“Kolkata is still a largely local-driven OOH market”

Kolkata’s OOH market continues to remain active, but still lacks structure and pricing discipline, according to Nimesh Shah, CEO, JK Advertising. 

“Demand is always there and good locations are rarely empty, but the market remains quite unorganized,” says Nimesh, pointing to fragmentation and cash flow management as major industry challenges. “Expenses are upfront, while collections from agencies and clients can take months.” 

He notes that advertiser behaviour has also evolved in recent years, with D2C brands and startups increasingly experimenting with outdoor advertising alongside traditional sectors like real estate, retail, jewellery, and education. 

“Earlier, clients booked sites for long durations. Now they prefer shorter, high-impact campaigns,” he explains. 

Despite newer categories entering the market, real estate continues to dominate OOH spends across key locations such as New Town and EM Bypass. According to Nimesh, Kolkata also remains largely local-driven, with national advertisers still treating the city as a secondary market compared to metros like Mumbai and Bangalore. 

On DOOH, he believes adoption is growing steadily but remains limited. “There is interest from bigger brands, but static formats still dominate. Policy clarity, infrastructure costs, and maintenance remain major challenges for digital growth.” 

For Nimesh, the future of Kolkata’s OOH market depends on creating a more stable, structured, and financially sustainable ecosystem for media owners and advertisers alike.