‘Time for an OOH academy’

“Do you think the OOH industry is not attractive enough for young talent?” asked Dr Dwarika Prasad Uniyal, Pro Vice Chancellor, RV University, Bengaluru - a question that instantly made the audience sit up and reflect during the first post-lunch session on Day 1 of the Outdoor Advertising Convention 2023 held at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi, on July 28 and 29. 

Dwarika was addressing the audience on the theme, ‘Building a game-changing talent strategy for OOH’. In a highly charged and interactive session, he made a compelling case for the need to create a talent grooming platform for the OOH industry. 

Dwarika began his session with some industry-affirming numbers - OOH advertising is expected to register a 31% growth this year and is projected to touch Rs 3,400 crore, as ad spends. With that, he drew on the evocative power of the OOH medium through some real life examples - campaigns that grabbed attention in recent times.  With more examples that demonstrate the power of Digital OOH (DOOH), especially when integrated with AI and other new technologies, Dwarika drove home the edge that OOH offers, and therefore the need for skills that can effectively leverage the medium.  

Dwarika very clearly listed out the key qualities/skills needed in OOH today - Creativity, Data Analysis and Adaptability. He also brought home some of the industry challenges in drawing the right talent:  Long unstructured working hours, remote locations, fragmented nature of the industry, disconnect between brands, media owners and media agencies, general lack of understanding of the medium, lack of outfits for mid career training, etc. 

“We are a data illiterate country; we don’t do data analysis. Also, there is no collaboration between the academia and the industry, and OOH is not seen as a cool career option,” he said, summing up the key challenges in drawing the right kind of talent and on the need to invest in best practices, research and training.

Dwarika also drew attention to a glaring but overlooked fact - there is no institution  in India providing specific courses on OOH media.  Further, elaborating on some strategies for talent acquisition, development and retention, he concluded his session with a very interesting proposal for an OOH Academy on behalf of MineRVa: RV Center for Leadership & Executive Education. Dwarika certainly gave the audience and the whole OOH eco-system a lot to think over that afternoon at OAC 2023.