A collection of six billboards
near Dharavi, the now
famous and Asia's largest slum in Mumbai proudly
declared the release of the Oscar-winning Slumdog
Millionaire. According to Nabendu Bhattacharyya, who is
the President of the OOH (Out-of-Home) division of Ogilvy &
Mather India Pvt. Ltd, (christened Ogilvy Action) and who was
instrumental in orchestrating the above said that the crux of the matter was
to communicate with the target audience about the scale and
extent of the campaign. Today, marketers are increasingly depending on
such hoardings to create ubiquitous touch points for their brands.
Many companies have woken up to the possibilities of the said medium
and brands, such as Lakme, Axe Deodorants, Birla Sun
Life Insurance, etc., have already started using hoarding clusters to hold
the attention of the public. These hoarding clusters are
meticulously placed, the `spots' being chosen on such locations where traffic
slows down significantly and regularly.
OOH refers to the Out-of-Home advertising. Any mode
of marketing communication that confronts consumers while
they venture out from their homes can be categorized under this form
of advertising. OOH targets consumers while they are on the
go; viz., the people who are commuting for jobs, going to railway
stations, airports, ferry terminal, movies, shopping malls, community
parks and even petrol bunks and bus stops. Traditionally,
hoardings, billboards, etc., were classified under Outdoor Advertising and
until some time back, out door advertising essentially
meant billboards and hoardings only. But nowadays, they have become a
part of the larger OOH advertising with so many new innovations, such
as digital signboards, kiosks, ATM Machines, flex boards, etc.
OOH industry in India is still in the nascent stage. The sector is
very fragmented and highly unorganized. But new organized players
are foraying into the scene portending its future growth prospects. |
