Industry Speak

Consumer lies at the heart of everything we do

"We are in a mission to democratize the outdoor advertising industry by bridging the gap between online and offline worlds, addressing the varied spectrum from generating a higher impact for national brands to making it more affordable for small and medium scale companies."

If blowing your own trumpet is a virtue, Hyderabad based OOH firm AdOnMo should be duly credited for making the right noises. The young firm, which came into being in 2017, has taken strident steps toward 'Putting Ideas into Motion', quite literally by introducing its own mode of taxi top advertising in the city.

We caught up with Mr. Sandeep Bommireddi Co-Founder, AdOnMo who has been recently selected as Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2020- the only representation from ad- tech Industry to get you a live account of the buzz. The expansion plans, his outlook on the Indian OOH industry and lots more.

Excerpts from the interview are as follows:

Congratulations on being selected in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia. How do you feel being selected as the first outstanding young leader who has disrupted and transformed taxi top advertising in Asia?

Over the past few weeks I was asked numerous times on how it feels to be listed on Forbes 30 under 30. What I have realized is that it's so easy to mistake institutional greatness for individual greatness, and very often we look at institutions, especially start-ups as a representation of the achievements of those 1-2 founders. In reality, great companies are a culmination of the conscious choices made by a group of extremely aligned individuals, working tirelessly with a purpose. At Adonmo not only were we fortunate enough to have built a team which understands that the purpose transcends every one of us.

All this would also have not been possible without the help and support of innovation friendly governments. In our early stages we received a great deal of support and this would just not have been possible without our government.

Can you please give us an insight on your company, AdOnMo.

Adonmo is an AdTech company which is India's first Contextually targeted Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) Advertising medium. Our constant thrust towards technology is what differentiates us from the rest. With our cutting-edge Hyper local intelligence technology, we are in a mission to democratize the outdoor advertising industry by bridging the gap between online and offline worlds, addressing the varied spectrum from generating a higher impact for national brands to making it more affordable for small and medium scale companies. Consumer lies at the heart of everything we do.

Why do you think digital will play a vital role in times to come and how it will be different from conventional formats?

Digital is a more sustainable option, be it any industry. It requires fewer resources and gives space for processes to be more efficient. The enormous potential it offers has disrupted every industry across and similarly with OOH industry. The ability for an advertiser to change creatives on the go with context, extend campaigns and power to target better offer a great e incentive, economically and otherwise to make a shift to the digital medium.

Do you see some new categories for whom taxi media will be relevant?

For the new age digital economy companies, taxi top advertisements could be very tempting with everything the AdOnMo platform offers all the tech edge it brings to the plate. With some great content for different contexts, these companies are looking at the real deal.

How is the Out of Home industry coping with the COVID-19 Stay at Home advisory?

I think it would be safe to say that the industry is in a suspended mode right now. On the brighter side, because of the space this lockdown has offered, everyone in the industry is talking about infusing new technology, innovation and new models to measure ROI and execute campaigns. Needless to say, all this has made AdOnMo the poster boy that everyone is looking at for inspiration.

Once the lockdown is lifted, what will be your big priorities and how do you see the start of campaigns on transit media?

Our foremost priority is to deliver higher impact on our campaigns with lower budgets and optimise at every stage possible. Transit media, unlike most of the other outdoor media gives an opportunity to slice and dice the budgets and targeting for advertisers to optimise the best and generate the most impact.

Post lockdown what is the one thing you would you like to communicate to clients to make them start campaigns quickly

As consumers come out of the lockdown phase one can anticipate a huge surge in the consumption and so advertising becomes extremely important for brands to capture this upsurge in consumption. AdOnMo offers the right opportunity here for brands across to optimise their limited OOH spend with the best visibility.

Elaborate on the challenges brought by the COVID-19 lockdown, the strategies being used in these difficult times.

We're taking this time to innovate as much as we can on our product to create more measurable and ROI driven experience for our customers. We're making great leaps on that end. We will come out of this shining.

What is the biggest challenge you face right now?

With everyone predicting an oncoming recession, the first budgets to be cut in companies are advertising and marketing budgets. That is a major challenge that is going to be faced by not just us, but the advertising industry as a whole.

Interview by: Aarti Pahwa