LED vans on growth drive across rural, urban markets

Digital moving format LED van was always a miniscule part of the OOH industry, until political parties saw their potential and leveraged the format during elections to target a wider audience across the rural and urban markets.

The BJP for example employed 110 LED vans in Karnataka and 80 vans in Gujarat and also covered 272 wards in Delhi through audio and video based van formats, while other parties such as Shiromani Akali Dal did a campaign in Punjab with 100 LED vans.

Driven by the surging demand for the format, a number of players have entered the industry investing in these LED formats. “In 2014 there were around 1000 LED vans operating and now the number has crossed 2000 vans capturing every nook and corner of the city,” shared Narinder Rajput, Director at ShinoBiz Display Vans Pvt Ltd, a leading company owning close to 100 vans.

As Narinder pointed out, besides political parties, a number of corporate brands are also making LED vans a part of their media plan, targeting both rural as well as urban markets across India. Currently the company is handling corporate clients from categories such as automobiles, tractor brands, educational brands and NGOs among others.

“Shinobiz Lighting and Display has been in this market for the last 10 years with a dedicated team to serve our clients. Our main goal is to spread this media worldwide with new concepts as this is a mass media that fits the bill for all categories of brands,” explained Narinder.

The company offers a variety of formats including big hydraulics LED video vans, stage hydraulics LED video vans, E-rickshaw LED vans, big center LED video vans etc. “In order to make this media cost effective, we started manufacturing innovative LED screens in India and we have successfully installed these screens on movable vehicles,” shared Narinder.

With the increasing demand, the revenues from LED vans have also risen in the last couple of years. “There has been a boom of 10%-15% from 7%-8% in terms of revenues,” said Narinder.

The combination of audio and video and its ability to engage the audience are among the main reasons for the success of this format. Also it can be adapted to suit the message, according to Narinder. For instance, as he explained, it can play corporate movies, TVCs, product displays or display entertainment based programmes like ‘nukkad natak’, musical games, anchor based shows, etc., to engage the audience during a campaign.

Besides, the format also helps brands reach their TG at the right location and time. This is especially beneficial in rural markets where well maintained sites and interactive media are difficult to find, summed up Narinder.