OOH delivers the multiplier effect: Samir Miglani

Outdoor formats available in the Tier II & III cities in the country may not be a match to the formats in use in the metros, but the reach of the outdoor media in the smaller cities can hardly be overstated. For one, the outdoor media assets, be they hoardings or bus queue shelters, stand out on the landscapes of the smaller cities which is immensely beneficial to the brands that seek to establish a deep consumer connect through the outdoor media. Leading telecom service provider Uninor is one such advertising brand that has leveraged the unique strengths of the outdoor media to build a domineering presence in its target markets.

Reflecting on the company's outlook on the outdoor media, Samir Miglani, Head- Brand & Marcom, Uninor, told Outdoor Asia, "OOH is not just a reminder medium. We have seen huge brand launches happening in the OOH space.  It does have a great media multiplier effect and there is much more to it. The OOH media has delivered for our brand,”

While the telecom brand initially established its outdoor presence in the metros, it was quick to take the outdoor route all the way to the mini metros and other cities. "In our opinion, OOH is a powerful medium with a good amount of reach and should be treated differently for Tier II and Tier III towns. In fact, in the Tier II & III cities, print and TV do not enjoy as much reach as the outdoor medium. So, as a brand one should subscribe to the outdoor media.” he said.

Underlining some of the other key factors that go in favour of the OOH media, Miglani said, "We plan for different communications and different products in each circle. The OOH media give us the flexibility to do this,”

He added that given the erratic electricity supply in the smaller cities, TV is not likely to engage consumers in a significant way, but the outdoor connects with people at all times. "The OOH is therefore an effective medium to connect with consumers,” he asserted.

Miglani reiterated that the OOH landscape in the smaller cities are relatively clutter-free, so an OOH campaign in those markets are seemingly more impactful.

While allocating budgets for OOH spends in the smaller cities, Uninor considers various aspects like the size of the city, its population, growth potential and business uptake. Apart from that type, the brand also look at factors like availability of OOH formats like hoardings, media at traffic crossings, chowks, boards for social messaging, direction signages, etc. Largely, the brand opts for 60 ft x 30 ft billboards, 3 ft x 4 ft small kiosks, and other large and small media formats. On a larger plane, right media, right creative, right communication at right place is what helps the brand to communicate effectively to its target audience.

Speaking about achieving the desired level of visibility in the target markets, Miglani said, "In the metro cities, you need to take more numbers to create visibility while in the smaller towns you can build a threshold level of visibility with fewer numbers. This is due to several reasons -- in the smaller towns, people do not have too many markets to go to. They have 2-3 markets where they go and purchase all their daily needs and shop for clothes, unlike in the metro cities. Metro cities have highways, a number of junctions and a number of hotspots, whereas in smaller towns, you have 5 pet addas where you gather. So, targeting people in smaller towns is easier, but making the connection with them is challenging as compared to people in the metros. Here, emotional connect is equally important as being rational as compared to the metro cities.”

Touching upon the critical issue of monitoring of campaigns in the outdoor space, Miglani said, "We track our OOH on a monthly basis. We have a brand tracker to measuring KPIs which monitors all communication platforms, including OOH.” The brand team also captures key learnings from every campaign which are used as reference points for future campaigns and other outdoor initiatives.

Commenting on the improvements that he would like see in the outdoor space, Miglani said, "Unlike TV, print and radio, the OOH is still an unorganised media and needs immediate attention from the industry experts to make its transactions more transparent. Industry leaders need to consider this aspect with all seriousness, and also take the necessary steps to bring in scientific measurement tools, good and standard practices, etc.”