MOVING AHEAD

Digital Billboards are all set to be rolled out in India.

But it’s still early days. In India, smart digital billboards or the digital out-of-home (DOOH) industry, worth Rs 100 crore, accounts for just 2% of the overall out-of-home (OOH) media industry, according to a report by MAGNA, IPG Mediabrands’ research arm. At the end of 2017, there were approximately 1.2 lakh OOH ad units in the top 30 cities of India, of which around 1,000 screens located in Delhi and Mumbai airports were digitally enabled. The report predicts that DOOH will grow to 5% of the total OOH industry by 2023..

Static outdoor laws have historically been lax in India, except in Delhi, Gurugram and now Bengaluru. The result is excessive static outdoor inventory, leading to low costs to brands, making static outdoor a preferred medium for advertisers.

In contrast, most Indian cities prohibit the use of digital screens on roads especially in the line of sight of traffic lights. Further, there are laws stipulating that digital ads on roads cannot be animated.

Then there are other unforeseen issues. Nabendu Bhattacharyya, CEO and MD, Milestone Brandcom, says that despite having all the permissions necessary, the traffic police could call for dismantling the digital innovation. Executing an innovative campaign is sometimes not worth the hassle. At best, innovations in OOH use lights, cut-outs, or a movable element.

Many brands prefer to play safe or “take the shortcut” by using the TVC on digital billboards, even at the cost of it being ineffective. “The blame is often wrongly put on the medium, instead of focussing on the creative content,” says Sen.

Often, DOOH media owners demonstrate the ways in which the medium can be used — by relaying live match scores on these screens or update airline passengers about flight status, the temperature at the destination city, etc. None of these are exactly novel ideas. Meanwhile, OOH agencies and media owners have built their own creative teams to develop campaigns that suit the medium.

Malls, Airports and business complexes will benefit DOOH. Currently, Pune and Kolkata have DOOH screens on roads. Delhi and Bengaluru may follow suit. “In these places, the demand-supply balance can be restored only by converting around 5-10% of the locations into digital displays,” Sen states. Mumbai could also light up with digital screens post the general elections, based on the recent BMC regulations that make room for digital displays.

Experts fear, however, that with challenges such as municipal regulations, incompatibility with weather and environmental conditions, the small scale of the industry and limited opportunities, DOOH could end up becoming a gimmick in the marketer’s playbook, despite its potential.