‘DOOH is seeing accelerated growth in Indonesia’

Indonesia has the 16^th largest GDP globally and the fourth largest population. How do you see the current economic scenario and the demographics contributing to OOH / DOOH growth in your country?

Indonesia has all the potential to contribute growth to OOH/DOOH, ranging from GDP to the population numbers. In fact, DOOH media has been expanding since the pandemic and it has recorded a higher growth compared to static OOH. Clients are expressing greater interest in OOH as a medium. 

In the coming months advertisers are likely to spend much more on OOH as 2024 is Presidential elections’ year in Indonesia, and it will be happening until the quarter of the year. All eyes are on the political content, and advertisers would want to take advantage of the high visibility of OOH in this period. Riding the wave is the key.

Which are the major regional markets where AMG see scope for OOH / DOOH operations?

First, if it’s South East Asia, the answer will be Malaysia and Vietnam. While AMG has not drawn up any plans for these markets the opportunity is always there for expansion

Second, if it’s just the Indonesia market, so far we are operating in four big cities -- Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Denpasar/Bali. In terms of our core business, we are looking to expand our business both locally and regionally. 

AMG has a strong footing in the OOH industry. What factors are contributing to your company’s leadership position in the market?

Strong leadership would be the first one. AMG is led by Davy Makimian, a business person who founded the company 17 years ago. He is passionate about media and technology and keeps on challenging AMG to its best. Early this year he was appointed as Board of Advisor for Indonesia OOH Association which reflects his wisdom and relationship amongst industry players.

AMG has specialised in indoor and D/OOH businesses. We understand the science of managing thousands of screens, which gave us a head start in the area of programmatic advertising as well. AMG has its own CMS built on our experience and know-how which seamlessly integrates with SSP platforms.

As a media group, you are operating multi-channel operations spanning conventional OOH / DOOH media, digital media, and retail media. How much does this help in meeting the integrated communications needs of advertising clients? Also, please share your experience with seizing business opportunities that are aligned with the omni-channel marketing strategies of brands.

Yes, we are operating in multi-channels, ranging from office buildings, apartments, retails, to transportation. The channel expansion is aligned with OOH target audience touchpoints. In this very cluttered advertising era, frequency is the key to repeat the message in TA’s mind, and the best way to do it is to be present all along the consumer’s daily journey. It helps a lot in going the way of integrated communications.

While we may not be able to share specific cases given that we are under NDA with clients, we have been able to combine OOH and digital channel (omni-channel) to create sales leads for clients.

How would you assess the growth of DOOH in Indonesian markets? Are clients willing to budget more for DOOH media?

We use a post campaign approach (monitoring) to assess DOOH growth in Indonesia due to lack of aggregated data from media owners no clients. And by monitoring the airing time/occupancy rate, we understand that clients are spending more on DOOH media.

Is the Indonesian OOH industry receptive to the use of newer and more advanced ad tech solutions?

Yes, the industry is open to adopting anything that can boost the OOH growth. For instance, major media owners are sending their delegates to WOO conferences like in Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, and Bali this November. They are eager to be at the same level as other countries in terms of OOH shares and growth. They believe that ad tech solution plays a big role in the growth process.

As an industry have you been able to develop and adopt any common currency for OOH?

We are working back to back with other Indonesian OOH stakeholders to formulate the common currency for OOH. We are sourcing it locally and there are some discussions and explorations as well with an international entity. It’s not an easy task, but we are committed to taking the initiative to drive OOH growth.

Would AMG Indonesia explore investment and business opportunities in overseas markets in the future?

Yes, as a matter a fact we are discussing this with entities in other countries. We will keep everyone including team Media4Growth updated on this.