At eye-level Hoardings in one’s field of vision are more likely to be noticed.
Bengaluru’s citizens recently cried foul over trees being mutilated
to make hoardings more visible. But how relevant are these out-of-home
(OOH) media today?
Recently, there was an outcry over the alleged poising
and pruning of several trees to improve the visibility of hoardings in
Bengaluru Environmentalists and concerned citizens gave vent to their
shock and anguish over the act on social media. Notices were served to
the advertising agency and the owners of the sites, and Bruhat Bengaluru
Mahanagara Palike pulled down the allegedly illegal hoardings.
Even
as one awaits all the details, with the Lokayukta seeking reports from
the municipal authorities and police officials on the serious
allegations, the events turn the spotlight on the relevance of hoardings
in today’s digital age. The logic behind this “mutilation” of the trees
was reportedly to ensure people saw the hoardings clearly. Now this
brings up this question: Is the digital-savvy consumer, who is busy
twiddling with some gadget or the other at traffic signals, really
looking up at hoardings?
Static, traditional
billboards put up invasively at great heights may not always do the
trick. Only really clever messaging will divert the consumer’s attention
from her smartphone to look around (and not necessarily up).
In
India, the outdoor medium is still under-utilised. Barring better
reproduction and superior back lighting, the outdoor medium has not been
explored well, says Ramanujam Sridhar, Founder, Integrated Brand-comm, a
brand consulting firm. Traditional advertisers have to understand “old
ways” won’t work all the time, he adds.
Ambient advertising, the future
Marketers
would do well to explore ambient outdoor advertising through street
furniture, bus shelters, bus panels, foot over-bridges and medians.
The
poster campaigns in British and American railways make good use of the
outdoor medium. Back home, some of the new-age marketers are discovering
ingenious ways with the OOH (out-of-home) medium. Ola audaciously
advertised its auto rides in grab handles in a bus, while online brands
such as Snapdeal and Big Basket have dabbled with wrapping ads around
buses and local trains. Amazon piloted ‘chai carts’ out on the streets
to talk to local retailers about e-commerce, over steaming cups of chai,
of course. More brands need to think on these lines.
Preserving a city’s character
Brands
may also need to bear in mind that, with citizens’ awareness of civic
rights increasing, they may not be impressed with hoardings that mar the
city’s skyline.
Vinod Hayagriv, Managing Director
of C Krishniah Chetty and Sons, a Bengaluru-based jeweller, advocates
that no more than 10 per cent of space should be allocated for
hoardings. “Such spaces should be small, beautiful, neatly marked-out
areas. Hoardings must be non-intrusive, neat in size and specification,
and of high quality.” He also calls for clearly published, transparent
and non-negotiable rates.
“At no cost should the
beauty and heritage of the city be compromised,” says Hayagriv, whose
brand has taken a conscious decision to stop doing hoardings to preserve
the city’s character. “We will stop being part of the visual ruination
brigade of this city.”
Needs professional management
Then
there is the issue of illegal hoardings, not just in Bengaluru but in
other cities too. Despite the authorities promising to take stringent
action against violators time and again, unauthorised hoardings continue
to crop up.
With whom does the buck stop in respect
of such hoardings? Tree doctor Vijay Nishanth, who has been working
overtime to revive three of the 17 trees in Bengaluru whose roots were
reportedly sprinkled with acid, believes brands must be responsible and
aware. But MG Parameswaran, an advertising industry veteran and Founder,
Brand-Building.com, says it is difficult for brands to monitor what
goes up where. Nakul Chopra, President, Advertising Agencies Association
of India, says it is the job of the local municipal authorities to
ensure discipline and compliance.
Unless there is a
proper audit of all the hoarding sites in the city and stringent checks
and balances are put in place, it is not easy to monitor the industry,
which is not the best regulated medium today.
The
industry is in complete “chaos” and in dire need of professional
management, says Parameswaran. “There is no clarity in ownership of the
sites. Different parties are involved and there is a lot of
sub-contracting.”
“Today, the outdoor medium has become a space for
unpopular methods … does not have ethics. One agency blames the other or
the entire environment,” rues Hayagriv.
Despite the
issues associated with the medium, one cannot wish away the outdoor
advertising medium, says Parameswaran. It is still a great way for
municipal authorities to generate revenues, which can be used to improve
the city. But this is not quite the case on ground. “For instance, if a
client is paying ₹1 lakh for an outdoor space, only about ₹1,000 goes
as government licence fee. Money passes through five hands.”
Obviously, there is a lot of inside-out cleaning to do on many counts!
(This article was published on April 6, 2017)
No comments:
Post a Comment