‘The future of OOH will be illuminated with the light of innovation’

In the contemporary media landscape, advertising grapples with traditional media saturation, pushing the industry towards inventive and experiential strategies. Even with digital platforms dominating audience attention, engaging audiences has never been harder.  Advertising, both in and out of home, must adapt by delivering dynamic, interactive experiences, and Emraan Kureshi, Founder and MD of Active Media Innovations, is a strong advocate of the same.  

In an exclusive interview with Media4Growth, Emraan Kureshi discusses the imperative shift towards innovative, disruptive OOH advertising in response to the diminishing relevance of traditional media. 

“The beginning of the new Millennium saw OOH and events gaining ground in India. However, over the last two decades, the OOH landscape has become as cluttered as other traditional media in the country. The same formulaic approach to events has made them increasingly ineffective at engaging audiences,” he says, reiterating his view on the shift that advertising in general seems to facing today.

“In a world that is quickly moving towards ad-free OTT platforms and digital news feeds, the relevance of traditional media is diminishing in the first place. To add to that, digital advertising simply mirrors the problems with traditional media. While static digital ads are largely ignored, users cannot wait to skip digital video ads. These trends are not limited to metro cities but are also visible in Tier-C and rural segments. So, what do advertisers do?”

Fortunately, he has an answer to the question he poses. “The challenge is real and the answer is innovation. Since passive advertising is ineffective today, we create active advertising. The emphasis is on disruption and experiential audience engagement.  Disruptive and interactive OOH advertising tends to outperform conventional OOH advertising by generating far higher engagement and brand impressions, which is what we do here at Active Media Innovations.” 

“Much of this also involves exposing clients to possibilities that they have not envisioned. This results in clients undergoing a paradigm shift in their campaign approach. This further translates to constant upgrades in skillsets for our tech team, the addition of new expertise and investment in the latest hardware,” he adds. “As an example, we have already started incorporating the latest AI technologies in our offerings, finding creative applications for these technologies in various scenarios.”

Speaking about DDX Asia, the one-stop exhibition of digital display solutions for OOH and retail that was launched last year by VJ Media Works, Emraan says, “DDX Asia is important for solution providers and clients alike. We think it provides a much-needed platform to expose and educate them about the latest display technologies and their application in the retail and OOH spaces.”

“This initiative will go a long way in encouraging clients to look beyond conventional media and empowering the industry with cutting-edge technologies. We hope these technologies inspire even greater creativity because the future of OOH will be illuminated with the light of innovation which, in turn, will drive outstanding brand communication and engagement,” he sums up.