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Madhya Pradesh makes waves on the outdoor radar
Buses in their entirety are used as outdoor communication in several cities of the state such as Indore and Jabalpur
Madhya Pradesh is cooler than all the metros put together. How come, you ask? The state has been witnessing some really innovative outdoor advertising on bus panels. The government, in association with Giriraj Advertising, an Indore based agency, lets out space on city buses for advertising purposes.
Four major brands have used this innovative space – all the bus panels and space inside and outside the bus, and even on top of the bus.
Big 92.7 FM carried out a campaign in Indore at the time of its launch there, in which the entire bus was painted in the radio channel’s trademark blue. The channel logo and a huge cut-out of its brand ambassador, Hindi film actor Abhishek Bachchan, were presented on the side panel.
Sony Ericsson used a similar outdoor initiative for its mobile phones. When the K220i and J120i series were launched, Sony Ericsson used bus outdoor to reach consumers in smaller cities such as Indore. Clear Channel, the agency that was responsible for the innovative outdoor in Indore, says, “The cell phone wasn’t a high end one and mainly targeted at Tier 2 cities. So, Madhya Pradesh was a huge market.”
Sword swishing about. Click here for bigger picture |
MotoYuva. Click here for bigger picture |
When Motorola recently launched MotoYuva, which is aimed at the Indian youth, a larger than life mobile phone with music thumping out of it was part of the campaign and, yes, the phones appeared on buses.
When asked why Madhya Pradesh was chosen to carry out such outdoor activity, Clear Channel says, “The idea of advertising on bus panels all through the interior and exterior is great. But it is only in the state of Madhya Pradesh that we have gained permission to do this.” Permission is a huge issue in other states.
Giriraj Advertising, which specialises in outdoor activities pertaining only to buses, has acquired special permission from the government to carry out such campaigns. Ashish Neema, director, Giriraj Advertising, says, “We’ve carried out these outdoor campaigns with these brands and have employed an entire bus to advertise a single brand.”