Brand spends on OOH will be sustained: Vinkoo Chakraborty, President, Rapport Chrome

Do you see a distinct increase in brand spends on OOH with the onset of the festive season this year? Is this comparable with the festive season of 2019?

We are all aware that the festive season in India contributes significantly to the annual ADEX across mediums. This year in OOH too we have seen an increase in brand spends with the onset of the festive season. In the middle of the festive season, we are now observing full occupancy across multiple touchpoints, advertisers across multiple categories using OOH, first time users of OOH, new categories using OOH etc. With this traction and usage, it seems that recovery is well on track.

Which of the brand categories are more active on OOH this season? Any particular brand participation that you would like to comment on?

Multiple brands across apparels, jewellery, consumer durables, FMCG, automotive, OTT, media & entertainment and real estate are very active this season. OOH investments are spread across traditional, ambient & transit touchpoints. Brand engagements were in full swing during Navratri & Durga Pujo. In fact, we just organised a spectacular and immersive drone, light & sound show for the launch of “Nolen Gur”- a regional variant of Kwality Wall’s ice cream in Kolkata.

Are you able to get the media sites of your choice for particular brand campaigns in this festive season?

Like every normal year, getting impact and premium sites is difficult in few geographies because of multiple reasons. However, we are able to get tremendous support from our media partners pan-India in facilitating this.

On a larger plane, is Indian OOH well and truly back on the growth trajectory? Do you see brands spends being sustained over the next 1-2 years? What factors will help the cause?

Yes, India OOH has bounced back strongly from the Covid triggered abyss it had gone into. Consumer mobility is back to normal across touchpoints, across geographies nudging the OOH advertisers to use OOH as an integral medium for their campaigns. Brands spends will definitely be sustained and go higher for few categories as the use of OOH might slightly change going forward. Multiple factors will act as a catalyst for this sustained increase --changes in the overall media consumption, integrated media planning, higher usage of data & technology driven planning, more DOOH assets, industry backed measurement currency etc.