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'Spoilt for choice in Bangalore'

By M4G Bureau - March 10, 2014

Vinay Chatlani, Chairman,'Soch' -- MD Retail LLP, tells Outdoor Asia how the OOH medium is used for brand recall in Bangalore and other cities in Karnataka.


Approach to OOH campaigns in Bangalore/Karnataka

When it comes to'Soch' as a brand, we use OOH 365 days a year and we have played around with quite a few mediums. About 45% of our marketing budget goes towards OOH. In percentage terms, that may come down, although it won't come down as an amount. If the entire OOH budget is 45%, then about 70% of that would go to Bangalore alone. In this city especially, we have found that outdoor is probably the most effective medium for us. So at any given time, we have at least 25-30 billboards on a yearly contract and we add to them, depending on the seasons. One of the reasons we like to take yearly contracts is that we have lot of innovations happenings on billboards and so it helps to have a fixed spot so that the TG gets enough time to register the brand; I have, in fact, got a lot of positive feedback from this. Besides, I get better rates if I take it for a year. I believe it is better to have one medium with high saturation rather than spreading ourselves thin. And since we are a brand that needs to be visually representative, it is outdoor or print in some form that we would go with. I just don't see the effectiveness in terms of costing with magazines or newspaper. So outdoor is the best medium for us.  

Measuring the impact from the medium

Impact can be measured during end of season sale which we began only a year ago. But generally the outdoor media has only been used to display our product and enhance the brand image. We don't have a direct correlation between a hoarding and sales, except for customer walk-ins and queries based on a product they saw on a hoarding, and that. happens quite often. So at the back end, we have a system in place so we know that when a customer walks in and asks for a particular product they saw on, for instance, the airport hoarding, the store manager knows what she is talking about. So based on this, the impact can be measured or gauged.

Exploring innovations and new formats

I believe one can be innovative with a simple approach. So we have creative's with just the brand logo, a backlit LED signage made from acrylic and ACP with a halo effect and LED strip lighting. It protrudes out about 8-12 inches, depending on the size of the billboard. People notice it and that is our aim. We don't want something too flashy or loud as the brand visibility should be in line with the brand image, which is about elegance.

We also do quite a bit of in-mall advertising which is our second line of advertising. But unfortunately there aren't too many malls in Bangalore that have digital display options and even if they do, they are too small. But within the space we do a lot of innovative stuff like collages and innovative kiosks and play around with signages. We would love to do more on outdoors but because of government regulations, we can't play around too much with the structure.

In terms of exploring newer formats and more innovations, I think we have been waiting for vendors to give us options. We are looking at using technology in a better way and at synergies between all kinds of media offering an experiential impact. So given the right technological support, we would definitely love to do all that.

Dealing with clutter in Bangalore 

It can be an issue if you take a hoarding amidst a pack of hoardings. There have been times when we have had to move because we were getting lost and really had no choice. It can be tough, yes, because ultimately it affects the brand image. But when we pick sites, we ensure the location is a prime one and, as already mentioned, we ensure the brand stands out with the right creative.

Approach to selection of sites and locations

Visibility, traffic volume, TG profile and proximity to the stores are the important factors we look at while selecting the site. We have had hoardings for about two to two and a half years now and we don't want to get rid of them as we get positive feedback from them. . An example would be the hoarding on the road leading towards the city from the Bangalore International Airport.

Other key markets in the state

We do OOH campaigns in Mangalore and Mysore. In terms of approach, it is the same with Mangalore and Mysore but we don't have the same number of stores there, so we can't have as big a campaign as in Bangalore. But going forward, we do have some expansion plans.

Challenges in the Bangalore OOH market when compared to other metro markets

We have been in Bangalore for four generations so it is actually easier for us, as we have really strong ties with vendors. So finding sites and pricing have not really been major issues with us. We are also installing sensors to our billboards now, for better monitoring of sites in terms of lighting etc. We have just start experimenting with this and will phase out pan India soon. This is very important for us as ensuring night time visibility is crucial and because there are 100-200 sites, it is not possible to monitor them manually.

Factors that will drive higher OOH spends

Actually, we are so spoilt for choice in Bangalore that we expect the same in other cities. If we find the same kind of situation in other cities, we would jump on it. But in other cities we don't have too many options.

 

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