Leverage digital technologies, localise messaging: Pradeep Shrivastava

Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer of Reliance Jio, delivered the keynote address titled "If OOH could sing and interact in local dialect” on the opening day of the Outdoor Advertising Convention (OAC) held in Mumbai during July 24-25.

Why can't the reinvent itself, asked Shrivastava, when referring to various challenges faced by the OOH firms. He said that the OOH industry should look to optimise the digital media to make OOH more dynamic. For instance, exhibiting QR codes on the OOH sites will ensure that the media is optimised even as it integrates with the digital world. The digital space is booming but people aren't generally aware as to how best to optimise it, he said.

Shrivastava said that it is important for the OOH industry to be conscious of the role that it plays and how it connects with consumers customers. "We need to see how we can localise the national messages, to ensure that we have a better reach with people,” he said.

Localising is the key. Today it is the consumer who decides the product, and it is the conversation between consumers that is becoming the key. Conversation and engagement with the consumers is important and it is this advertising intervention that will ensure that the messages stay top of the mind, he said.

Shrivastava added that OOH business should not be limited to buying and selling media space. Firms should look to engage in economic value addition. "Can we do destination selling, can we do contextual marketing,” he asked.

"Reinventing continuously will keep us on our toes and give the industry the competitive edge,” he reckoned.