New roadblock for OOH’s proposed currency RoadStar

The Indian Outdoor Advertising Association’s (IOAA) proposed currency for the out-of-home advertising sector – RoadStar – faces hurdles once again with agencies red flagging more gaps in the upgraded version of the software. This has the potential to further delay its launch for universal usage.

“ RoadStar has some gaps in its planning feature. These gaps need to be addressed first before it could be adopted for universal use,” industry leaders told e4m.
They pointed out that the industry’s first-ever unified measurement system needs to be robust, at par with currencies of other mediums, only then would it be widely accepted. Experts noted, “The currency needs to be thoroughly tested and all gaps filled in before its official launch.”

India’s leading media agencies , namely GroupM, Publicis, Madison and Rapport, have been doing pilot tests of the upgraded version for the last two months. All agencies except GroupM have shared their test report and feedback with the IOAA. GroupM’s testing is still on.

IOAA is likely to convene a meeting of AAAI soon to hear the agencies out and understand their feedback for addressing them as soon as possible.

In the first round of testing conducted early this year, Rapport and GroupM had pointed out certain flaws, including privacy issues, in RoadStar’s functioning. Following their feedback, IOAA directed the software developer Relu AI to address the issues through significant software upgrades. The upgraded version of RoadStar was distributed to leading agencies in July.

When asked about it, Pawan Bansal, IOAA President, said, “I don’t think there is any issue with the software. Publicis and Madison have tested and okayed it. Some have sought a few modifications in the software, which would be incorporated soon.”

Once all issues are sorted out, RoadStar will be approved and adopted for widespread use by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).

Notably, after years of effort, the IOAA has come up with its first unified audience measurement system for the industry. RoadStar uses the 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.

RoadStar aims to standardise OOH media measurement, aligning it with other media types and potentially boosting the industry's share of advertising spend. RoadStar is expected to enhance the evaluation of OOH advertising and drive significant growth in the sector.

How does RoadStar work?

RoadStar 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.