Pakistan Advertisers Society initiates development of OOH audience currency

The Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS) has exclusively endorsed Measuring OOH Visibility & Exposure (MOVE), a Pakistan-based media marketing and research company, to develop and launch an OOH audience and ratings currency in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.  According to a PAS release, the entire project will be overseen by the Outdoor Audience Measurement Technical Committee (OAMTC), an industry Joint Industry Committee (JIC) under the auspices of PAS.  Included in the MOVE project consortium are Cuende Infometrics (in association with Telmar), TNS and Digital Globe.  

In October 2013, PAS OAMTC issued a request for proposals (RFP) to provide detailed input into the development, design and launch of the new OOH research currency and associated reporting and analytic systems.  After careful reviews and presentations by selected companies submitting proposals, the MOVE consortium was endorsed by the OAMTC and the PAS Executive Council for the project.  

The Chairman of PAS, Shabeeh A. Ikram, Country General Manager, Johnson & Johnson lauded the diligent work of the OAMTC in recommending the selection of MOVE to the Executive Council and extended grateful thanks to all the global research companies that bid on the project.  

Abrar Hasan, Chairman of the PAS OAMTC and CEO of National Foods, thanked his Committee colleagues for their support and commended MOVE's expertise and understanding of the OOH industry.  Abrar noted MOVE's expertise demonstrated via the substantial complexity of their approach to developing an industry OOH currency.  He also warned, "… of the hard work needed by my colleagues and the MOVE consortium in steering this important "accountability” initiative to a successful launch.”  

Ali Hamdani, CEO of MOVE, said, "I am thrilled to be working closely with PAS and its JIC on developing a much needed OOH audience currency in collaboration with proven global research and systems expert affiliates.”  He believes that the new OOH currency will help drive the overall quality and hence value of the OOH inventory in Pakistan's four largest markets.  "It will provide advertisers and media agencies the foundation to improving the targeting and efficiency of their various OOH campaigns.”  

Global media measurement experts, the Olympic Media Consultancy, under the leadership of Tony Jarvis, are providing marketing and technical oversight to the PAS OAMTC on the development, launch, on-going monitoring and management of the new OOH currency. 

Qamar Abbas, PAS Executive Director said, "The launch of an OOH currency to ESOMAR's Global Standards will meet our member's needs for utilising OOH in their overall ad campaigns on a more scientific and effective basis, notably within the media mix.  He reaffirmed PAS' overall confidence with MOVE for proposing such a multifaceted research project and commended the Olympic Media Consultancy, which will be working closely with MOVE, for their comprehensive guidance to PAS and the OAMTC.”  

It is anticipated that the new OOH currency will be formally launched in 2015 after a suitable demonstration period for all industry users.