Tony Jarvis meets with OOH leaders in Mumbai, Kolkata

Global advertising and research architect Tony Jarvis, Proprietor & Research Architect at Olympic Media Consultancy, who has been recently appointed by the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA) as a Lead Consultant, met with OOH industry leaders and advertisers in Mumbai on January 10 & 12 at The Intercontinental Hotel and in Kolkata on January 13 at The Taj Bengal Hotel. The agenda was to seek cooperation from the media owners, advertisers and specialist agencies in developing a common currency for OOH audience measurement in India. As the lead consultant, Jarvis will build a project report based on his own observations and surveys done in the markets for out-of-home media.

Reflecting on the meetings that he has had with the industry, Jarvis told Outdoor Asia, "We have got an overwhelming response from the media owners, agencies and brands on this initiative and I see that there is a great opportunity for OOH growth in the Indian market. It is high time that such scientific research is conducted which will help the entire industry to leverage more from this media and increase the ROI. The research will provide a common currency as per the cities and their media formats on the basis of geography, population and visibility count or viewability. We will have a consistent approach while preparing the data for all cities and we may take up at the first go the major metros and formats like hoardings and street furniture. This model will help the industry to understand how to buy the media and how to sell it to potential advertisers.”

Jarvis also said, "A lot of hoardings or outdoor billboards that I saw are not done in a proper manner when it comes to using good creatives. In order to get the most out of the brand campaigns the advertisers now need to be given these scientific numbers so that the out-of-home media enjoys a significant place in the media mix. Maybe, a brand can give only 3% of their budget to outdoor but if it is used effectively then it may be compared to giving 10% result. Thus, the entire thrust of this initiative is to provide the industry a common currency on the audience reached ultimately through the outdoor promotional strategy. I see so many cars moving at the same time on the roads for the out-of-home industry it is of great benefit because the dwell time is more and this is also an important factor which is going to be looked at while preparing the data.”

Noomi Mehta, Chairman, IOAA, said, "The agenda of these meetings are to give out this message that we as a body are very much serious about conducting research for the overall growth of this industry which is impossible till we achieve a common measurement tool as this will be of immense help to the end-users who are investing in this media. In Kolkata we invited important organisations like ITC, Coca Cola, CREDAI, and Automobile Association with whom we discussed several issues like the problem of illegal sites and how to legitimise this industry as a whole.”  

He added that "the scientific research will help the media planners who will find a logic while understanding where the money is going. We got support from national media owners in Kolkata like Enkon, Accord and Pioneer Publicity who are all direct members of IOAA.”

When asked about the budget allotted for the project, he said: "To kick start this initiative we need around Rs 15 crore which has been estimated by IOAA. I am optimistic that once we get this research project in place, the ongoing investment or funds needed will never be a constraint for the industry.”

Once this research model is prepared the IOAA will conduct coaching classes in different cities to enlighten the industry players, brand marketers and advertisers how to scientifically use this data.