Measurement tools, sustainability talks & crackdowns: The turning points for OOH in 2024

The outdoor advertising industry in India has experienced a significant resurgence in 2024, marked by a blend of traditional and digital innovation.

Most remarkably, the OOH industry has shown commendable resilience, bouncing back strongly from the pandemic-induced downturn. As per Pitch Madison report 2024, this was reflected in the 13% growth rate OOH achieved, substantially higher than that of TV and Print (The two dominant mediums amongst traditional media).

The medium has also maintained its share of 4%, similar to the share of OOH in Global AdEx.

This year, the fervour of IPL and Lok Sabha polls fuelled tremendous growth in the outdoor media sector. Experts even suggested an increase in OOH ad spends by approximately 20-25% this year when compared to any other year. Political parties spent around Rs 250-300 crore on outdoor ads, which included billboards, wall paintings and more.

OTT platforms and quick commerce brands took the OOH path to create digital and social media chatter, as the medium allows for a hyperlocal contextual connection, seamlessly bridging the offline and online worlds. In terms of measurement too, digital chatter provides valuable data on OOH campaign performance.

RoadStar

The lack of a measurement system has been a roadblock for this medium. 2024 saw the introduction of RoadStar, a unified audience measurement tool by the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA). The aim is to standardise OOH media measurement, potentially boosting the industry’s share of ad spend on OOH.

But experts pointed out that the industry’s first-ever unified measurement system needs to be robust, at par with currencies of other mediums, for it to be widely accepted.
CEO of IOAA Praveen Vadhera shared with e4m in November that AAAI was more or less on board.

“There are a couple of agencies we just met who are in the final stages of adopting it," he revealed. IOAA has started going to the brands and clients as well, showcasing the entire tool to them, even smaller agencies have shown keen interest. It is expected that there is momentum and Roadstar will probably take off by this year-end or first quarter of next year.

The software uses GPS technology and was initially launched by Relu AI in 2020. It has been enhanced over the past year with input from IOAA and is currently utilised by media owners like Times and Jagran groups.

It covers over 800 markets in India, from metro cities to taluka levels, and tracks more than 60,000 media sites. It uses data from over 35 million mobile users to identify high-traffic areas and optimise ad placements. The platform maps consumer movements through 3 million places of interest across 120 categories, providing detailed metrics such as Unique Reach, Gross Reach, Frequency, and more.

BMC Crackdown

The OOH industry in Mumbai took a step back after the Ghatkopar billboard collapse on May 13 2024 that took 17 lives. The incident raised questions in the OOH industry over approval legitimacies, regulations and authority checks.

The civic authorities increased their focus on structural safety, tightened regulations and took corrective measures to prevent such mishaps in future.

BMC also proposed to draft a policy which was later put in abeyance. It proposed several restrictions on hoarding placements which included a cap on size (40/40 ft) and prohibited hoardings on building terraces, construction fences, dead walls, and glass facades, footpaths, traffic islands, medians, and gantries. The policy stated that licenses of all such existing hoarding will not be renewed.

The BMC policy was put in abeyance because of the elections and was said to only come into play after elections. During elections, the Model Code of Conduct came into operation wherein they could not implement any policy decisions.

Media owners, who were majorly impacted by this policy also claimed that the current policy (introduced in 2022) is valid till 2031. “Based on the 2022 policy, we have signed various deals and agreements with the housing societies and invested a huge amount of money. Everything will go into vain,” they said.

Vadhera shared that almost every media owner in Bombay and almost every site was later covered under third party insurance. So in case any incident happens, the insurance is going to cover the damage payouts.

The intent of IOAA was to first put the database together so brands, clients and agencies know which ones are illegal sites and which are the sites that they can take on board.

Digital All The Way

DOOH continued to be a major driver of growth for the industry in 2024, offering dynamic and interactive advertising experiences.

But there were hurdles too. Digital screens, even though offer a great scope of attention for advertisers, they also have adverse impacts on drivers and potentially cause accidents according to the traffic police.

Late July, BMC decided to formulate a DOOH Policy wherein traffic islands, road median and right-of-way were supposed to be free of DOOH in order to be free of gantry advertising.

Furthermore, BMC banned video ads on roads, highways and capped their luminosity. They also proposed an automatic switch-off for all DOOH ads at 11 pm in Mumbai.

An agency was also supposed to be hired to explore the feasibility of installing sensors and cameras to monitor the illumination levels of digital hoardings.

Even, the approval process of hoardings was said to be aligned with that of mobile towers, ensuring a more streamlined and regulated approach impacting the adoption rate of DOOH.

These strict regulations irked media owners since they claimed that traffic police's concerns were misplaced and neither did they conduct any study nor consult stakeholders or experts to arrive at the conclusion that video ads pose risk.

Sustainability Path

In a recent move, GroupM and the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA) struck a partnership to make the Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising industry more sustainable. Their key initiatives include using recyclable materials for 50% of all advertising sites by 2027, reducing waste, and conserving resources.

To tackle the growing energy demands of DOOH assets, the partnership will prioritise renewable energy, especially solar power, to lower the industry's carbon footprint.

They also plan to replace traditional materials with eco-friendly options like fabric and polyethylene, which are lightweight, weather-resistant, and recyclable.

A 'Take Back Program' is also launched to recycle used billboard materials, collaborating with nonprofits for proper disposal.