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Outdoor Advertising – The Future Media Tool

Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Objectives of the Study
1.2 Primary Research
1.3 Secondary Research
Limitations of the Study
1.5 Media Industry & Overview

1.1 Objectives of the study

 To know about Outdoor Advertising and it’s growth.

 Different medias and methods used in Outdoor Advertising.

 This study enabled to have a wider overview about the practicality of


Outdoor Advertising, which I could study through the ad campaign in contrast with
the theoretical context.

 Place of Outdoors in the Media Industry.

 Process and the impact of Outdoor Advertising.

 To know how Outdoor Advertising has an upper hand over other


media vehicles when it come to reaching the target audience well.

 To know the future of Outdoor in the Media Industry.

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Research Methodology
The methodology adopted for this project involves Primary data and Secondary data.

1.2 Primary Data


• A one-to-one communication was carried out with the concerned officials of
the organization through a drafted and finalized questionnaire.

• Information regarding the various media vehicles is obtained from the ad


agency and the makers of Outdoors.

1.3 Secondary Data


Secondary data is collected from various Magazines on Outdoor Advertising,
Textbooks and Internet.

1.4 Limitations of the study


• The project had to be completed within a very short span of time.

• Thus, market study could not be carried out.

• Not much of first hand information could be gathered from agency as most of
them outsource Outdoors.

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1.5 Media Industry & Overview

Advertising is one of the integral elements of the marketing process, just as sales,
product design, promotion and customer service are. We might look at advertising
as the mass selling of a product. Where is advertising seen or heard? In the media.
What business is an advertising agency in? In the advertising creation and placement
business. What business is the media in? The advertising delivery business.

Professionals throughout the entertainment & media industries can help develop
stories to capture and move audiences in ways many did not know were possible –
while drastically enhancing the collaborative process from concept to successful
release. Studios, networks, and production companies can capture, develop, and
successfully market the best material possible while drastically cutting investments on
ineffective to outright misguided story and project development – with more
consistent results. Everyone will have a common creative language.

In the past decade information technology has undergone substantial changes. The
Internet, digital television, virtual reality are only a few examples. The convergence
of different types of media forms (e.g. computers, satellites, networks, etc...) have
and are currently changing society into what many people refer to as the,
"Digital Age." These developments are not solely dependent on technological factors
as much of the popular "hype" asserts. Accordingly we will examine new media from
cultural, historical, legal, and psychological perspectives.

"Cyberspace and Communication" encompasses a wide array of issues and topics.


Accordingly, we will cover numerous areas with a focus on the Internet, and the
World Wide Web. However, it is difficult to distinguish between convergent media
systems and forms often labeled "new media" - in contrast to the "legacy" media
routinely studied in telecommunications programs. Thus, on occasion we will discuss
other new media technologies including, streamed digital broadcasting, networking,
film innovations, and other emerging media forms.

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The media industry has unique qualities that distinguish it from other industries.
One is its privileged legal position under the First Amendment guarantee of freedom
of the press, making the media exempt from government restraints and oversight as
compared with other businesses.

Many critics have expressed dissatisfaction with how the mass media industry has
lived up to such responsibility. Media coverage of political elections has been
criticized for focusing on campaign tactics and personal foibles of political candidates
rather than substantive issues. Newspapers and television news media programs have
been criticized for simply covering the latest murder or sensational crime story rather
than substantively investigating the causes of and solutions to crime.

The media and Information Technology (IT) scenario has undergone a radical
change in the recent past in India as it has happened elsewhere in the world. The
change is both quantitative as well as qualitative. It is also observed that the gap
between invention of new technology in the Western world and its use in India is also
reducing day by day. Earlier technologies took comparatively longer time to develop
roots in the country. But now days, soon after a new technology is developed
anywhere in the world, it starts getting used in India too.

Take any technology, whether it is electronic, print or information technologies, the


growth has been very rapid in the last decade and a half. It will be seen in later part of
the article how the individual technologies have grown during this period. The growth
also contributes to expansion of the reach as well as access. It is also found that the
growth is not necessarily restricted only to urban areas as it used to happen in the
past. It spreads to smaller towns and rural areas also in reasonable time. Apart from
the rapid growth, the change is also facilitated largely due to the increased user
friendliness of the technology.

The government has been creating a more facilitative regulatory regime. The
emphasis is now on encouraging expansion and reducing the obstacles that come in
the way. Some of the rules and regulations have been changing fast. In the earlier

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days, the change in the rules used to be very slow and tedious, but over the years the
situation is improving. The socio-political atmosphere is more open and this greatly
supports both the changes in rules and regulations as well as efficient implementation
of the policies. The whole growth process has obviously become possible because the
technologies have become more affordable and also because the society has started
understanding the importance of new communication technologies.

The speed and type of changes have varied from technology to technology
a. The Broadcast Media: This will include radio, television and related media;
b. The Print Media; and
c. Telecommunications: This will include telephones, pagers, cellars, computers
and the Internet.

It is seen that some of the characteristics traditionally associated with a particular


medium are undergoing changes. The distinctions between different media are getting
slowly blurred. It is no longer possible to say that a medium is strictly a print
medium. Obviously these newspapers and magazines are no longer ‘print media’. It
also used to be believed that there is a certain amount of permanency or lack of
permanency of the output of a medium Because once they are transmitted, it is not
possible to have a re-look at them. However, the invention and ease of recording has
changed the scenario. It is possible to record any television programme at any time
and watch it one's convenience. Similarly, the print medium considered being
more permanent than the ‘ethereal’ TV or radio services. However, if the
newspaper is only on the Internet, it can no longer have that characteristic. Of course,
it is always possible to download and take a hard copy and this again make it into a
print or permanent medium. The biggest change, however, has come through the
marriage of different technologies. The greatest contribution has come from the
personal computer.

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Cinema

India is the leader in the number of film productions. It produces the highest number
of films in the world every year. India produces on an average about 800 feature films
per year. In 1996 there were 12,867 Cinema halls with a seating capacity of 7.3 per
1000 population. The films are produced in many languages by a large number of
individual producers and production houses. Indian cinema has yielded about 28,000
feature films and thousands of documentary short films so far. The first exposure to
motion pictures, which India received, was in 1896, when the Lumiere Brothers'
'Cinematographe' unveiled six soundless short films in Mumbai (called Bombay). On
May 3, 1913 at the Coronation Cinema, Bombay, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, was
responsible for the production of India's first fully indigenous silent feature film 'Raja
Harishchandra' that heralded the birth of the Indian film industry. The first Indian
talkie 'Alam Ara' produced by the Imperial Film Company and directed by Ardeshir
Irani was released in 1931. The thirties are recognised as the decade of social protest
in the history of Indian cinema. The film industry is the major entertainment industry.
It also provides a very substantial support to the television channels. A large number
of programmes are feature films based - songs, dances, and a good deal of prime time
is taken up by full-length feature films.

B. PRINT MEDIA
Newspaper/Magazines

The newspaper industry has traditionally functioned as a free press in India. The
freedom of expression and independence for print media has been ensured in the
Indian constitution and the newspapers zealously guard this independence. It is of
significance to note that there is no pre-censorship for newspapers. However, there
are certain laws of the land, which apply to the newspaper industry. There is Press
Council with quasi-judiciary powers.

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The Gujarati Daily Bombay Samachar, started in 1822 AD, is the oldest existing
newspaper in Asia. Apart from English and 18 principal languages enumerated in the
Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, newspapers are published in 81 other languages,
mostly Indian languages and a few foreign languages. The total number of
newspapers and periodicals as of December 1995 was 37,254. The total number of
Daily Newspapers in India is 4,236.

C. TELECOMMUNICATIONS

The following technologies are included under telecommunications.


1. Telephones including pagers and cellular phones
2. Personal Computers
3. Internet

As can be seen from this list, it is a mix of some old technologies like telephone and
some very recent services like pagers and cellular phones that were introduced in
India in 1996. There is an amalgamation of some of the technologies and this creates
a totally qualitatively different impact. For example, Internet is a combination of
telephone and personal computers.

Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell of the USA invented the perfected version of the Telephone
in 1876. Telephones in India are under the purview of Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) in the Ministry of Communications. It is the sole agency
responsible for telephone network in the country. When the current phase of
liberalization began in 1991, one of the first infrastructural fields to be benefited was
that of the telephones. A national telecom policy came into being which visualized
telephones on demand — it can easily take 3 to 5 years to get a telephone connection
in India - and an increase in telephone density to 3 per 100 persons as against 1 per
100. It was realized that the Department of Telecommunications did not have the

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resources to meet the objective of 16 Million telephone lines. One of the solutions
was to encourage privatization of the telecom sector. There were, however, several
teething problems. While the tender for mobile and paging receivers in the four
metropolitan cities managed to get through to the implementation stage without too
many major hurdles, the main part of privatization, in terms of basic services and
cellular services beyond the four metro cities ran in to trouble. The Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) envisaged independent of DoT was not in
place, which left DoT to set up the rules for the operators, though it was itself
competing with the private operators.

It is estimated that there are approximately 12 Million telephone connections in


the country. Out of this, about 3 Million are public telephones. The ratio of
telephone per thousand populations works to about 12.50. There are plans for
providing at least one telephone in each village numbering over 600,000. The idea is
really to increase the penetration at a community level that is telephone at the
village level accessible to all rather than attempting to provide individual
connectivity. This would be done through state intervention rather than leaving it to
the market forces. This one telephone will be like a public telephone to be shared by
the whole village. Of course those who can afford will be able to have their personal
phones.

Computers

One of the most visible impacts in the recent times is that of the personal
computers. It started making an appearance in offices and homes about a decade
ago. However, in the beginning the number was very small because of the high costs
and less of user-friendliness of the earlier hardware and less developed infrastructure.
But over the years the prices have come down drastically and simultaneously the PC
literacy has increased. According to 1996 estimates there were over 1.4 Million PCs.
This comes to 0.51 units per 1000 population. However, according to the study
carried out by Indian Market Research Bureau, PC penetration per 1000 persons has

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gone upto 1.8 and by the end of 1998 it is expected to rise to 2.3. The growth has
been very fast since then and the curve clearly indicates a very rapid growth. A very
widespread efficient infrastructure has developed. A large pool of manpower and
industrial base —for hardware and software- has developed assuring further rapid
growth.

Internet

It is estimated that there are about 100,000 Internet subscribers as of now. There were
two major Internet service providers in India: 1. VSNL: 45,000 and 2. ERNET:
50,000. Several private service providers have entered the market and the
subscribers are growing at a very fast rate. Global interest in the Internet has
had its impact in India as well. Originally, about 50,000 users of the network,
exclusive to educational and research institutions, were the only ones connected.
VSNL, which controls all international telecommunications in India, started offering
internal connections to private individuals and companies in 1995. The initial
response was modest as the tariff was high and only four cities were connected.
VSNL decreased the tariff subsequently and added more cities to the network and the
number of connections has gone upto 45,000. However, even with connections as few
as these, the network is badly clogged because of the telephone lines that VSNL has
access to locally, is limited.

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Chapter 2
Profile of Saatchi & Saatchi
Advertising Agency
2.1 History
2.2 Pedigree
2.3 List of Clients
2.4 Recent Awards Won
2.5 Organizational Structure

2.1 History

The Saatchi & Saatchi network has had a superb couple of years recently, making
the very most of its new-found security within Publicis Group to win a string of
important accounts. This finally allowed the agency to forget the troubles it endured
during the previous decade. Once the core of Maurice and Charles's world-beating
marketing empire, Saatchi & Saatchi suffered serious setbacks in the early 1990s.
Uncontrolled over-expansion led to the ousting of its founding brothers, and
subsequent demerger from its corporate parent Cordiant. After a brief period of
independence, it was snapped up by Publicis in 2000. Advertising Age ranked
Saatchi's as the #12 agency brand worldwide in 2004 with revenues of $534m.

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2.2 Pedigree

SAATCHI & SAATCHI, one of the most admired and envied agencies, stormed
into the advertising business in 1970. In a market dominated by veterans,
SAATCHI & SAATCHI managed to triple its business by 1975. The same year saw
the agency become the first publicity listed advertising agency. By 1979, SAATCHI
& SAATCHI became the No. 1 agency in the U.K., a position it holds till today.
Never out of the news, SAATCHI & SAATCHI created ripples by being appointed
by the conservative party led by Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Always the pioneer, in
1987 SAATCHI & SAATCHI formed Zenith Media, a dedicated media planning,
buying and evaluation network. The eighties was also a period of rapid expansion into
Asia. Besides acquiring large global clients SAATCHI & SAATCHI also acquired
the title “International Agency of the Year” for a record three years in
succession (’93, ’94 and ’95) at the IAA/M&M awards. 1996 saw the agency being
voted the “Most Admired Agency” in Europe.

SAATCHI & SAATCHI, Singapore was voted “The Best Advertising Agency in
the World” by Ad Age International in 1998.

SAATCHI & SAATCHI won the most number of awards at Cannes ’01 and ’02
including SAATCHI & SAATCHI UK as the ‘Creative Agency of the year’.

SAATCHI & SAATCHI is now one of the fastest growing agencies in the world with
billings exceeding US $ 7.0 bn.

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2.3 List of Clients:-

CLIENT BRANDS/PRODUCT
MUMBAI

Aptech Aptech Computer Education/Aptech Worldwide


BPCL Bharat Gas (LPG)/Pure for Sure (Petrol)
Bayer (India) Ltd. Pesticides/Gaucho/Antracol/Confidor/Bayleton
HDFC Children Gift Fund/Income Fund/Growth
Fund/Balanced Fund/ Gilt Fund/Swap Fund/Liquid
Fund/Index Fund/Floater Fund
Kuoni Travel (India) Ltd. Sotc World Famous Tours/Pure Veg Tours/Sita
Holidays of the World
Playwin Infravest Private Ltd. Sikkim Super Lotto/Playwin Corporate
Procter & Gamble Head & Shoulders/Airel/Corporate
Shaw Wallace Royal Challenge Beer/Lal Toofan/Kohinoor
Zandu Pharmaceuticals Works Ltd. Balm/Chyavanprash/Honey
BPCL Mak/Oils & Lubes
Hyundai Car/Santro

Taj Hotels Hospitality/Taj Palace/Taj Mahal/Ambassador

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2.4 Some Recent Awards Won


CLIENT BRAND CATEGORY AWARD
Clio Awards
P&G India
Ariel Thumbprint Detergents Finalist
Print Ad
Zandu
Zandu Honey(Poster) Food Finalist
Asia Pacific Advertising Festival
Zandu Zandu Honey(Poster) Food Bronze
The New York Festivals AME Int
Hyundai Motors India Ltd.
Santro TV/Press Product/Service Bronze
Campaign Introduction
P&G
Head & Shoulders Haircare Finalist
(Press)
Zandu
Zandu Honey(Poster) Food Bronze
Advertising Agencies Association
of India, Mumbai (AAAI)
Lakhanpal National Ltd NovinoSumo:Kitchen Personal Consumable Gold
Household Goods TV
Ad Club Mumbai (Abby)
Lakhanpal National Ltd NovinoSumo:Kitchen Cinema/TV/Video(Eng) Gold
Consumer Products
P&G Head & Shoulder Haircare Silver
(Press)
Zandu Zandu Honey(Poster) Food Silver

2.5 Organizational Structure

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Board of Directors

Managing Director

Vice President

Client Creative Production Media Research Accounting


Servicing Department Department Department Department Department
Department

Client Services Creative Production Media Research


Department Director Manager Manager Manager

Account Creative Production Media Research


Director group Executive Planners Assistants
heads

Group Heads Copy Assistants Media


Writer Buyers

Supervisor
Art Media
Directors Executives

Executives
Visualisers Assistants

Artists

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Chapter 3

Media Management –
A Theoretical Framework
3.1 Introduction to Media
3.2 Media Process
3.3 The Media Mix
3.4 Media Vehicles
3.5 Media types for Advertising

3.1 Introduction to Media

Advertising is one of the integral elements of the marketing process, just as sales,
product design, promotion and customer service are. We might look at advertising
as the mass selling of a product. Where is advertising seen or heard? In the media.
What business is an advertising agency in? In the advertising creation and placement
business. What business is the media in? The advertising delivery business.

When people talk about the media, they are referring to the distributors of news
and entertainment content – television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the
Internet. However, newspaper are not in the news business, magazines are not in the
fashion business, and broadcast and cable television are not in the entertainment
business. All of these media, as well as the other media – yellow pages and out-of-
home – are supported all or in part by advertising and are, therefore, in the advertising
delivery business. The media are dependent on advertising, and advertising, as an
integral part of a larger marketing system, is co-dependent on the media.
Without the media to reach large numbers of consumers with an ad or commercial,

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marketers would have to go door to door and try to sell their goods one-on-one
through personal selling or consumers would have to wondering which sold the
product they needed – both very expensive undertakings. Advertising agencies
would not exist if there were no media to run the ads they created.

