"We are always open to innovations in our OOH campaigns"

Chatting with Outdoor Asia, Ankura Ranade of UNIBIC expresses that innovative campaigns are eye catchy, attract customers instantly and helps in building the brand's image.

Over the years, we have seen UNIBIC very actively involved in OOH. Can you tell us the role that OOH media plays for your brand?

We believe that when it comes to catering to a heterogeneous market, OOH is the best medium to reach. Since our brand needs to create an impact on customers with diverse language and distinctive needs, OOH acts as a universal language to reach them all.

How much of your marketing budget is allotted towards OOH?

We spend around 5-8% of our marketing budget on OOH.

How does an OOH campaign add to bottom line of your business? How do you measure that?

Given the fact that OOH has instant visibility, our campaigns in Bangalore and Mumbai are extremely successful. Moreover, UNIBIC has always believed in innovative campaigns. We plan our OOH campaigns to create an instant impact on our customers and also make sure to register UNIBIC in their mind for a longer period. Unfortunately, there is no scientific formula to measure the success of any OOH campaign. But the gaining popularity of our brand speak volumes.

How much importance does UNIBIC give to creative and innovative campaigns in OOH?

We have done quite a number of innovative billboards, like the one with varying light colour during different time of the day. Innovative campaigns are eye catchy and attract customers instantly and therefore we are always open to innovations in our OOH. It also helps in building brand image.

What is your preferred OOH media?

We prefer creating bigger impact and wider reach. Therefore, large hoardings and bus shelters are our preferred choice. It helps us cater to a larger audience at a much lower cost. We have tried bus back branding only in Chennai but nothing can create a bang as big as hoardings and bus shelters.

How different is your OOH experience in Bangalore compare to other cities like Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai?

In Bangalore, OOH has become very cluttered and so the brand gets lost in the crowd. Though Chennai and Mumbai are no different, our major issue with the two cities is the cost. They are sometimes unreasonably expensive to run an outdoor campaign.

How important is DOOH for UNIBIC?

The quality of DOOH in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai are not up to the standard where an innovative campaign can be planned. As long as the quality and visibility does not improve, there is no point in planning DOOH.

Your message to the agencies and media owners to help make OOH the preferred media for UNIBIC?

Our suggestion to the media owners would be to bring in some transparency in pricing of the OOH media, especially the hoardings. It would also help if there was a mechanism like visual mapping or plotting sites on a dashboard which would help brands to plan their campaigns and choose locations with ease.