Jalandhar OOH bereft of new contracts, industry expectantly awaits new ad policy

Outdoor advertising business in Jalandhar is faced with fresh challenges with the tenure one of the major advertising contracts awarded by the civic body coming to an end. No fresh tender for the contract will be issued until the Punjab Government’s proposed new advertising policy is ushered in.

The 11-year contract, covering some 200 unipoles and 100 gantries spread across the city, was held by Shri Durga Publicity, whose owner was unavailable for the comment.

“This is a crisis situation for the industry. Mall media and a few tendered unipoles are available in the city but that will not sustain the industry’s business. We are operating with a handful of media for sake of being present and surviving in the city,” said Nishant Mittal, Proprietor, Creative Designer.

The biggest concern for media owners is that the new advertising policy has not been introduced yet. “Everything has come to a halt as no new tender or media establishment is happening till the new policy is implemented. We are expecting the policy to come into effect in 3 months,” said Nishant.

The ad budgets are also getting diverted. “If outdoor is not available then its share of budget will go to other advertising channels and getting those brands back into the OOH fold will be a big challenge, he said.