The reason marketers and advertisers are dependent on the media is because the
media are pervasive and popular with consumers (readers, viewers, listeners) and are
their link to the global village. People love and depend on their media – their favorite
television program, such as “Friends,” their favorite magazine, such as People, their
favorite country music radio station, or their favorite newspaper, such as The Wall
Street Journal. Because of this affection and dependency, the media are actually the
most powerful business in the country – more powerful than the industries,
celebrities, and politicians they cover, expose, and glorify.

It is because of this enormous power coupled with a perception that the media
emphasize negative news or sex and violence that people probably have such a low
opinion of the media. Americans seem to blame all the ills of society on the media.

The role of the media is to expose consumers to advertising, not to guarantee sales or
results to advertisers. The media are just that – a medium, a connection between
advertisers and consumers.

Finally, in spite of a love-hate relationship between the public and the media, or
perhaps because of it, the media is a profitable industry. Many of the great fortunes in
the world have been built in the media. Even if new products do not survive in the
marketplace, the media still receive the advertising dollars invested to introduce the
product, just as the media get the advertising revenue from losing political candidates.
The profit margins in the media are, as a rule, higher than in most other industries,
except for the software industry, perhaps. Top-rated radio and television stations in
major markets often have profit margins of 50 percent or greater. Newspapers in large
markets are usually monopolies or close to it because of joint operating agreements,

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and profit margins often reach or exceed 30 percent. Popular national magazines
often have similarly high profit margins.

The reason for high profit margins is because in an advertising supported


medium such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and Interactive, the
cost of adding an additional ad has no or very low incremental costs involved.
For example, in television, the time for commercials is baked into most programming,
so if a commercial is not scheduled in a commercial pod, a promotion or public
service announcement will run. A television statement does not expand the
programming time if it does not have commercials to run. Thus, at a television
station, it costs nothing to add a commercial – there are no incremental costs
involved. On the other hand, if an automotive manufacturer sells a car, it has to build
one with all of the concomitant costs involved (labor, materials, transportation, etc.).
Once a radio or television station has sold enough advertising to cover its cost of
operations and debt payment, if any, all additional advertising sold is 100 percent
profit.

In newspapers and magazines, which have an additional revenue stream, that of


subscriptions, once the cost of operating is recovered, the incremental cost of adding
a page of advertising is very low in comparison with the cost of an ad to an advertiser.

What this profitable economic model means for salespeople is that advertising
revenue is extremely profitable and, therefore, there is more money to distribute to
salespeople in the form of compensation than in less profitable industries. Media
salespeople are among the highest paid of any industry, including the advertising
industry.

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3.2 Media Process

Once the advertising is created, the focus shifts to how best we can take it the
people. Who are the people we need to reach, how can we reach them,
where and when can we deliver our ads to them, how often do we need
to reach them, and what will it cost us to do so?

MEDIA
PROCESS

Media Media Media Media


Strategy Planning Buying Scheduling

⇒ The Media Strategy


Media Strategy refers to a specific course of action with the media. It describes how
the media planner will achieve the stated media objectives. There are 4 strategic
decisions to be taken by the media planner:
• Which media will be used?
• How often each will be used?
• How much of each will be used?
• When will they be used?
The media planner has to take the following factors when developing a media
strategy:
• Scope of the target audience
• Consumer purchase patterns
• Mechanical considerations

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⇒ The Media Planning


The Media Planning process starts with looking at what objectives the media plans
need to achieve, and what kind of media budgets are available to do so. The first step
in media planning i.e. to match the media with the target group. The better the match
of the target with the media, the less will be the money wasted on delivering the
messages to the consumers for whom the product was intended to. This is known as
“weighting”.

The second step in media planning process will be the selection of the “Media Mix”
or the most optimal combination of media. It is important for the media planner to
distinguish between media types, vehicles and media units.

⇒ Media Buying
Media planning also involves allocating media budgets to media types. Budgets may
be allocated based on the importance of media types and/or geographic regions.
Geographic allocation usually marketing objectives.

REGION SALES POTENTIAL BUDGET GOAL


(based on sales potential
SOUTH 25% Rs. 50 lakhs
EAST 15% Rs. 30 lakhs
WEST 30% Rs. 60 lakhs
NORTH 10% Rs. 20 lakhs

Media buying may be defined as the process of executing a schedule of desired media
weights for brands at a lowest possible cost. The media buying process can be divided
into 2 broad stages:
- Deciding what to buy
- Setting out to buy at the most competitive rates.

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Specialized Media Services


With clients becoming particular about media buying rates, some agencies are
creating their own specialized media buying houses. Such agencies are termed
“AOR” (Agencies Of Record). JWT’s AOR is called FULCRUM, Lintas call it
INITIATIVE MEDIA, Mudra’s AOR is called OPTIMUM MEDIA SOLUTIONS.

Agencies are now turning their attention towards independent media buying houses,
because these days satellite channels and print media are offering heavy discounts on
bulk buying. Two specialist independent networks are discussed below:
 MINDSHARE: This is an independent network of WPP group, the larges
agency conglomerate in the world. Mindshare entered the Indian market in
1996. it purchase media for its group agencies JWT, Contract, O&M and FCB
ULKA. It is surprising to know that Mindshare got its first client no the day it
opened its office. HLL purchased media worth 600 crore from Mindshare.
Today, its annual billings are 1500 crore.

 CARAT MEDIA: this is Europe’s leading media specialist. It entered into


India in 1998. Carat offers the Indian clients media consultancy, which
includes media strategy, research planning, buying, and media selection as a
total package of services. It purchases media for agencies like Mudra, Clarion,
and RK Swamy BBDO. Last years billing were 90 crore.

⇒ Media Scheduling
This is the final step in the media process (media plan). It refers to the timing of the
media insertions. A media schedule is usually prepared for the entire campaign
period, which is usually for a period of 6 months or 1 year. The following factors are
taken into consideration in preparing a media schedule:
 Seasonal patterns of the products (Monte Carlo advertises more in
winters)
 Repurchase cycles (FMCG’s require more advertising)

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 Product life cycle (a product in introductory stage requires more


advertising)
 Competitor’s media schedule (Coca-Cola and Pepsi)

Different patterns of Media Scheduling:

 Continuous Advertising: This refers to advertising without breaks.


Products with short repurchase cycle that are purchased frequently are the
examples. E.g. HLL, Coca-Cola, Pepsi etc.
 Flighting: This is an intermittent pattern with gaps where no
advertising is done. This is a case for seasonal products, where funding is
limited and the products with a long repurchase cycle. E.g. CRY (Child Relief
and You) cards and Monte Carlo woolen wears.
 Pulsing: This is continuous advertising, which gets heavy during
certain periods. Seasonal items follow this pattern of advertising. E.g. Rasna
(Rozana and Utsav).
 Blinkering: This is strong advertising during periods with short gaps
in between. E.g. Eagle Diaries start advertising from September and stops
advertising in October and again go for strong advertising (bursts) in November
and December.

Thus the media planning is very complicated and involves a lot of expertise. Media
planners play a very crucial role in media budget decisions.

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3.3 The Media Mix

Media planning follows the adoption of one of the media strategies, which forms part
of the overall promotional strategy. A media plan is concerned with media selection –
what type of media should be used? Magazines? Newspapers? Television? Radio?
Outdoor? If magazines of what classes? General interest magazines, women’s
magazines, romance magazines, crime magazines, business magazines? If general
magazines, which specific ones – India Today, Frontline? If newspapers, in which
regions? If radio or television advertising is required, which radio and TV station
should be covered? Once the media selection is decided upon, the next logical step is
to determine the combination of “mix” of the media one must use. This will be
arrived at by considering the advertising company’s marketing objectives, its target
market, media characteristics, and it’s matching with the target market. Also, the
overall advertising budget does influence the nature of such mix, in addition to the
available gross audience. As an example, to achieve certain advertising objectives,
one may require to use a mix of 50 percent television, 35 percent magazine and 15
percent newspaper. However, more than one mix may fulfill the advertising
objectives, and yet be within the overall budgeted cost. But one should aim at a
balanced mix. It should not be heavily weighted in favor of either frequency or reach.

