POV: Will the 10-day minimum-exposure time hurt the OOH business?

Recently, associations like the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA), Delhi Outdoor Advertisers Association (DOAA) and Maharashtra Hoarding Owners Association (MHOA) reached a consensus on a minimum duration for outdoor campaigns. As the code is being implemented strictly, how will this move impact the stakeholders?

Mandeep Malhotra, Sr VP, Mudra Max

POV: Will the 10-day minimum-exposure time hurt the OOH business?

I am not against stipulating a minimum exposure period for a brand but the way it is being reinforced is alarming. Why is the client's point of view missing?

Such a move will repulse retail and other local clients who continue to command a substantial chunk of OOH users. While advertising for a three-day season-ending sale, why would a client want to take a display for 10 days?

Most specialists have pitched outdoor as economical, easily accessible and user-led. Why do we want to restrict the USP of OOH? The unity of outdoor associations is a welcome move but, beyond a point, the change hasn't increased the revenue or turnover for anyone.

Indrajit Sen, CEO, Laqshya Media

This move will not harm the industry. Such a drastic step had to be taken as agencies started asking for sites where regular campaigns ran for two to three days only, while they were booked for more.

Earlier, a common experience was for agencies to book sites for a five-day campaign and then demand that the display be kept on for another 2-3 days for free. The agencies were actually selling a seven- or eight-day campaign but were paying the media owner for five days.

With such short-period campaigns, 50 per cent of the media was left vacant. Also, once booked, sites remain vacant till prints are provided, causing further delays - something that is not compensated by the agencies. With the 10-day restriction, some method will be restored to the madness.

(Sen is also the vice-chairperson, IOAA).

Pramod Bhandula, MD, JCDecaux

The minimum duration for any outdoor campaign globally is two weeks. In my opinion, the decision is not going to harm the outdoor business, since it ensures the effectiveness of an outdoor campaign.

A minimum exposure of two weeks is required for the campaign to register with the target group. If this practice is prevalent worldwide, then it's time for the same to be adopted in the Indian OOH industry as well.

This will also help the advertiser reap the benefit from the brand recall point of view and deliver better return on investment (ROI) on their campaigns.

Rameet Arora, Head, Marketing, Colors

What would it mean if a minimum period were enforced? First, only clients with big budgets and grand campaigns will be welcome.

Second, the rigidity in the model pre-defines what a marketer can use the medium for. So if you need an awareness spike in Mumbai or if you have a tactical initiative with a short shelf life, more efficient solutions will be found in radio, print or TV. It will be a case of outdoor losing out to other media.

Third, innovations will become prohibitive. Outdoor planning will lose some of its creative possibilities and will become a rigid, modular and rate card-driven medium.

Most importantly, if as an advertiser or an agency, you thought you were on a learning curve with the medium, the class just got prohibitively expensive.

Such a decision is a speed-breaker on what is potentially an expressway.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com

National