Measurement of ROI is difficult in OOH

Where does OOH media stands in your marketing / media mix?
 
For Tanishq, outdoor advertising scores high in combination with other mediums during activations as well as bigger campaigns. Outdoor advertising is key to product centric communication such as the launch of new collections. For instance, during our activation period, when we offer customers up to 20% off on diamond jewellery, we have seen outdoor advertising having a high level of resonance amongst our target audience.
 
What is the budget you spend on marketing and advertising? Of this, what percentage is spent on OOH ?

We reserve close to 5-10% of our total marketing costs on OOH media. But then again, these spends may vary depending on the activity and the objectives of the campaign. For activation periods, the spends may be higher, when compared to a collection launch.
 
How does an OOH campaign add to bottom line of your business? How do you measure that?

The measurement of success for an OOH medium is quite difficult. This difficulty in measuring the ROI is a setback for this medium; unlike a television ad which can be measured based on viewership ratings. However, this isn't the case for OOH media as it is more of a static medium. It is used to reinforce the existing campaigns that are on-going in other mediums by amplifying the visual and catching our audience's attention.
 
What kind of outdoor media formats do you use in your OOH campaign? Why?

We use billboards and regular hoardings. We also focus on advertising in airports, as they are a critical touch point for drawing the attention of business-class travellers. We also use other forms of outdoor mediums such as gantries, kiosks etc. Additionally, we also do a certain amount of mall branding. For instance, for our sub-brand Mia, we look at targeting corporates. Here, we look at elevator branding to capture the attention of our TG, which is the working woman. As mentioned earlier, the mix purely depends on the campaign objective.
 
How much focus is given on Digital OOH? Do you see digital OOH budget going up in the near future?

We are predominantly present on static outdoor mediums. Our approach to finalising on the medium is purely reach-based. As of now, we have not used digital OOH mediums as the visual nature of our communication and the product category draws our audience's attention via static mediums.
 
What are the challenges you face with OOH media?

With respect to the OOH media in general, the measurement of ROI is difficult. Another drawback of this medium is the transparency. There is no market cap on the minimum pricing for a hoarding as different vendors will quote different prices. There is no regulatory body present to mandate the pricing or other details.
 
Most times, the OOH creative is still a cut and paste job. Do you think brands will ever bring about an exclusive OOH creative?

In an ideal scenario, exclusive content will be created. But currently, not many brands bring out any exclusive material for this medium. Their OOH communication is an extension of their print creative. One out of 10 brands may bring in fresh content; but this trend is yet to be adopted completely by other brands.
 
What is your message to Outdoor Specialist Agencies?

They need to introduce methods to measure the reach and visibility. There also needs to be a regulatory body that oversees all the actions of this type of media. For instance, television has a BAARC which regulates their actions. A similar body needs to be set up for OOH media.