‘DOOH growth can help double OOH revenues’

Sanket Rambhia – MD & CEO, Xtreme Media, on why traditional OOH needs to evolve in India and how his own company is looking at growing in this space.

How would you assess the market demand in India for high-definition LED display screens?Is the Indian OOH business geared up for wider use of DOOH? 

High-definition LED market is growing, but mainly in segments like command and control centres, not in the OOH space. The fact is that in the case of LEDs, the pixel pitch and the resolution are pretty much interlinked and if you go for high resolution, the price range is high. But the ROI from the OOH perspective is not in place yet. So what we are seeing in OOH is that the resolution is low and the screen sizes are bigger because people in outdoor prefer larger screen size, rather than resolution. Through video processor, low definition LED screens can also give high definition resolution. Also, the minimum viewing distance is long in OOH so there is no requirement for high-definition LED. So the penetration of low-definition LED is higher in OOH, though I must say that high-definition LED demand is gradually increasing today.

The point is that digital is the future of Indian OOH. Much of the mainstream OOH space in the development markets overseas are digitally driven now. In India, if the OOH space changes to digital from traditional, the revenue generation will increase 2x from the current scenario.

Which digital screen format is most in demand in India?

For our part, we have sold more outdoor LED displays, compared to indoor. P10mm of 20/8 ft. size is in high demand for OOH in India. P6 mm LED is also preferred by many brands.

Will interactivity on DOOH screens, particularly on roads, increase customer engagement?

Digital signage, in terms of crowd engagement on roads through touch or gesture, will not work well. But set-ups in airports and malls are quite engaging.

What is your view on selfie solutions?

Selfie solution can be an impactful medium to boost the image of a brand in a campaign. It’s a touch point for a brand to add something unusual to their product promotions. The brand engagement can lead to buzz on social media platforms as well, leading to better brand recall.

Can you tell us a bit about your Rigel series of outdoor video walls and how it differs from the Aurus and Iris series?

Rigel is the standard outdoor video wall, made up of modules and cabinets. These series types are used mostly for digital out-of-homes. Basically the Rigel series has no transparency. But in the case of Aurus and Iris, there is the see-through feature. Also, Aurus series can be retro-fitted, whereas Iris and Rigel need a structure to hold them.

Tell us about some of your turnkey projects across India.

Most of our projects are turnkey - we do fabrication, installation, commissioning, we give hardware and software, provide post sales service, etc. Our recent turnkey was the Cochin International Airport, where we have installed digital signage, interactive kiosks and LED displays for the airport authority. We have also done turnkey for a few smart cities like Rajkot and Bhopal by providing smart polls and digital boards.

How do you see competition in this business?

There is competition in every sector, but the need is for reinvention that can enable growth. With business growth in this sector, competition is also increasing, both from national and international suppliers.

What are the key challenges you face while doing business in India, and what are your recommendations for addressing them?

Civic regulatory challenges are among the biggest challenges in the outdoor space in India. Also, metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai should adopt DOOH. The industry will die if the traditional system doesn’t evolve. The total percentage of outdoor spend in the total advertising pie has reduced from 15-25% to 5%. This has to change. Also, educating buyers on prioritizing quality over price is another big challenge that we face. It also means convincing them on their return on investment (ROI) for a product.

Do you cater to international markets as well?

We are in the process of setting up an office in Dubai to cater to markets in Gulf and Africa. I would say that the international market is quite mature compared to the Indian market; they understand the impact of a product and there is no major stress on educating them regarding the ROI of a product. Quality of LEDs is the only major factor that they look at.

What are your future business expansion plans?

We are working on expanding a few convergent solutions which will bring in more value to the customer. Way finding, beacon, and analytics are the three main solutions we are working on. Our crowd analytics solution measures customer insights related to demographics and emotions of the viewer. This solution not only allows brands to measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns, but also triggers the right content, as per the collected data.

Our new 2D and 3D way finding solution provides block interface and recreates the map in 2D and 3D, providing realistic experience. It offers a smooth and visually enriching interface that guides visitors and provides them with a one-stop source for all information. Our interactive way finding solutions are in retail sectors, malls, airports and hospitals.

Most recently, we have also successfully deployed a Queue Management System (QMS) solution integrated with digital signage features for Reliance HN Hospital in Mumbai. With a web based interface, doctors can access QMS data over multiple platforms (tablets, smart phones, etc) from different locations.