Outdoor ASIA - July 2018

60 August 2018

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

OOH media: The ‘big leap’

The Indian OOH landscape has undergone a tectonic shift over the last 3 decades to

become a compelling medium for brand advertising. Sunder Hemrajani, Co-founder

& CEO, Incon Strategy Advisors Pvt. Ltd (Formerly Managing Director, Times OOH),

narrates his enduring journey across the OOH landscape and provides glimpses of

the future of OOH business in India

Down the memory lane

My tryst with Out of Home (OOH) media began in 1985

when as a young Brand Manager in Hindustan Lever Ltd

(HLL), now HUL, in addition to my brand management

duties, I was handed the responsibility of the company’s

pioneering Integrated Hoarding Programme(IHP). The

programme was conceived and executed in partnership

with Lintas and credible media owners with an objective

of generating awareness for the company’s marquee

brands, both in urban and rural areas. There were 3,000

pre-selected hoardings across the country of which

1,500 were in urban towns > 1 lakh population and the

balance 1,500 in < 1 lakh population predominantly in

high potential rural markets. The programme envisaged

an annual calendar with monthly changeover of brands.

The posters were printed at Prasad Press in Chennai.

The execution was monitored through the company

field force using a prepaid postcard system. The

separation of duties on planning (agency), execution

(media owners) and verification (company field force)

was institutionalised. It was an efficient programme

executed with transparency and integrity.

My return to the industry as Managing Director of Times

OOH, part of the Times Group, took place in 2007. The

industry had changed beyond belief. In the 1990s,

the industry saw the emergence of specialist media

agencies and subsequently specialist OOH media

agencies. While the level of service to clients on media

planning and execution improved, it also led to lack of

transparency and sharp practices in the industry. In a

way, the industry had got commoditised. The company,

a late entrant in the OOH space, had taken a leap of

faith in 2006-2007 by acquiring the advertising rights

for the 2 largest airports in India, Delhi and Mumbai.

The size of the transit segment in OOH in 2007 was only

14%, balance being contributed by billboards and street

furniture. Digital OOH was non- existent. The challenge

was to grow the transit segment.

The turbulence in 2008 & beyond: Lessons learnt

The company went through a steep learning curve.

Mistakes were made. The situation was made worse

by the global meltdown in 2008-2009.The industry too

had a rough ride. The absence of measurement metrics

made it worse. The situation improved in 2010 with the