Outdoor advertising is not just restricted to billboards these days. It has transitioned into mall kiosks & transit media. Digital media has given rise to the increase in variety of options for the advertisers to pick from. Companies and businesses are looking at purchasing advertisement space out of different options available for increasing their market and sales. Static billboards are getting competition from digital counterparts. Though we have seen transition happening however Indian outdoor advertising agencies are still lagging behind in digital innovation and the reason behind it is fundamental and deep.
About to 95% of OOH formats in India include traditional billboards, bus Q shelters, pole kiosks, bridge panels, gantries, buses, trains, trams, metros, airport media, mall media, etc. Of this only the airport medium allows digital displays as per law. The strict rules & regulations as well as the stringency shown by authorities don’t allow digital/video display on the streets and hence you wouldn’t see such display on Indian roads unlike abroad — barring a few LED displays in Kolkata, etc., in slide show formats. The few digital advertisements which can be seen is basically restricted to airports, and such displays are seen more at the airport’s T3 and T2 terminals. A few more can be seen in cafes, hospitals, residential buildings and corporate parks in smaller formats and in a few malls.
“The possibility is endless because it opens up a host of services for the industry that still struggles with ROI and audience measurement issues. Digital displays are effective at identifying audience (gender recognition, gaze-tracking and vehicle recognition), enabling more precise targeting. Cost is a major concern along with other restrictions in the municipal by-laws particularly when it comes to open spaces, so we are introducing and promoting digital OOH within the ambit of Govt. rules and regulations in ambient space”, said Atul Shrivastava, Group CEO, Laqshya Media Group.
