‘Civic body OOH norms need to be aligned with changing urban landscape’

Smart cities are expected to create compelling OOH advertising avenues. However, the moot point is, how will the OOH industry leverage those investment and business opportunities if the advertising policies and norms laid down by the local bodies are not attuned to the new developments. A case in in point is Vashi which is in the Navi Mumbai suburbs.

Vashi holds bright prospects for OOH business with its planned township, infrastructure growth and people settling here to escape the hustle and bustle of Mumbai.  “Despite the favourable market condition, the municipal laws are hindering the growth of business.  Since past six months or more, there are no new tenders and the present tax rates are also quite high impacting the market which is already in recession due to the rollout of GST, RERA and demonetization,” states Amardeep Singh, MD, Ronak Advertising who claims to hold 90% OOH media structures on the Thane-Vashi route.

The same situation mirrors in Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra also a part of Smart City mission. There too, there is a lack of proper guidelines which are in sync with the project.  As Kadar Attar of Pune-based Target Advertising puts it,” There should be transparency in the policies of the Pune Municipal Corporation. All the permission grants for building new hoarding structures have been put on hold without sighting any reason. Even if there is an upcoming tender, a need to make an official announcement is not felt by the authority”.