“OOH needs better accountability”

India’s OOH industry is at an important transition point where brands are increasingly looking for efficiency, accountability, and transparency, according to Mohit Chaudhary, Director, Five Dots Digital, who shared his observations and journey with Media4Growth.

Mohit’s agency Five Dots Digital evolved from a BTL-focused agency into a pan-India outdoor and transit media player working with brands like Flipkart Minutes, Allen, CultFit, and CarDekho.

Mohit revealed that one of the agency’s biggest breakthroughs came through Flipkart Minutes’ metro campaigns across cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Jaipur, and Kolkata.

“Metro became a key positioning strategy for Flipkart Minutes because of the audience behaviour and the kind of visibility the medium delivers,” Mohit said, highlighting the significance of Metro as an OOH medium.

According to him, the agency had earlier pitched similar transit-led strategies to multiple quick commerce brands, but Flipkart’s media team showed greater openness towards experimenting with the medium.

Talking about the current challenges in the OOH industry, Mohit pointed to multi-layered buying structures and reverse auction practices as major concerns. “By the time a mandate passes through multiple agencies, vendors, and intermediaries, 10-15% of the budget is already wasted,” Mohit explained.

He also believes the industry needs stronger tracking and accountability systems to encourage more recurring spends from mid-sized brands.

On the future of DOOH, Mohit felt that many brands are still more comfortable with static inventory due to the exclusivity and cost efficiency it offers. “Brands don’t always want to share screen space. Many still prefer owning fewer static sites completely rather than rotating on digital loops,” he added.

Read the full interview in the June edition of Outdoor Asia.