DOAA furthers its drive for smooth functioning of outdoor in the Capital

Recently, Delhi Outdoor Advertisers' Association (DOAA), a platform meant to organise practices related to outdoor advertising in the Capital, held its last meeting for the financial year ending March 31, 2010 at Chelmsford Club, Delhi. This time, problems faced by the media owners were taken into consideration and corrective steps suggested by the members of the Association.

It was also decided that if no favourable response was forthcoming even after this, then the agency would be black-listed by the Association. Also, members were asked to send payment orders to the concerned parties within the month in which a campaign ends.

To deal with this and other issues related to the Association, a Dispute Resolve Committee (DRC) has been formed. Its key members are: Pramod Bhandula, managing director, JCDecaux India; Uday Ganguly, general manager, Selvel Media Services; Dinesh Vasudeva and Rajesh Vasudeva, directors, Pioneer Publicity and Piyush Tiwari, director, Parivartan City Infrastructure.

Speaking on the factors to consider while intervening in disputes, Bhandula says, "Our main objective will be to resolve issues in a judicious manner. Clients, agencies and media owners are part of the same chain and a dialogue will contribute to smooth execution of campaigns."

On a lighter note, Bhandula feels that there is a huge probability of cases, where clients dismiss the Association members as a "bunch of jokers". "We will have to wait and watch. So far, associations have worked in our country, and hopefully, the same will work in our case as well," he adds.

Mukesh Gupta, managing director, Graphisads and general secretary, DOAA, reveals that keeping a deadline for the clearance on outstanding payments has really worked, as more than 40 per cent of the cases have been resolved within the last few months. "At times, for dues as old as two years, bills are settled by discounting the due amount by 10 per cent," he says.

Another crucial development is DOAA's affiliation with Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA). For this, the members of the Association have been handed over a Letter of Authorisation to be filled and submitted with the DOAA. Through this procedure, all DOAA members would become members of IOAA as well.

Besides, two more media owners, namely Laqshya Media and Outdoor Communications were welcomed as members of the Association.

Currently, DOAA has 27 outdoor media owners as its members, including Pioneer Publicity, Adwel Advertising, Selvel Media, JCDecaux, Parivartan, Jagran Engage, Graphisads and Greenline.