Rohit Nautiyal
OOH

Bus advertising: the next big canvas

Vinayak Creations has pitched to Airtel, Portland Outdoor, Tata Sky and O&M with an innovative idea for bus advertisements

With bans on hoardings in cities, fleet graphics are the next big thing in out of home media. Fleet graphics are advertising options on vehicles and can be done on rickshaws, taxis, vans, cars, trains and buses. Usually, the larger the canvas, the more the innovation – and this works well with bus advertising. Imagine the impact of an image of a large juice box, with juice flowing into a clear glass, surrounded by fruit. Quite a thirst-quenching thought!

Buses are an unexplored media opportunity in India. Bus advertising is something brands can use to reach large target groups. Earlier, paint was splashed on buses to communicate a brand's message, but today, adhesive vinyl has emerged as a cost effective and time saving branding solution.

Mumbai based Vinayak Creations is an outdoor advertising company that is all set to provide bus advertising options to brands, both on the exteriors and interiors of buses. The company kicked off its operations last month by tying up with Neeta Volvo, a popular tour and travel company. The association will provide Vinayak Creations with a network of 140 Volvo buses for advertising.

Bus advertising: the next big canvas
Neeta Volvo buses cover various tourist spots in Maharashtra such as Pune, Nashik, Mahabaleshwar, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Sangli and Ahmednagar. Mumbai-Pune is one of the most popular routes for these buses.

Vinyl wraps will be used to cover the exteriors of the buses, which will have advertising spaces of 375 sq. ft, 360 sq. ft and 175 sq. ft on the driver's, cleaner's and rear sides, respectively. In addition, in-bus branding will be seen on seat back covers and hand rests. Placards carrying the brand's name will be displayed to welcome commuters as they board or hop off the bus. LCD screens installed in the buses will run ad loops.

afaqs! spoke to Ravi Krishnamurthy, owner, Vinayak Creations, who explained why the proposition is so attractive: "Volvo is the most comfortable mode of transport – its popularity has been exceptional across class, caste, creed, age and sex. Volvo advertising caters uniformly to all types of TGs (target groups) with perfection. As buses cruise city streets, the message can be seen by both pedestrians and the vehicular traffic."

He adds, "We will work with Neeta Volvo on a revenue sharing model. As of now, we are busy pitching to creative agencies, outdoor companies and brands. Our quoted price is Rs 1 lakh for renting a single bus for advertising purposes for a month."

Sources reveal that Vinayak Creations has made pitches to Reliance Communications, Airtel, Tata Sky and Big TV. The company has also approached O&M and outdoor players such as Primesite and Portland Outdoor.

Anup Chitnis, executive creative director, South Asia, O&M, feels that a case study is required to raise awareness about the efficacy of bus branding. He says, "Bus branding catches the attention of one and all and punctures the idea of a target audience, something that brands are extremely conscious about. Be it someone who is driving a car, facing the rear display of a bus, or someone who is riding a bike next to the bus, a bus advertisement will catch everybody's attention."

Discussing the medium, Sanjeev Hajela, president, Primesite, says, "Bus advertising has been done innovatively in West Asia, Southeast Asia and London. The format has immense scope for growth here in India and it is something that will work in favour of telecom and FMCG brands."

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