Some advertisers prefer to concentrate on one media type mix, whereas others
like to have widely varied media mix. While the former offers the advertiser an
opportunity to make a great impact on a specific market segment, the latter, being an
assortment of media, can deliver different messages about the same product to
different market segments. Furthermore, if an ad is released in a varied media mix
having a varied editorial environment, there is the probability that the ad message will

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not “wear out.” “Wear out” refers to the time it takes for people to become bored with
an ad or a commercial. The varied media mix also increases the reach of the ad
message because no two media have entirely the same audience. A certain
percentage of each medium’s audience is not reached by any other medium.
Commenting further on media mix, we may point out that those who are heavy
viewers of television are light readers of magazines, and vice-versa. When one
concentrates on advertising on television, one is achieving a greater impact on heavy
viewers and very little impact on light viewers. Thus, the impact is uneven. A media
mix that contains the component of advertising in magazines in addition to
advertising on television will level out the imbalance. However, by increasing the
number of media in a mix, the advertiser will have to increase his total budget.
Therefore, as said earlier, a balance has to be struck.

Two more concepts, namely, duplication and gross audience, are worth considering
now.

Duplication refers to the number of prospects who are reached by more than one of
the media in a mix. Many executives who read Business India, for example, also read
the Economic Times. These executives are counted in the circulation figures of both
the publications. Ideally, every advertiser would like to have an unduplicated reach
among its best prospects. But, actually, no two media have an “overlapped” audience.
A certain amount of duplication, therefore, is bound to occur. However, the objective
should be to select a mix with the minimum duplication; but at times this is
unavoidable, particularly when one desires to achieve other advertising objectives as
well.

Gross audience refers to the total number of people exposed to all the forms of
advertising used in a single campaign. This includes the audience for radio and
television programmes, outdoor and transit displays, circulation figures of various
publications, and the number of people who attend trade shows. While designing a
media mix, the advertiser should know the gross audience size offered by each

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alternative campaign. This would help him to choose the mix that delivers the greatest
number of exposure alternatives.

3.4 Media Vehicles

Selecting the proper media vehicle for communicating the message goes a long way
in the success of any kind of advertising. Each media vehicle has its positive and
negative points with a different reach and impact. Therefore a company has to be
very clear about its target audience. Choices available are Internet, TV, newspapers,
magazines, direct mails, radio and hoardings. Everyone of this has its advantages and
disadvantages. Companies often go in for a media mix, i.e. they select more than one
of the available choices. Timing is of great significance here. Many industries face
seasonal fluctuations and pass through cycles. Therefore advertising should be timed
that way to take care of these fluctuations. A limited budget should be prudently
allotted among these media vehicles.

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VARIOUS MEDIA VEHICLES IN INDIA

Indoor Advertising Outdoor Advertising Media


(Media Conventional)

-Print - Posters
-Radio - Hoardings
-Television - Travel Displays
-Movie Theatre - Bus Shelter
-Cable TV - Local Trains
- Neon Signs

Direct Advertising Media

- Envelop Enclosures
- Booklets And Catalogue
- Sales Letter
- Gift Novelties
- Package Inserts

Rural Advertising Emerging Media


(Unconventional) (Innovative Media)

- Folk Theatre - Internet


- Puppetry - Atm’s
- Wall Paintings -STD Booth’s (Zip Phone)
- Videos On Wheel - Short Messaging Service (Sms)

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- Post Cards - Wap Enabled Device


- Computer Kiosks

3.5 Media types for Advertising

The opportunities for offering space and time to advertisers have mushroomed since
the early days of Pompeii when messages were carved out with a stylus on the sides
of buildings. Today, a number of channels have been accepted as major advertising
media. The major ones available for advertising purpose are: newspaper,
magazines, radio, television, direct mail, outdoor displays and online advertising.

 Newspaper:
Newspapers come under the print media. The characteristics of newspaper
advertising are- high coverage, low cost, short lead time for placing ads, Ads can be
placed in interest sections, Low cost Timely (current ads), Can be used for coupons,
Short life, Clutter Low attention-getting capabilities, Poor reproduction quality,
Selective reader exposure.

 Magazines:
Magazines are also included under the print media. The characteristics of
magazines are-segmentation potential, Quality reproduction, High information,
content Longevity, Multiple readers, Long lead-time for ad placement, Visual only,
Lack of flexibility.

 Radio:
It is a broadcasting media. The characteristics of radio as an advertising media are-
Local coverage, Low cost, High frequency, Flexible, Low production costs, Well-
segmented audiences, Audio only, Low attention getting, Fleeting message.

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 Television:
It is also a broadcasting media. The characteristics of this media are- Mass coverage,
High reach, High prestige, favorable image, Low cost per exposure, Attention getting,
Low selectivity, Short message life High absolute cost High production costs.

 Direct mail:
The characteristics of this media are- High selectivity, Reader controls exposure,
High information content, Opportunities for repeat exposures, High cost/contact, Poor
image (junk mail).

 Outdoor displays:
This media includes posters, neon signs, banners, hoardings, transit, sky advertising,
kiosks, etc. The characteristics of this media are- High coverage, Location specific,
High repetition, Easily noticed, Short exposure time requires short ad, Poor image,
Local restrictions.

Online advertising:
This includes Internet advertising, advertising on mobile phones (SMS advertising)
etc. The characteristics of this media are- Flexible Timely (current ads), Reader
controls exposure, Impact of media (sound, video, animation and so on), Low
attention getting, Selective reader exposure, Poor image.

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Chapter 4

Outdoor Advertising Media


4.1 Introduction
4.2 History of Outdoor Advertising
4.3 Outdoor Advertising – Why is so great?
4.4 Process of Outdoor Advertising
4.5 Types of Outdoor Advertising
4.6 Pros & Cons of Outdoor Advertising
4.7 Outdoor v/s Other Media
4.8 Outdoor Market Report on Media Usage
4.9 Ten Commandments

4.1 Introduction
The term "out-of-home" media refers to all forms of advertising seen outside the
home that target consumer audiences. Outdoor advertising includes everything
from the large freeway type billboards to airport displays, to mall kiosks to painted
building walls, to surface street poster panels to airplane banners to subway/train and
platform advertising to buses and bus shelters. Everything and anything used for
advertising out-of-the-home.

Outdoor is a comprehensive mix of effective media delivery mechanisms that reach


people in their cars or on subways, in airports and malls or in any number of growing
outdoor media settings. Outdoor is roadside, outside and inside, above and below
ground and on the move.

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Outdoor reach people on-the-go and offers extremely targeted messaging designed to
intercept consumers, wherever they go in an urban market or on suburban highways.
Combining traditional billboards with other newer forms of outdoor media
products can make a tremendous impact improving reach, frequency and
overall awareness in one cohesive media package.

Outdoor is more than just billboards! Most advertisers look to create product
recognition and allegiance in the market as part of their marketing strategy.

The use of a brand icon in outdoor creative has been found to make an ad 40% more
memorable than an ad without a brand icon and if your goal is to turn your product or
service into a brand no other medium can do this as cost effectively as Outdoor.
Outdoor can brand, create and maintain awareness, and can reach and impact your
target market in a way that no other medium can.

Outdoor is the most universal of all advertising media, exposed to virtually


everyone who goes out of the house to work, shop or play. Outdoor provides
broad, fast market reach. Because of its continuous presence, outdoor is capable of
producing frequency levels unmatched by any other medium.

You can replace your outdoor advertising in locations reaching everyone coming into
or leaving your specific market area. You can pinpoint your prime marketing areas
exactly. Outdoor advertising's large physical characteristics create greater visual
impact on your audience. Outdoor is big, bold and colorful.

Outdoor advertising is the final reminder of your product or service; it's the point of
sell before the point-of-sale. Outdoor advertising bridges the gap between the in-
home message and the out-of-home purchase.

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Simple, powerful and innovative outdoor advertising can jump start the life of a new
product or service create awareness and interest your offering, influence your target
markets purchase decision or build brands equity.

Outdoor advertising is defined as any sign that publicly promotes a product or a


service.

This medium has accustomed to be known as larger than life medium. Outdoors
advertising like posters, hoardings etc… talk to large numbers of people at the same
time. Today outdoor advertising is everywhere, no medium puts advertising message
before ones eyes so constantly, in so many unexpected places and unusual ways.

When Perk was launched in the late 90’s it bombarded the hoardings with Preity
Zinta saying “ Kabhi bhi Kahi bhi” so is the today’s scenario of outdoor advertising it
is actually there everywhere.

