
Regulatory hurdles, slow technological adoption and delay in infrastructural advancements continue to limit expansion of digital OOH, Nayak remarked.
Hudda underlined that embracing of new technologies like digital billboards and interactive displays have demanded hefty investments and expertise. Regulatory shifts necessitated constant adaptations to adhere to evolving advertising norms, he further said. Understanding rapidly shifting consumer behaviours required recalibrating of strategies whereas creating visually striking and innovative assets proved pivotal in the cluttered OOH environment.
“Leveraging data analytics for targeted campaigns and measuring effectiveness remained an ongoing challenge. The industry needs to blend technology, compliance, consumer insights, creativity, and data-driven strategies to thrive in a dynamic landscape,” he added.
What’s in store for 2024?
Looking ahead, the momentum from increased consumer consumption capacity will continue to boost advertising spends, stated Chopra. “We are anticipating a 10 per cent growth unless in the case of unforeseen events like a black swan event or a plausible impact from a slowdown in the US economy disrupting the trajectory. However, the positive emotions among advertisers from 2023 appear to be carrying forward into the next year.”
As for Hudda, his ambitious goal is to achieve a minimum growth of 25 per from what achieved in 2023.
According to Sanyal, the upcoming elections will be a boost for OOH. “This election could see an estimated spending of around Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore.”
For Connect Network, the aim for 2024 is to cross Rs 150 crore in revenue.
