OOH media networks will grow in India, says experts

Speaking on the theme'Can OOH media networks deliver higher visibility and ROI? Opportunities and challenges' at a panel discussion on day 1 of the Outdoor Advertising Convention 2015, Olivier Heroguelle, Olivier Heroguelle, MD, JCDecaux India, explained that the concept of an OOH media network is premised on creating a cluster of OOH media focussing on a definite geography, HNI movement, etc. Olivier reckoned that such a media network will support advance planning and dynamic pricing of media based on good economics.

In the session, G K Suresh, Vice President Marketing, Foods Business, ITC, talked about the emerging consumer eco-system. Suresh said that people are getting faster and smarter whereas the media is not seemingly keeping pace with the change.

Keeping pace with the consumer is a challenge in absence of OOH audience measurements and evaluation, he said, adding that "we can make the life of the commuter interesting by choosing Iconic sites or taking a big site. What cannot be managed by scale must be managed by size and the importance of the site. Among the many things that can be done, create multiple touch points, like the Candyman Birthday Squads - where these squads would go to the schools and celebrate the birthdays of the children and then set up billboards outside the schools, so parents would gather and click pictures - making it a visual delight.”

Suresh added that using all the visual, auditory, touch and smell senses will help to get consumer attention. He cited the Dunkin Donuts launch in Korea…where they had the jingle play on the bus and at the same time have a coffee aroma trigger off. A speaker was installed at the bus stop with a jingle playing with arrows pointing to the direction of the venue where the promotion was happening.

The panel discussed how the concept of media networks can gain ground in the non-Metro markets and whether such a network would also include moving media as well as onground activities that are becoming increasingly popular with brands.

The session was moderated by Rajiv Raghunath, Managing Editor, Outdoor Asia.