Outdoor advertising is a constantly evolving medium of communication. In fact, the


entire concept has changed in recent times to Out-Of-Home advertising. This can be
defined as signs that promote a business outside premises. It encompasses
advertising not just on hoardings but also in other places that get high
pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Thus it includes, among others, bus shelters, transit
(bus exteriors, commuter rail cards, station platforms, underground shelters), street
furniture (such as newsstands and benches), airports, malls, spectaculars and painted
walls. The increasing importance being given to OOH is largely due to the fact that
people today are less home-bound than earlier, or rather, more people nowadays go
out of doors to earn a living than they used to. Hence the race to catch their attention
out of doors as much or more than within the four walls of their home. Also, better
tools like longer-lasting billboard substrates, large-format, high-speed digital
technology, and creative use of 3-D, fibre optics and other spectacular effects on
billboards, have greatly increased the scope of and interest in outdoor advertising.

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Outdoor advertising encompasses a large variety of tools, vehicles as they are called
in advertising parlance. Although billboards are the first ones that come to mind,
there is a lot more to this medium of communication than these large format visual
arresters. A brief outline of some of the commonly used vehicles in outdoor
advertising. From chiseling messages on stone in the ancient times to state-of-the-art
billboards and interactive displays, outdoor advertising has a come a long way. The
fifteenth century invention of the printing press saw the origin of bill posting in
Europe in the 1500s. And with the advent of lithography, in the nineteenth century,
creativity in advertising took off. In fact the word billboard has its origins in the late
nineteenth century practice of posting bills on wooden boards. Today, outdoor
advertising covers a vast number of 'vehicles'. In addition to the billboard, mobile
advertising, in-store displays, and displays in airports, sports arenas, and transit
shelters; scrollers, translites, signages, etc. also come under this umbrella. Outdoor
Advertising is so extensively used for the simple reason that it works.

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4.2 History of Outdoor Advertising

Outdoor advertising can trace its lineage back to the earliest civilizations. Thousands
of years ago, the Egyptians employed a tall stone obelisk to publicize laws and
treaties. While formats have certainly changed and as advertising ideas have evolved,
outdoor is still here.

One of the first known methods of advertising was an outdoor display, usually
an eye-catching sign painted on the wall of a building. Archaeologists have
uncovered many such signs, notably in the ruins of ancient Rome and Pompeii. An
outdoor advertisement excavated in Rome offers property for rent, and one found
painted on a wall in Pompeii calls the attention of travelers to a tavern situated in
another town.

In India, Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC had utilized the medium of outdoor
Advertising for communicating government policies and for propagating Buddhism
as is evident from his rock edits.

In regards to use of outdoor media for commercial advertising in ancient times, a


bright trader in order to promote his sales would scribe the name of the products he
was selling and nail the messages on his shop front, an innkeeper would hang his
shingles out side the door of his inn, announcing the availability of rooms and stable
facilitates, a black smith would adorn the entrance of the lane leading to his smithy
with the rim of a hoarse carriage wheel or a horseshoe or such others of his wares as
would attract the attention of the passerby. These gimmicks, tricks or eye catching
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devices resorted to by the traders in ancient times can be truly termed as the
forerunners of modern outdoor advertising.

The earliest forms of Outdoor Advertising is perhaps between 15th and 17th century
when the Church and the State would affix posters on doors of churches to make
announcements and proclamations.
According to historian Frank Presbrey the first hoarding for commercial advertising
appeared around 1740 when a London based textile merchant secured permission
from the city council to position his shop’s advertisement bill next to the official
decrees at a fee-, which was the first established fee for making proclamations.

Other forms of advertising media have always resorted to outdoor to promote


themselves. Presses, Theatre, Cinema, Television do not regard outdoor as a
competitor: even if they are over-whelmed by the inherent advantage of outdoor
advertising and use it to reach a mass transit populace. Outdoor advertising grew
significantly with the growth of cars and improvements of roads.

Thus, “Maximum meaning, minimum means” captures the essence and the
penetration of Outdoor Advertising. Outdoor is old yet new, it is the oldest medium
yet as we are into the new millennium arguably the most dynamic. It is primitive and
yet sophisticated.

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4.3 Outdoor Advertising – why is so


great?

 People spend more time in their vehicle than they do to read the paper and
watch the news.

 Outdoor advertising has a lower cost per thousand than any other type of
advertising. Outdoor ads cost 80% less than television commercials, 60% less
than newspaper ads, and 50% less than radio ads.

 Ads on billboards are free to consumers; you do not have to buy a magazine,
cable television, or a newspaper to see your advertisement.

 Outdoor advertising does not interrupt consumers in any way. There's no


obnoxious sound, smell or other type of negative attention grabber.
Billboards are noticed because of their messages, bright bold colors and
creative graphics.

 Outdoor advertising allows you to reach more people faster and easier than
any other type of media.

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 Outdoor advertising has a larger audience than any other type of advertising.
People are driving further and further every day.

 Outdoor advertising is the only type of media that has constant exposure. No
other type of advertising allows your message to be displayed 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.

 Repetition is extremely helpful when you are trying to increase your product
awareness, or when you simply want to get your message across to millions of
people. This task can easily be accomplished with billboard campaigns.

 Outdoor advertising help increase your products awareness, and knowledge


which also increases your sales and profits.

 Outdoor advertising makes it extremely easy to target, or not to target, a


specific market.

Thus, all this proves that in today's fragmented media world, outdoor advertising is
the one answer to target mass audiences effectively. With brands fighting for recall
advertisers are committing larger budgets to the medium each year in order to deliver
high impact displays in busy town and city centers throughout the world. As a result,
outdoor media commands an ever-growing share of all ads spend.

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4.4 Process of Outdoor Advertising

The basic business unit of the outdoor industry is the local outdoor company, the
outdoor plant. Its stock in trade is the location it has leased or bought under local
zonal regulation permitting the erection of signs. Having, thus, acquired a place the
company then leases out the place to a company wanting to do an outdoor advertising
by painting or posting the advertisers message on the same. The contract is made
either weekly, monthly, or on half yearly basis. It is the responsibility of the local
outdoor company to maintain the ad in good condition during the life of the
advertisers contract.

After the signs are up, the advertising agency is notified. A representative of the
agency drives around to inspect the signs (called riding a show) to make sure that all
boards are in proper working order. The boards are inspected regularly to make sure
that the traffic flow has not changed, that no obstruction (such as foliage of a tree or
new construction etc.) impedes the view of the sign, and if poster is used – then that
the posters are not peeling, and all flashing and lighting arrangements are working
properly.

Also the plant operators may have its own art staff to supply creative services for
local advertisers; ad agencies usually do the creative work for national advertisers. It
has also been found that many big companies may have their own private advertising
department which works on the creative part and the plant operators only have to put
on this ads on their plants and maintain the same.

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For e.g. - Reliance has its own creative department to work on its ads.
As soon as the contract is over the place is leased out to another wishing to
place the ad in that place or the same company.

4.5 Types of Outdoor Advertising

 Hoardings

 Billboards

 Posters

 Neon Signs

 Street Furniture: -
 Bus Shelters
 Bus Benches
 News stands and news racks
 Kiosks
 Public Telephones
 In-Stores

 Transit: -
 Buses
 Subways and rails
 Airports
 Truck sides
 Taxis

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 Alternative Media: -
 Stadiums
 Airborne
 Recreational resorts
 Parking places
 Petrol pumps
 Mobile bill boards

HOARDINGS

A GROWING TREND

With the increasing clutter in the print and the audio-visual medium, along with the
spiraling costs, advertisers are now opting to go out into
the open. In the past few years’ hoardings have
become an important part of media-mix. The cost
effective medium is ideal for new launches, short term
campaigns (announcing rebate, bonus etc.), teaser
campaign, impulse purchase products (soft drinks,
confectioneries) and local campaigns considered to be a
reminder medium, it reinforces brands with the arrival
of high-tech innovations, hoarding are now drawing
more attention than even before. It is the form of
outdoor advertising, which is maximally used by the advertiser. It is designed to
accommodate sales messages printed by the advertiser. Hoardings are
conventional ways of advertising, large hoardings around the streets
gather attention of the passerby, and digital printing has given a new
dimension to hoarding advertising.

Regardless of size or orientation, hoardings or billboards can lay claim to grasping the
maximum amount of attention. To the layman, hoardings are synonymous with
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outdoor advertising. Since the layman is the one whose attention is being sought to be
captured by advertising, his perception is to be treated like gospel! And so hoardings
reign in the outdoors, the indisputable leaders. Outdoor advertising today
encompasses a whole gamut of vehicles, but hoardings remain unassailably
number one.

