OOH offers immense scope for innovation: Madhu S Datta

OOH is beyond hoardings. Stating this in her address on'What it takes to get the best out of OOH', Madhu S Datta, Chief - Marketing, Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Ltd, said that brand custodians in particular need to understand that the OOH medium is not limited to hoardings. "It is an emotive medium,” she said, adding that clients need to be willing to pay for innovations.

Underlining the immense scope for innovations in the OOH space, Datta said the medium has no placement limitations. To make OOH advertising very focused, she said that the brief from the client side should be well directed. The focus should be on creating conversations around the OOH touchpoints, she said.

Referring to her own industry, Datta said that fashion is a total visual language. For companies like Pantaloons Fashion & Retail there is competition from both the online retailers as well as local players. So, to stand out in the outdoor, the company takes conscious steps to stay out of the "sea of sameness”.

Datta said that brands can look to do more activations in places like malls. "OOH is one of the key communication tools for Pantaloons Fashion & Retail,” she said.

In the interactive session, Datta pointed out that the traditional OOH media should look to integrate with digital media. She concurred with the view that a joint meeting between the brand marketer, creative agency and media agency could improve the creative outcomes in the OOH space.