Adapt to be creative for the medium: Sanjeev Handa

Standing out is a key challenge for most brands today. Presenting his topic 'Driving in Top Gear with OOH' on Day 1 at OAC 2016, Sanjeev Handa, Vice President and Head of Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Limited spoke on this challenge and the hard task of choosing a medium that amplifies the brand's visibility and message.

Talking about ways that can make OOH engaging and measurable, Handa said today's consumers were demanding and sought to pursue their choices. They not only have short attention spans but also the choice to skip an ad and save time. Therefore, advertisers have no choice but to surprise consumers and engage with them.

For all these purposes, the OOH could play a key role with its strengths. Handa dwelled on the strengths of OOH which include broad reach at low cost, use at specific locations with minimal competition, making big impact and becoming a destination in itself. However, advertisers also need to keep the weaknesses in mind which include short exposure, problems in monitoring effectiveness, limited message deliverance and having the capacity to be vandalized by both men and nature.

Therefore, Handa advised advertisers to be innovative and avoid blind spots. He suggested that this could be done by being conscious of consumer emotions of ambient locations and not be disjointed for maximum benefits. "The idea is to adapt to be creative to the medium and not expect the medium to be creative,” said Handa, who has earlier worked with organizations like Microsoft and Hero Honda.