The hoarding comprises a PVC skin stretched across its frame and backlit by dozens
of tube lights inside the box. The original artwork is scanned on a computer,
converted into digital codes that then control the airbrushes that actually paint the
advertisement on the PVC skin.

HOARDINGS — LARGER THAN LIFE


Hoardings, or billboards, outdistance all
other advertising tools in terms of sheer
visibility. Available in the largest outdoor
formats as they are, billboards can range in
various sizes. The first, the most common
one on highways and main arterial roads,
especially have a huge impact in the outdoor marketplace. Hoardings command high-
density consumer exposure as they target vehicular traffic. Their ability to take on
customization only increases their utility. A case in context is the recent launch of
Timesgroup's glamour and entertainment channel, Zoom. The persuasive hoardings
with the sheer white background, contrasting red and black graphics and the teasing
tagline, were all over Mumbai. What was interesting was that the advertisement itself
did not need much customization although the billboards ranged in size and format
from the traditional 10 x 10 to horizontal bus shelters to vertical building hoardings.

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HOARDINGS -- EFFECTIVE REMINDERS


Hoardings are primarily used as reminders as, being stationary, they have the
advantage of giving the product repeated exposure to the target audience. Although
television commercials reach a much wider audience it is the hoarding that keeps
reminding the consumer of the product or service. A very successful ad campaign
done recently by Bates for Tata AIG Life Insurance included television commercials
ably backed by press ads and billboards. The press ads formed a series with
interesting and catchy body copy like 'You see a mischievous child, we see a future
yoga expert' supporting the statement 'Life inspires us to think ahead, which is why
our insurance solutions are one step ahead'. There was a series of hoardings too, in
keeping with the press ads. The ad's tagline 'A new look at life' has been so successful
as to prompt the company to issue a directive to employees, agents, actuaries, etc that
they look at and project the company image and products with a new perspective,
new being the operational word. The advertisement is one of the few where
monitoring effectiveness has been easy and quick results have been seen. Brand
awareness and recognition have increased exponentially post advertisement.

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AMUL AND ITS HOARDINGS…

50 years after it was first launched, Amul's sale figures have jumped from
1000 tones a year in 1966 to over 25,000 tones a year in 1997. No other brand comes
even close to it. All because a thumb-sized girl climbed on to the hoardings and put a
spell on the masses.

For 30 odd years Amul and its hoardings has managed to keep her fan following
intact. So much so that the ads are now ready to enter the Guinness Book of World
Records for being the longest running campaign ever. The ultimate compliment to the
butter came when a British company launched butter and called it Utterly Butterly,
last year.

It all began in 1966 when Sylvester daCunha, then the managing director of the
advertising agency, ASP, clinched the account for Amul butter. The butter, which had
been launched in 1945, had a staid, boring image, primarily because the earlier
advertising agency which was in charge of the account preferred to stick to routine,
corporate ads.

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One of the first Amul hoardings

In India, food was something one couldn't afford to fool around with. It had been
taken too seriously, for too long. Sylvester daCunha decided it was time for a change
of image.

The year Sylvester daCunha took over the account, the country saw the birth of a
campaign whose charm has endured fickle public opinion, gimmickry and all else.

The Amul girl who lends herself so completely to Amul butter, created as a rival to
the Polson butter girl.

That October, lamp kiosks and the bus sites of the city were splashed with the moppet
on a horse. The baseline simply said, Thoroughbred, Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul.
It was a matter of just a few hours before the daCunha office was ringing with calls.
Not just adults, even children were calling up to say how much they had liked the ads.
"The response was phenomenal," recalls Sylvester daCunha. "We knew our campaign
was going to be successful."

In 1969, when the city first saw the beginning of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna
movement, Sylvester daCunha, Mohammad Khan and Usha Bandarkar, then the
creative team working on the Amul account came up with a clincher -- 'Hurry Amul,
Hurry Hurry'. Bombay reacted to the ad with a fervour that was almost as devout as
the Iskon fever.

That was the first of the many topical ads that were in the offing. From then on Amul
began playing the role of a social observer. Over the years the campaign acquired that
all-important Amul touch.

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From the Sixties to the Nineties, the Amul ads have come a long way. While most
people agree that the Amul ads were at their peak in the Eighties they still maintain
that the Amul ads continue to tease laughter out of them.

Where does Amul's magic actually lie? Many believe that the charm lies in the catchy
lines. That we laugh because the humour is what anybody would enjoy. They don't
pander to your nationality or certain sentiments. It is pure and simple, everyday fun.

BILLBOARDS

BILLBOARDS Remain The Cornerstone Of Outdoor Media

Outdoor Advertising is mostly billboard


advertising. The first use of this advertising was in
promoting theatrical programmes. The playbill was
pasted outside the theatre, so that passerby could
see it. This was done to promote attendance at
these theatrical performances, and was no doubt a
primitive form of advertising; but it is in existence
even today. The “bills” were pasted on walls, fences or on boards around the town.
The word billboard has its origin in the playbill posted outside the theatre. After
automobiles came in and the road network became increasingly extensive, the
outside poster at the roadside became a useful medium for advertising. The word
poster is used to convey an advertising message, and it is posted on a structure built
for that purpose. The original poster
was a sheet of paper, 28 inches by

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42 inches. Several such “one-sheets” could be combined to make larger posters to fit
different frames. The most popular size is 24-sheet poster. This is the size of a
structure for which 24 individual sheets of the above-mentioned size are required to
fill the board. Now, with the modern printing press, bigger size sheets can be printed.
The same space can now be filled say, with only 10 sheets; but we still call this size a
24-sheet poster. A 24-sheet poster has a copy area, which is 104 inches high and 234
inches long. A 30-sheet poster has also acquired a wide acceptance nowadays
providing a copy area of 115 inches by 259 inches.

The bigger posters, called bleed posters, of size 125 inches by 272 inches, have also
gained popularity. Poster panels may be illuminated or regular. When night traffic is
dense in metropolitan areas, there is a need for illuminating the posters.

Painted boards constitute another major outdoor advertising. Instead of printing on


sheets of paper, the message is painted. This is very important; particularly when the
billboard is exposed to rains and is likely to get spoiled soon. Of the outdoor boards,
which have a longer life span, the painted poster is the most acceptable.

Billboard formats offer high-impact, strategic positioning and market-to-market


coverage with an unprecedented means of reaching today's highly mobile consumer
audience. But that's not all. Billboards can deliver on so many levels:

• Clean eye-popping exposure 24/7


• Clutter free messages in a uniquely customized environment
• Desirable suburban coverage filling gaps left by other media

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POSTERS

Posters are of great value in developing countries like India with a great deal of
diversity of languages and problem of illiteracy. Posters are a part of commercial art
used most extensively in India to advertise feature films. It is visual medium par
excellence most of times. Even when words are used they are pithy.

The Bombay Municipality has used this medium effectively for social education
campaigns like ‘Save Water’ and ‘ Clean Bombay – Green Bombay’.

Business organizations too have gone in for expensive ad campaigns using the poster
medium. The drawback of this Outdoor medium is that posters can easily be defaced
or torn off; moreover, they are only seen at glance, and rarely read fully.

Mostly posters remain in position for a period of time say several weeks. We,
therefore, say that they enjoy 24-hour exposure and long life. The fact is that audience
gets only a fraction of a second to view the advertisement. But this is compensated by
repetition of viewing. The repetition is ideal for sinking the name or registering a
slogan or sales point or pack design in the mind of the audience. The task of the
poster is though simple but is an insistent one.

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Posters communicate with a large number of people at the same time. Coverage
could be according to our choice. It is a real mass medium. It gives exposure to one
and all. They may be on their way to office, work, play, shop and so on. Its message
delivery is dependent upon the passer-by traffic. It acts as an impulse-trigger.

NEON SIGNS

They are attractive form of advertising mainly for the cities, which have a
nightlife, eg. In a city like Mumbai neon
signs are an important medium as the
nightlife is very busy. These electronic
signs use computerized lighting systems
that are eye catching and effective. Such
bulletins are more expensive than posters
and attract greater attention. The cost of producing and maintaining such electronic
displays is enormous, and therefore can be used only by big advertisers.

