'UP is a goldmine'

Popular newspaper brand Dainik Jagran, has always kept accorded priority to the OOH medium and utilised it in innovative and strategic ways in the UP market.  While talking about it at the'UP Talks OOH', a day conference in Lucknow, Vinod Srivasta, GM, Dainik Jagran shared his beliefs and experiences with regard to the outdoor industry and the state as well. He also spoke on the challenges and the areas for improvement, which according to him, needed to be dealt with on an urgent basis by the industry.

According to Vinod, outdoor mattered because it provided 24-hours exposure to the brand with maximum flexibility. The brand finds the outdoor advertisements to be one of the most cost efficient ways to reach potential customers and clients along and with the new technologies coming up, he believes there are possibilities to create incredibly eye-catching displays.

Vinod said speaking about the UP market, "The Uttar Pradesh market is of strategic importance for all marketers, media vehicles and specifically in the context of outdoors.  UP is India's biggest consumer market. There's no state in India with so many large urban centers with a huge upcountry as well. This state is going to be the next target market for all companies and therefore outdoor plays an important role in reaching out across UP. About 15% of all India consumption happens in UP. It is a Rs 49,000 crore FMCG market which is the 2nd largest in India, Maharashtra being the first in India. UP is also a Rs 17,800 crore durable market which is the biggest in India and UP is also a Rs 34,200 crore clothing and footwear market which is the largest in India.”

Vinod further spoke about his experience while working with UP's OOH industry, "For us OOH plays an important role in our media mix. We have seen this market grow from 15 to 20 Rs sq ft market to 50 to 60 Rs. Sq ft Market. While rates have gone up, the quality of media offered has not gone up proportionately. We expect better media options to be developed in UP.”

Vinod also mentioned the grey areas n the medium which required improvements. Primarily he felt that clutter in the outdoor industry should be sorted out for better visibility and also for better aesthetics of the city. He also stressed on the need for  legal sites with proper structures in the city. According to him, newer formats with regularisation of sites should be introduced so that brands could increase their OOH spends in UP. Also he felt that there should one authority body to manage the outdoor business throughout UP, which would make the whole process easier for brands and agencies.

The session ended with a lot of interaction with media owners and agencies present among the audience.