‘Innovations in OOH can break the clutter’

What role does outdoor medium play in your media planning?

Advertising our product in the domestic market and retail market is what we have practiced over the years. In the retail market, probably outdoor is one of the most prominent media which gets fast noticed. In other words, outdoor medium cannot be ignored and it has to be taken into media planning. But it again depends upon the nature of the market. On one hand, there are markets where we take the liberty to make our brand visible through any medium but on the other hand, there are markets where we depend mainly on outdoor as an advertising medium. Advertising in OOH generally depends upon the market maturity. Since we are strong in the eastern markets we put a lot of emphasis on outdoor as a medium of advertising.   

What makes outdoor media important?

Outdoor has always been an important medium. For the last 20-25 years, outdoor grew as a medium significantly. From the days of display boards, which used to be hand painted, the outdoor media now has reached great heights towards executing innovations like cut-outs, backlit media, and LED screens. In the international market, outdoor format has surpassed all other mediums as it is changing every day, thereby executing LED boards, LED screens and LED outdoors. Hence OOH will definitely exist and evolve further.

What is your strategy while selecting the formats and locations on outdoor?

Basically our strategy depends upon two parameters. The first idea is about selecting the location of the advertisement. Since our product is not consumer-based or FMCG that can be advertised in a mall or of such kind, our product needs to be strategically advertised because it is not a product where sale happens over the counter. Market needs are important for us to see where we are going to sell our product. Sales will happen either through influence or by advertising our products near the construction areas. There are certain strategic locations where probable target audiences could be reached. The second idea is the use of mobile media as it makes a significant impact in terms of better brand visibility and recall.  

Skipper as a brand opts for unconventional formats at times. What is your strategy behind this?

While we advertise our brand, we need to be socially responsible in contributing whatever little can be done for our society. Using rail guards for social messaging like safe driving is one such way. Such social messaging along with our corporate branding is an extension of our corporate social responsibility too.

What challenges do you see while planning and executing the campaign?

There is not much challenge in planning and executing a campaign, the reason being that they are implemented through authorised agencies which are competent enough. Generally we hire those agencies that have the depth of experience in executing campaigns in a proper and legitimate manner. Generally we work with those agencies which have a good reputation in the market and abide by the laws.

What changes would you like to see in the outdoor industry?

The changes in the outdoor industry fall wide apart in terms of the rural and urban segments.  The urban sector is growing fast with international OOH formats. Cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru have outdoor media that are as good as can be seen abroad. But in the rural areas the scope of executing OOH campaigns is very limited. We see a lot of potential in terms of improving the quality of outdoor medium that is available. So long as this divide between the rural and urban OOH continues, outdoor medium will not have uniform standards.
In the urban areas backlit can be used, while in rural areas there is no scope for such branding. In the rural areas OOH is just about a few hoardings placed near a crowded bus stop but in the urban areas there are multiple formats like unipoles, backlit media, pillar media, and so on.

Would you consider formats like digital OOH?

We are open to new ideas, new kind of campaigns and new kind of formats such as digital because following a stereotyped ideas, a brand cannot stand out from the clutter.  To break the clutter, innovations in OOH format is equally important. Digital OOH is in vogue and we are looking forward to using that format in the eastern and Delhi markets.

What are the takeaways from your recent OOH campaign in terms of reaching your target audience?

A campaign cannot be converted into direct profitability as the objective of the campaign is very different. The main objective of our recent campaign was to skyrocket the “Skipper” brand as a leading brand in the shortest possible time and this campaign has achieved that. The objective of this campaign was to build “Skipper” as a household name in the shortest span.
Bosepukur Puja Pandal, being well-known in Kolkata, was associated with us and we marketed our product by constructing the Bosepukur pandal with our product, pipes. Selling our brand proposition using larger OOH format has given an edge over others in terms of promoting “Skipper” brand overnight. Skipper has earned a household identity now which was not possible without this campaign.

How do you reinforce creativity in your outdoor communications?

Creativity is again a subjective term. When it comes to OOH it becomes stereotyped if there is no innovation. Our recent campaign at Bosepukur was very subtle and unique. Skipper pipes were installed in the Bosepukur Pandal and the creative which we carried out was done on the image of the idol of Durga so that it is the way of relating the context of the event with our product. Therefore, this kind of experiment should be done to enhance visibility. There is no right and wrong in terms of creativity. So probably our job as a marketer is to think innovatively in different directions especially in terms of breaking the clutter. It is a constant evolving process so we have to keep our brains working 24X7.