Globally, Neons have proved to be more effective more than any other form of onsite
advertising. No other light source can match its brilliance and intensity, which is
specific and does not spread. Typically, a neon sign with 5” tall letters can be read
approximately 200 ft away or across a 4-lane highway. It is estimated that in India,
neon constitutes 15 percent of the total electric sign sales, with a growth rate of 10
percent. It comes to 5 percent of the total money spent on outdoor advertising.
Television programmes are also not far behind to make use of the bright illumination
of neons. The popular ‘Movers & Shakers’ show on Sony TV has its logo in neon in
the backdrop.

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If you are in the business of selling, the first thing you need to work on is your sign.
Without it your chances of getting noticed fall dramatically. You may have the best
merchandise, the finest store, but if you can’t attract customers, you will soon be
shutting down.

That’s really the baseline for the sign business around the world. Today, the choices
are huge-digital prints, backlits, frontlits, acrylic, vinyl and neons. Except for the last
one, all the rest are static signs. The neon, in contrast, is a living sign which winks
and blinks invitingly at customers. A neon has an almost mesmerizing effect-often
you cannot take your eyes off it waiting for its colours to change or gain new designs.
During the middle of the 20th century, neon signs turned North America’s roadside
into a luminous wonderland. The most compelling signs were figural: imaginative,
cartoon drawings in light. Most Indian shopkeepers agree that a neon attracts more
customers. Sometimes it becomes a question of not wanting to be the only shop on
the street, which doesn’t have a neon!

Today neons are also pitched against a giant and thriving digital printing industry,
with new techniques and improved effects.

The options in neon are many, it all depends on the creativity of the sign maker.
The simplest is the Skeletal Neon, which is really just the neon tubing, which looks as
though the sign has been written in running hand. This is very fashionable in
developed markets where the skill of the sign maker and the materials used are of the
highest quality.

Then there is the single line tubing, which runs on acrylic cutouts. This doubles as a
day sign, and neon sign makers contend that it makes the letters look bigger. The
reverse also works – acrylic letters with neon behind them, which gives a backlit
effect.

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The most expensive is the concentric circles or parallel lines neons, which have a
flasher inside. What you get are ever-changing lines, and each line needs a
transformer, so it becomes expensive.

Surprisingly, the technology behind neon sign making has not changed much over the
last half century. It’s the same gases – neon and argon that are still being used. They
have remained the same from the time they were invented. Neons, are a saturated
science – there is very little new stuff that can be done with. The procedure has
remained the same for the last few decades. High maintenance and higher electricity
bills are the two biggest fears, which put off potential buyers

STREET FURNITURE

The Increasing Prestige Of Street Furniture

Street furniture advertising is versatile. It can effectively target population segments


or be used to reach a broad-based marketplace. Formats range from simple to
interactive, locations vary from dense urban centers to suburban roadways.

Because many street furniture displays are located near shopping and commerce
centers, these outdoor products provide a last reminder for consumer’s just moments
before a potential purchase decision is made. For this reason, street furniture
advertising is ideal for generating high awareness and brand recognition near a point-
of-purchase.

Various Types of Street Furniture:-

Station and shelter posters: Mostly station posters are used for film advertising.
They are also effectively used for local advertising by retailers, coaching classes,
opticians and even astrology; construction companies and estate brokers.

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Advertising on bus shelters is now gaining popularity as it easily grabs attention of


the passerby & of the people waiting for the bus.

ATM advertising : When there is no interaction, the monitor


carries an ad of the bank or the portfolio of a product.

Zip phones: After dialing the number while the call is on, the ad
keeps on flashing on the screen.

TRANSIT ADVERTISING

Reaching Consumers On The Go With Transit

Displays that reach people traveling - by plane, train or automobile, bus or cab,
and on foot, transit products offer extremely targeted outdoor messaging
solutions designed to reach target consumers, whether moving or being moved.
In fact, given the nature of transit
products, they are visible at all hours,
with particular strength during rush
hour. Take your pick of the product
pack - mix and match. Combining
transit products can make a
tremendous impact improving: reach,
frequency and overall impact in one cohesive media package.

Transit Advertising or advertisements on wheels occupies a major segment of


Outdoor Advertising all over the world. It is a very effective medium for showcasing
product related advertisements as well as public service messages.

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Do you want to revolutionize how you reach potential customers, and maximize your
advertising investment? If so, transit advertising is the solution. Here's why:

You can't zap it. You can't ignore it. Transit advertising can't be turned off like
television, tuned out like radio, or discarded like newspaper and magazines. Instead, it
puts your message at eye-level in front of thousands of consumers - all day, every day
- and it demands attention. What's more, it's not cluttered up with dozens of
competing messages in the same space, like other commercial media. Transit
advertising costs less than television, radio, newspaper or billboards.

Transit vehicles go where people go: where they live, work, shop and play. And
wherever those vehicles travel, advertising goes with them. They travel through busy
downtown areas and are essential to reach major educational institutions, healthcare
centers, financial centers and entertainment venues. They give you coverage in
upscale suburban communities, major malls and retail centers. You can reach the key
drive-time audience of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, as transit routes cover nearly
all major streets and highways. Transit ads stimulate immediate recognition of who
you are, what you have to offer and where to find you. The larger-than-life impact
makes your business appear larger than life, too, and builds exceptional recall when
people are seeking your product or service. Transit ads complement and reinforce
your overall advertising program. All kinds of businesses have discovered the
benefits of transit advertising, like increased name recognition and top-of-mind
awareness. It's a proven and powerful vehicle for reaching potential customers - again
and again. Transit gets results!

Benefits Of Transit Advertising:


 Greater Reach and frequency.
 Reaching a Captive Audience.
 Creates top-of-mind awareness.
 Building Long-Term Name Recognition.
 Reaching People All Day...Every Day.

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 Fits into virtually any advertising campaign.


 Inexpensive.

Various Types of Transit Advertising

Interior cards or car cards: Buses and subways usually have overhead and wall
mountings for advertising. Local trains also have advertising space on their walls.
These are especially useful when catering for a specific target groups such as women.
Unlike the posters which cannot be read at length commuters in trains have ample of
time to reach the ad; and therefore a longer ad can also be used.

Exterior posters: Buses also have display ads on the outside space. BEST buses rent
out the entire bus that can be attractively painted with the ad message.
In city like Bombay where local trains operate these entire trains are also painted with
a particular ad.

Bus ticket: Innovative media planners also use bus tickets to advertise their products.
They are less expensive and have a higher possibility of being read by commuters
through the message is obviously very brief.

Air balloons: Balloon advertising is a novel way of promoting products customized


to a product shape, which could be anything from cars to cans upto 50 feet high. as
they are cheaper than hoardings & could be used anywhere.

Wall painting: It is mainly used in rural areas where other advertising cannot reach
and it one of the cheap method also. It is even found in cities but to a very small.

Mobile Display Vehicles: This new concept of MDV is certainly more effective in
this field than any other means because it attracts almost every commuters/passerby
when it moves on roads whereas the earlier ideas of hoarding was stationery and only
limited people could see them. Moreover, the Mobile Vehicles can also be designed

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as per the specifications given by over valued customers as per their requirements.
Apart from this the MDV is also very effective for Road Shows, which attracts people
now a days.

A New Twist Is Alternative Outdoor Media

Beyond billboards, a whole new field of advertising formats has emerged to impact
consumers head-on during the course of daily activities. Originally developed to
bridge gaps in urban centers, the alternative outdoor products have today grown into a
sophisticated and viable billion-dollar business. The beauty of these ad forms is the
targeting they provide, and their synergy within micro markets.

Alternative outdoor media provides the impact of outdoors’ 'power of presence' with
the intimate messaging of print media. Alternative outdoor media can cover a market
far and wide or provide synergies with locations strategically placed around a town.
Use one specific form of alternative outdoor or go "hog wild" with multiple
executions. However it's done, alternative outdoor media is a cost efficient means to
promote a big brand with "round the clock presence" on a local level.

Thus, Outdoor advertising has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a
roadside poster. Not an afterthought to fund editorial content, outdoor advertising is
pure and unfettered - a proud beacon, beautifully rendering a product's benefits and
whereabouts. Outdoor offers a treasure trove of choices that suit every target, every
geography, and every strategy. Today outdoor offers a portfolio of settings and
frames that are custom built for every imaginable need a marketer might have. The

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diversity and variety provides a marketer creative expression that knows no limits and
a geographic dispersion that offers both deep and wide market coverage.

