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Home » Viewpoints » 'Research and technology will take the medium ahead'

'Research and technology will take the medium ahead'

By M4G Bureau - December 03, 2013

In a chat with Outdoor Asia, Arpita Menon, Executive VP and Head Media Planning & Buying - Star TV, shares the brand's approach to Out of Home advertising and the challenges therein. Read on…


What is your approach to out of home advertising?

The first thing we look for is the brand context. The usual marketing plans are put together and then the media plans and communication plans are added to that. Similarly in OOH, a campaign like'Naach Baliye' or a'Sports Refresh' or'Savdhan India' will have dramatically different tasks and therefore the rest of the plans reflect that. In Out of Home there, is a difference in terms of who we need to reach, the number of people and the number of hoardings required. For example, for'Sports Refresh', it was about building heroes, so we took a few sites with really large iconic installation. But if it's a'Saavdhan India' campaign, which is a late night viewing show, then transit media become really important and we have activity happening around stations. People think planning is not possible in out of home because of lack of data, but there are people with lot of market and campaign experience who deliver plans which are very different from each other and which have helped to obtain the objective.

What is the ratio of your spend on OOH compared to other mediums?

It would be one of the top three mediums. We use a fair number of other media as well, but the ratio would be in the range of 20-25%.

What are the most important factors that are taken into consideration while connecting with the audience through OOH?

Depending on the brand, we plan the campaign. Market difference also ensure that the plans need to factor in localized options. We are all aware of the challenges in Delhi and the role that Malls and metro stations play. On the other hand, in a state like Gujarat, there is a lot of intercity travel that happens so Gujarat state transport buses would be a great option. In every market you have to really understand the OOH consumption and the way the city works and then make your plan for it.

From the planning perspective as a process in Star we always look at share of visibility. For example, if I am doing an OOH campaign in Kanpur then I need answers to questions like: What are the formats available? How many units are there in the city overall? What are the high traffic areas ? The brand specific elements come in as well - eg. Youth hangout and college areas for Channel V or for Mahadev, the temple
locations in the city. What SOV will I be at with the plan I out in place?

What are the parameters based on which the site selection happens?

Each agency has a list of OOH sites with various parameters like visibility, site angle, elevation, etc. But I think it's not enough to sit in office and go by this ranking. After site visits and short listing, we create a bank of acceptable sites. If new media comes up, it's evaluated and added to the list.

Could you share the process of coining the creative ideas for any OOH campaign? What are the factors that are considered?

Innovations need to go beyond the usual definition of "never done before” to factoring in the brand context as well. We usually get the OOH agency to be part of the briefing process, so that they can understand the brand and some of the ideas they come back with are excellent. For Mahabharat we were able to enable larger than life sculptures mounted onto the sites because of advance planning.

What are the parameters of monitoring a campaign?


Unlike FMCG companies which have sales team spread across and can monitor OOH campaigns, we don't have a network to monitor sites. Star has now engaged a monitoring agency to monitor all our campaigns.

How does OOH fare in comparison to print, TV and other mediums?

We are actually working on a model to understand the impact of various media versus the investments that we pay out. It should also be market driven - for example, in a market like Bombay, OOH delivers the reach, but not efficiently cost wise vs the returns we get from a market like UP

What are the other major challenges you face while executing an OOH campaign?

Monitoring, devising creative suited to the medium and of course regulations, these are the three main challenges. Also, because we are a broadcast company, ideally I would like to communicate in an AV form, but the medium itself is a challenge in that content. People are time challenged today and there is also a lack of understanding of the medium. We see print ads getting extended into the OOH creative. We are partnering with some really good agencies who are domain experts which has helped us overcome some challenges.

What are the significant changes that you have noticed in the OOH  medium in the past decade?

It is a combination of two things - thought process and innovations. Technology enables you to make a difference in terms of the way the out of home looks, kind of units that are now available and reaching out to smaller towns. I think more and more companies are now trying to do things that have not been done before, for example using Glasstrons to shows promos helps convert ambient media into the AV format!

What are the major trends you see that will shape the OOH medium in 2014 which can significantly impact you as a brand using it?

It would be research and technology, they would be the two corner stones because I believe those are the things that will take the medium to version 2.0.

A few companies had gone ahead and done some individual researches, but if everyone has access to that, then it becomes an industry research and that would be really a big differentiator
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