Brand marketers discuss the future of OOH in an AI-led environment at OAC 2025

The panel discussion titled ‘Is the Future of OOH an AI Prompt Away?’ on Day 1 of the OOH Advertising Convention 2025 explored the impact of artificial intelligence on the Out of Home (OOH) advertising ecosystem and what implication AI has for all aspects of OOH – from creative processes and campaign planning; to data mapping and campaign analysis.  

Ably moderated by Dr Dwarika Prasad Uniyal, Vice Chancellor of RV University, the lively session brought together leading marketing minds from diverse industries to share insights and real-world applications of AI in OOH. 

The panel included Kaushik Chakraborty, Head of Marketing of Tata Capital, Shwetal Basu, Sr. Vice President Brand and Marketing Communication of Polycab India Ltd, Sanjay Mehrotra, National Head – Sales & Marketing of L&T Realty, and Shantiswarup Panda, CMO Novel Jewels of Aditya Birla Group. Together, they talked about how AI is making advertising smarter, faster, and more personal. 

AI Makes Work Faster and Smarter 

Shantiswarup Panda, began by highlighting how AI was making a difference to a range of functions, especially those related to content creation, like  writing product descriptions. “It saves time and effort, but we still need people to check, supervise and add a human touch,” he said. 

Shwetal Basu, who has worked across many industries, shared how AI’s role has evolved over time.  She said, “AI isn’t here to take away jobs, but the people who use AI will stay ahead.” The real skill lies in how well we prompt and guide it, as she pointed out.  

Smarter Planning with AI 

Kaushik Chakraborty stated that in finance, where trust is crucial, AI aids in determining where to allocate advertising budgets and, also in adjusting plans according to the campaign. But he also pointed out that traditional billboards still work better in India because digital OOH is more expensive and not always practical.   

Faster Targeting with AI 

Sanjay Mehrotra, referring to the industry he belongs to, stressed over the importance of speed. He said, “If we don’t reach a potential customer quickly enough, we risk losing them to someone else. And when you’ve invested time, money, and resources, losing a lead is a serious waste.” He acknowledged that AI has been a big help recently, especially in improving analytics and targeting the right audience more quickly. However, when it comes to real-time measurement, he emphasized that there’s still a gap. 

Keeping It Real 

One big concern the panel addressed was the extent to which AI could be relied on. For brands like jewellery and real estate, where emotions play a big role, isn’t the human touch more important in effectively conveying the right message? As Shantiswarup warned, AI can help scale creative work, but it cannot and should not replace human creativity. “A woman trying on a necklace in-store is a very personal moment, no AI can replace that,” he said. 

The panelists did agree that AI was making outdoor advertising more efficient and creative, but it could not replace people. As they emphasized, the future of OOH ultimately lies in a perfect mix of technology and human creativity. 

Dr Dwarika Prasad Uniyal effectively summed up the panel with a touch of poetry composed by him on the theme, driving home the significance of it. The crux of it is that while man evolved and made machines, the same man-made machines have been evolving too, doing everything that man can do and more, including selling dreams (advertising remember?) So, what’s next?