All About Outdoor Advertising-Feature

10 new flyovers, 5 state of art stadiums, 2.5 million foreign tourists, 4.5 million domestic tourists and one world class event. Yes, we are talking about the 2010 Common Wealth Games to be hosted by Delhi in October this year.

To bid its mark in the universe of sports, Indian Government is leaving no stone unturned to make the sports event successful. It has taken several significant initiatives for the improvisation and beautification of this newly emerged cosmopolitan city, so that Delhi rent a part of its heart to millions of tourists who are planning to come over this city during the CWGs. Delhi, the pride venue for Common Wealth Games, 2010 is all set to woo and provide visual retreats to the spectators of the CWG. It has already undergone a mesmerizing makeover in every aspect from infrastructure to hotels to even OOH. It is getting bigger and better.

So what does the Commonwealth has in store for our very own OOH industry? Lets hear from the expert’s themselves-

Huge opportunity knocking

Sunder Hemrajani, MD, Times OOH, said, “The incentive is powerful: the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As a sports event, the Commonwealth Games rank just below the Olympics. Many projects-like the Metro, among others-are already up and running, or are part of the Delhi 2010 Development Plan. The Games offer a convenient incentive to launch a massive regeneration plan that could, if all goes well, establish the benchmark for urban planning in India. I see a huge opportunity for out-of-home industry. New infrastructure will create new OOH opportunities; it’s a very positive sign for OOH. We expect huge inflow of visitors for XIX

Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi both international and domestic which will create a big opportunity for a brand to communicate. There’s a lot of exposure from the suppliers side as new utilities, new stadiums coming up and from the demand side, I feel that no brand would like to miss the opportunity of being part of the outdoor displays. Also, I see a huge opportunity for innovations. Like we saw in World Cup Soccer 2006, how OOH played an important role for brands, I see a similar thing happening in Delhi.”

Boost for the OOH industry

Mandeep Malhotra, Sr. Vice President, Primesite, said, “Yes, I think Commonwealth Games will boost the out-of-home industry. If you look at the history of any city whether it is infrastructure there has been a lot of transformation across the globe and it will surely transform the out-of-home industry. I see a lot of innovations happening during that period. Blimp is just a start and there will be so much more of happening.”

Surge in spending

Sam Balsara, CMD, Madison World, said, “I don’t think so that Commonwealth Games will transform the OOH business in Delhi, but yes there should be a surge in spending in OOH in Delhi by CWG itself and sponsors of the games. I think it is too late to come up with new permanent or semi permanent structures that provide new media opportunities. I understand there are some plans of putting up five star convenience blocks with coffee shops which could also be used for outdoor displays.”

A booster Shot!

Ankur Rastogi, Jt. Managing Director, MPG Active, said, “The Commonwealth Games in Delhi will act as another booster shot for the OOH industry after the elections to help minimize the meltdown effect. The Games will most definitely throw open a number of new OOH opportunities. With the Commonwealth Games around the corner, many new campaigns will be rolled. The forthcoming Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi is likely to capture the imagination of the entire nation along with a large number of foreign tourists who will be coming to see the event. Thus, for brands it will be an opportune time to showcase during this spot

extravaganza due in October this year. I feel, no stone will be left unturned to grab eyeballs with outdoor advertising.”

The good stream is flowing

Piyush Tiwari, Director, Parivartan Infrastructure, said, “It has already started showing good affect in the market as currently all OOH players who are duly registered with govt. bodies are getting good business on regular basis. Also, the window of exposure to good quality medium in OOH segment has opened up. Govt. is coming up with new ideas; rather NCR is also getting geared up for tender process for new design bus shelters and foot over bridges. Delhi will surely get benefited out of this experience.”

New media creation

Mukesh Gupta, MD, Graphisads, said, “We are hoping it does transform with creation of new media. However, it all depends on the response of authorities towards such opportunities. CWG has built up lot of hopes for all the parties concerned. We are expecting an increase in clients' budgets with regards to the event; a lot of good clients have put aside a separate budget which has to be utilized for the games. It remains to be seen how will those spends be divided in different media.”

On the whole it can be said that nevertheless, for some in the OOH industry, the outdoor industry has already started moving upwards, while for the rest, it’s a wait and watch game.

OO(9)H yearly round-up!!
	With a bagful of good and bad, unique and common happenings in the OOH space lately… here we stand, at the brink of winding-up yet another eventful OOH year – 2009. As we wrap up 2009 and kick off 2010, there are trends that started this year and will expand into the next. 2009 turned out to be a year of opportunities, as many new players launched their services during the year. Having been closely following the developments in the industry...Read More

OOH walks out of recession
	All signs point to the global economic crisis coming to an end. Banks returning to profitability, government stimulus programs are in effect etc. The out-of-home (OOH) industry is also walking out of recession and is expected to grow. The nascent industry, hit last year with a slow growth, is getting rescued by increased spending from telecom, direct-to-home (DTH), hospitality and healthcare...Read More