Is OOH a man's world? The women speak out...

'Not as bad as it looks!'

Neeta Gulati & Geetika Gulati, Directors -- Alakh Advertising

As women, the challenges we face are similar to those in other fields. Typically, men get closer over a cigarette and the authorities are also more comfortable with men I guess.  But then one gets used to these issues and we are quite comfortable now. The low points in the job are more to do with the challenges the industry itself faces and the high points come from meeting new people, meeting challenges and overcoming them. Lot of people find it surprising to see women in this business since it is a male dominated area, but we have been growing, having been able to retain people for more than 10 to 12 years. 


We definitely think more women should join this business. It's turning out to be an organized sector and educated people are entering the business. To women aspiring to enter this business, we would say it's not as bad as it looks. The challenges are like in any other business. Yes, in this business you have to deal with all kinds of people, and you have to work with them during day and night, from labourers to people at all levels of authority in government departments. So it does look a little difficult from the outside, but it's not that bad, you will eventually find a solution.




'Trust your capabilities'

Shiva Gupta, Proprietor, Vanshika Ads

I joined this industry in 2005 when my husband expired. He started Vanshika Advertising. I was always a homemaker, but I had to join this business by necessity. Prior to joining this business, I didn't know anything about hoarding but when I started working, I learnt everything from my employees and clients. I struggled a lot to handle this and thankfully today I am successfully running it. Yes, this is a male dominated business so I did face numerous challenges. But my husband had already built a reputation and that helped me a lot and gained me respect as well. The low moments happened initially when I joined the business as I had no knowledge of the working style etc and we struggled a lot to even sustain our business. But we coped. The high point came when in the midst of our struggles, we got the Hero Honda campaign which continued for a long period of time. The client supported us and helped us in gaining back the position and since then we haven't looked back. Today I do feel this business is definitely better than other businesses. We get to learn new things, new innovations, formats, new clients and developments everyday and that drives us to go ahead. I do think more women should come in. My message to women aspiring to joint this industry is: Trust your capabilities and don't depend on anybody here. There are lot of genuine people out there to support you.
 
'Need more women to make the industry organized'

Deepty Dawar, Director, Giraffe Advertising and Marketing

Since my school days, I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I love challenges and in this industry you find them on a regular basis. We were three partners (two males and one female) who started this company and today I am the only one left handling this business.  One of the partners is my husband and he is very supportive. My highs come from converting new clients and getting new campaigns and the lows come from the general perception about this industry being unorganized.  But what drives me in this industry is the growth.   There is almost a 25% of growth that happens every year in this industry. As a woman I don't actually find it that difficult. In this industry, if you are connected well, have a good idea on rates and have good planning then you can survive. Clients don't work on the basis of gender. I believe that a large part of the world is male dominated and so is our industry but I do encourage girls to join this industry. I believe women are more organized than men and they are famous for their multi-tasking work. One issue in this industry is the late hours and girls very often don't get support from families to work late hours.  But I do think more women should run this business as that can make the industry more organized.

 'I love the challenges'!

Sapna P, Director -- Shlok Media Pvt Ltd .

After marriage I joined the family business. To be very honest, before marriage I didn't look even at a billboard. It's been 18 years now and here have been so many changes. As a woman, I don't face any specific challenges now, but initially I did find it difficult. Between men, there is an instant bonding that happens one to one, but in the case of a woman interacting with men, that may not happen. Today, the scenario has changed though. I have been able to get a foothold in this industry very comfortably and people have accepted me very well. The high comes from the deadlines and I love the challenges. Getting the Tata Docomo signage up for example was something we had never done. Standing at the sites, trying to get the work done…it was all something that none of us has done and we did that as a team. The team came together so well that it was fantastic, actually everyday is memorable for us.  The best part of outdoor is that you keep learning and that's the fun part of it. If you have the determination, the greed, the drive, and are ready to stay up half the night and hear the client screaming at you at 5am in the morning saying the campaign is not up, then I will say this is a job for you. If you can't face all that, then don't even think about it! Also getting permission is not everybody's cup of tea, compared to that, marketing is an easier job. In the end I would say, nothing is impossible for women in these days. If you are passionate about working and are ok with all the challenges, then it is the right job for you!

'Doing something on my own drives me'

Sarmistha Das - Director - Canvass Communications Private Limited

I started my career as a PR professional and then with my cousin's help and my mother as an inspiration I got into this business. When I started my brother gave me the capital of Rs.12,000 and I made arrangements to put up the first hoarding in my life. I started with Rs. 2 lakh business and I handled brands like Adamas International School and Sriniketan who had a budget of Rs 2 lakhs for Kolkata and I was the sole agency handling their outdoor advertising. Other clients were Panasonic and for Eta General.  Initially my knowledge regarding outdoor was restricted, but I learnt. Initially my journey was smooth. But when I started taking up bigger projects through joint-ventures, labour problems and related such issues cropped up, but I took lessons from those situations and I feel now I can run the show in a better way. I believe the fact that I'm doing something on my own drives me every day. Till date I am learning new things about this trade and I love it. Yes, I do feel more women should definitely join this industry but women who want to join this industry will first have to think whether they are comfortable working in an industry where one has to deal with all kinds of people from all walks of life.

'You can succeed if you have the fire in you'

Vandana Borse , Founder Director & Chairman, Symbiosis Advertising Pvt. Ltd.

I wanted to do something on my own and I started with this twenty years back.  Being a woman I was looking at something that would give me time to go back home and maintain a balance between family and work. But I must say it gets challenging as the business grows. Being a very shy and introvert person, it was difficult for me to deal with certain types of people, but I guess all women have the problem when they go out for work. In a white collared work atmosphere it's different, but here you are dealing with different kinds of people. But I love the work because it's challenging. There is a lot to learn here. If one has the fire in her then she will succeed, otherwise it's a bit difficult. Six or seven years back, things would have been different, but during 2002 - 2003 the troubles began. My message to women who want to join this industry is, they should definitely do whatever they like, but they should have a lot of fire in them like I said earlier and they should be very focused. Sky is the limit here. One has to identify what one wants and then go ahead and get it.

'Nothing is impossible'

Sandhya Baste, Proprietress-- Achievers

I was into newspaper publications and always wanted to do something different, so I chose this field. When I started this business in the beginning of 90's, it was completely a niche market. As a woman, yes there are some challenges I am facing till date, like selection of hoarding, getting the materials etc.  In Nasik at the Lokhand bazaar, which was considered not a safe place for women, I was the only women to visit the market and get the required materials.  But there are highs that I get, for example, launching the Idea and Reliance campaigns in Nasik was a prestigious event for me. I felt good that my sites were selected among the other sites that were available. I always wanted to do something different. Initially I worked on many other projects, but now I plan to stick to outdoor only. Of course, more women should join this industry; initially they will face a lot of problems, but nothing is impossible and one can overcome them. It's good to see more women in this industry. It's a tough business, but if one is determined to face the challenges then she will definitely succeed.