Digisign Digest : First magazine for in-store & outdoor digital signages in India

Face -to-face

“OOH TV does not competes but builds the frequency of TV and other forms of media” says Ishan Raina, director and CEO, OOH Media (India) Pvt Ltd.

At malls (near escalators)

With the increasing trend of more and more people spending more time outof- home in locations oriented towards work or shop or leisure plus the intense media fragmentation trend, the situation demands innovative and effective ways of reaching out to them at these locations but in a different format. And digital signages does just that! Mumbai-based Out-of-Home Media (India) Pvt Ltd leverages robust business, in-store and leisure network to display audio-visual advertisements and engage urban consumers while they work, shop or play. With over 4000 screens installed in more than 22 cities across India and the further plan to set up as many as 30,000 screens in the next 2 years, makes them India’s largest digital out-of-home television display company.

As per research findings (Source: TGI Data - IMRB International), more and more people are spending more and more time out-of-home. The research further said that 40% visited a mall last year and a quarter of these visit every week. Also, 60% of the mall rats do not shop, but it is their hangout space. Therefore foodcourts become key areas for advertising.

In conversation with DigiSign, Ishan Raina (IR), director & CEO of OOH Media (India) Pvt Ltd, highlights the advantages of using OOH TVs.

DigiSign : What are the benefits of OOH TV vis-à-vis traditional outdoor media?

IR : The key benefits of OOH TV include:

Taking TV out-of-home : By no means does OOH TV compete with TV as a medium but helps build the frequency of TV and other forms of advertising, as an increasing number of people are spending more time out-of-home. By taking an audiovisual experience to them, advertisers can ensure that their advertising is either seen more frequently, and/or seen in an audio visual as opposed to static format in the current out-of-home context.
Customised TG segmentation : The medium has the ability to talk different strokes to different folks. What you say in Chennai can be very different from what you say in Gurgaon or maybe in a Nariman Point v/s Borivali. Marketers now have the ability to bond brand messages with consumer psyches far more effectively, achieving a better consumer connect.
Flexicasting : Opportunity for brands to advertise where otherwise the cost of being in media would be overwhelming. We allow the advertiser the choice of customizing his media plan, according to the area within a city or a type of location, type of network, his TG, etc, which adds to media efficiency and it allows them to use TV as a medium and avoid media spillage.
Wait-marketing works : OOH Media operates on the philosophy of taking OOH TV where people are going nowadays and spend a lot of their time such as malls, restaurants, cafes, multiplexes, or for work, etc. The tactics are to locate the screens in these places where people can’t afford to miss, e.g. while waiting for an elevator in a corporate building, waiting for a cash transaction at a mall, waiting to buy a ticket at a multiplex, waiting for their meal in a food court or restaurant, etc. So the brand advertising has more assurance of being noticed due to the current format it operates in. Keeping the entire gamut of the current trends and the format of OOH TV, OOH media features in the media plans of several brands already and will keep doing so, as clients and media agencies have and are realizing the benefits of this medium.
Reaching media dark audiences : BPOs and ITES are locations wherein conventional media does not have access to, especially TV. OOH Media explores this need and takes TV advertising to the media-dark target segments effectively.

DigiSign : What points should an advertiser consider while releasing ads with a particular digital signage network company?

At cash counters in retail

IR : Media plan of the advertiser should be sensitive to the brand’s TG and the TG profile of the location, which should be in sync with each other. For example, a shampoo brand must be advertised on screens placed in stores, gyms, salons and residential networks. But if the brand is targeted towards SEC A and A+, it can use premium locations as well like select upmarket restaurants, corporate parks, multiplexes airport buses, etc, where the TG frequents.

DigiSign : How important is the content customization for a successful digital signage ad campaign?
IR : Till enough money is spent on this medium, clients are currently either editing their current TV ads or digitizing their print / outdoor communication to adapt to the OOH TV medium. As the medium becomes more and more mature and ad spends increase substantially (expected to happen in 2009), content customization for this medium will also happen on a large scale – currently very few clients or creative agencies are creating content exclusively for this medium.

DigiSign : How many clients have you roped in so far and how many of them have been your repeat customers?

IR : We have an array of over 70 clients who have tried our media in last 6 months, from categories ranging across FMCG, auto, telecom, financial services, real estate, TV channels, etc and about 18-20 advertisers have come back to advertise on our screens.

DigiSign : Since OOH Media’s inception in November 2006, what has been the growth in this industry?

IR : The OOH TV industry per se (as opposed to out-of-home overall including billboards) is still in its infancy - less than 0.5 % of the ad industry but growing steadily. As many as 6-8 players have entered the space, and by year-end, 6000-6500 LCD screens have emerged in key cities in retail-oriented locations such as restaurants, malls, bookstores, cafes, in-store, etc. In my opinion, this will move to about 1.5% in 2008, and reach 5% by 2010.

DigiSign : To date, how many screens does OOH media runs and how many more are on the anvil?

IR : Currently we have 4800 screens signed up, of which 4000 are installed and we plan to put 1000 more between now and mid-march.

OOH media adds frequency to other media: now a proven fact

Mumbai-based OOH Media (India) Pvt Ltd, in association with Neilsen, has conducted several researches to determine the advantages of using out-of-home-media for advertising. The research targeted as a tool to understand screen recall, advertising recall, elements of advertising recall and hygiene check on medium. Till date, twenty ad track studies have been completed, while eight are in the pipeline. These were client focused research for categories like media, travel, personal care, automaker, insurance, fuel, chocolate, snack, news channel, mutual funds, apparel, etc.

The conclusions from the research proved that there is 87% average visibility for screens across locations. In case of multiple screens within a location, respondents on an average notice more than two screens. They are also able to recall and identify screen locations within office buildings /in store locations cluttered with other mediums of advertising.

Research conducted for various clients across markets like Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai shows that on an average 72% of the audience visiting OOH media locations are SEC A. Moreover, on an average, 76% of the respondents are able to recall any advertising that they see on OOH media screens.

Not only this, research conducted across various categories shows high recall of creative elements. A research conducted for a snack client shows that 49% of the respondents were able to recall the correct slogan. The second round of research conducted for the same client shows that 97% of the respondents were able to recall the correct slogan.

Also, research conducted for a travel client shows that 35% across locations claimed never to have seen the ad before, extending reach of traditional media. In the BPO building (Mindspace), 100% audience had never seen the ad before, thus proving that OOH media reaches media dark audiences.

Not only this, separate researches conducted for an insurance and a mutual fund clients show that 40% of the SEC A respondents in the former case and 60% of the SEC A respondents in the latter case had not seen the ad on other media even though the client was advertising in outdoor and all major business channels, hence proving that OOH media adds frequency to TV and audio visual to print/radio.