4.6
Pros & Cons of Outdoor Advertising

THE PROS:-
 Accessibility : Outdoor carries the message 24 hours per day and cannot be
fast-forwarded, put aside, zapped, or turned off.
 Reach : For the same dollars, outdoor delivers a reach of 86.4 percent
compared with spot TV (76.5 percent), radio (72.3 percent), and newspaper
(72.2 percent) for the same target audience in the same city. The audience is
mostly young, educated, affluent, and mobile – an attractive target to many
national advertisers.
 Frequency : Nine out of 10 people reached with a 100 GRP showing receive
an average of 29 impressions each over a 30-day period.
 Geographic flexibility : Outdoor advertisers can place their advertising
where they want it nationally, regionally, or locally in more than 9,000
markets across North America.
 Demographic flexibility : Messages can be concentrated in areas frequented
or traversed by young people, upper-income people, or people of specific
ethnic backgrounds. With computerization, its possible to characterize outdoor
audiences by age, sex, income, and lifestyle down to the block level.

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 Cost : Outdoor offers the lowest cost per exposure of any major advertising
medium. Rates vary depending on market size and intensity, but the GRP
system makes cost comparisons possible from market to market.
 Impact : Because advertisers can build up GRPs very fast., outdoor is ideal
medium for those with a short, simple, and dogmatic message.
 Creative flexibility : Outdoor offers a large display and the spectacular
features of lights, animations, and brilliant color. New fiberoptics, giant video
screens, and backlit display technologies offer more creative options.
 Location : Outdoor can target consumers by activity, reaching shoppers on
their way to the store, businesspeople on their way to work, or travelers on
their way to the airport, thereby influencing shoppers just before they make a
purchase decision.
THE CONS

 Fleeting Message : Customers pass quickly, so outdoor advertising must


intrude to be effective. The design and copy must tell a story briefly and
crisply, and the words must sell.
 Environmental influence : Outdoor messages are influenced by their
environment. Placement in a run-down area can detract from a products
image.
 Audience measurement : Audience demographics are difficult to
measure. Not every passerby sees or reads the ad, so some media buyers
distrust reach estimates.
 Control : Unlike print and broadcast ads, its hard to physically inspect
each outdoor poster panel.
 Availability of locations : Oudoor is so popular that demand now exceed
supply.
 Visual pollution : Some people object to outdoor advertising as visual
pollution. They have a negative reaction to advertisers who use it.

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4.7 Outdoor v/s Other Media

There are some basic differences between outdoor advertising and advertising in
other media. Though we have highlighted some of them in the foregoing paragraphs,
outdoor advertising is literally out of door, i.e., it is out of the home or place of
business. Some authors have used the term out-of-home to distinguish this medium
from the rest of the media. They have indicated that out-of-home media include
outdoor posters, painted bulletins, hoardings, neon signs, etc. whatever may be the
slight difference in the interpretation, all outdoor ads have no editorial vehicle to
carry the messages. The viewer has to incur no expenditure, nor has he to make
any effort to see an outdoor advertising, whereas this is not so with other media.
An ad message is not brought to the audience; it is the audience who go to the
message, though they view it in the course of their other activities. Outdoor ads offer
repeat opportunities for looking at the ad message, either at the same place or on an
identical billboard at another location. In the USA, Outdoor Advertising Association
of America (OAAA), which has established certain standards on size, design and
method of the construction of these billboards. Only such billboards are qualified as

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outdoor media. Roadside and on premises devices, which are not of standard sizes
and/or designs, are not classified strictly as outdoor ads. They are referred to as signs.

4.8 Outdoor Market Report on Media


Usage for March 2005
Total number of cities covered is 16

Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hydrebad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Cochin,


Amritsar, Bhopal, Chandigarg, Indore, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Raipur.

Vehicles covered are

Billboards, Bus Shelter, Pole Kiosk, Gantries, Full train paintings, Foot Over Bridges,
Glow Sings, Mobile Vans, Solus Buses, Station Signages.

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Product Category Approx. Display Charges


(Figure in Lacs)
Telecom – Service Providers 877.73
Insurance - Life 439.15
Entertainment 295.12
Automobile – 4 Wheeler 233.74
Finance Banking 224.71
Finance – Mutual Funds 186.85
Publications 161.85
Retail 138.83
Food & Beverages 117.15
Construction & Accessories 109.65
Telecom Handsets 109.60
Consumer Durables 93.60
Liquor 88.15
Airlines 73.34
Garments 66.37
Computers & Peripherals 62.90
Electrical Accessories 47.10
Travel & Tourism 42.55
Real Estate 41.00
Automobile – 2 Wheeler 40.75
Internet Services 37.20
Jewellery 36.67
Energy Sector 29.15
Auto Accessories 28.00
Petroleum 24.90

The Total Outdoor Advertising spends in March 2005 have decreased by 10.73% in
comparison to February 2005 spends.

4.9 Ten Commandments

Pratap Bose from O&M gives ten considerations that should go into
the making of outdoor creatives.

1. The message should be brief consisting of 3-5 words.


2. The message should be legible. Capitals are used for display headings. Lower
case is suitable for longer headlines and sentences. Ornate lettering may
reduce legibility. The minimum type height on a normal 20’ x 10’ hoarding
should be upwards 30 cms.
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3. Colours are used to contrast each other. Complementary colours, like red and
green, are not readily visible.
4. Build a uniquely recognizable format or layout and repeat it often enough. It
requires briefest eye contact to identify the brand.
5. The brand name works harder if it preceded the slogan.
6. Use graphics to organize the text.
7. The key word or phrase can be highlighted in the colour box.
8. Faces used should not overwhelm the brand name. The pictures that are most
effective are pictures of ordinarily people.
9. Teaser campaigns can be effective in outdoor, although they account for a
small portion of outdoor campaigns.
10. The disruption of expectation: The consumer today enjoys a challenge, and
has the ability to deal with the abstract. The more innovative, the more
intriguing and the more humorous the creative execution of an outdoor ad is,
the less media weight it needs. Conversely, the more mundane the creative,
the more media weight it requires.

Chapter 5

Outdoor Advertising Campaign for


“Speed Petrol”
5.1 Profile of Product
5.2 Basis of Successful Outdoor Campaign
5.3 Objectives behind choosing Outdoors for SPEED
5.4 Nature of Outdoor Campaign
5.5 Did it reach the customer well?
5.6 Drawbacks of the campaign
5.7 Hoardings made for Speed

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5.1 Profile of Product

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is a downstream Oil Refining and


Marketing Company with present revenues in excess of Rs. 357 billion. BPCL, with a
large marketing network that is spread across the country, is India's second largest oil
company in terms of market share.

From LPG and Kerosene for domestic consumption, to automotive fuels and
lubricants for vehicles, to feedstock and fuels for industrial application, BPCL
touches the lives of over 900 million Indians in some way, every day.

The Rs 46,853-crore Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) represents the


biggest petrol market among all metros, accounting for around 22,000 kilolitres a
month.

Bharat Petroleum pioneers in branded fuels


Bharat Petroleum, ushered in the era of value-added, branded fuels in the country
with the launch of Speed, in July 2002 By way of this maiden
endeavor, within the Oil marketing sector in India, Bharat
Petroleum has successfully initiated the concept of branding
to a trade that was, until now, largely a commodity business.

Bharat Petroleum , today leads the branded fuel segment with


an exciting array of high performance fuels both in petrol and
diesel segment, which are designed to complement the
technology advancements in automobile engines.

Speed is petrol with world-class multi-functional additives,


which comply with EPA 97 (Environment Protection Agency,

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USA) requirements. Speed contains unique deposit control additives that effectively
remove harmful deposits from all fuel metering systems and components resulting in
enhanced overall engine performance - easy starting / smooth idling, maximum power
and acceleration, reduced emission, and no engine knocking – improved mileage and
reduced maintenance costs.

Encouraged by the stupendous success of Speed, Bharat Petroleum, has broken new
ground by introducing a high octane, high performance petrol, branded as Speed93, a
fuel that enhances their driving experience – helps their vehicle to perform at its best,
protects their vehicles and gives them a trouble free driving experience in which can
feel they are always in control.

Speed93 is a blend of RON 93 Petrol and world-class multi-functional additives,


which comply with EPA 97 (Environment Protection Agency, USA) requirements.
While the higher octane enables the high performance vehicles to deliver designed
outputs, the multi-functional additives remove harmful deposits from all fuel
metering systems and components and keep it clean.
Considering the need for a premium quality diesel to complement technology
enhancements in diesel vehicles, Bharat Petroleum have introduced hi performance
diesel with brand name Hi speed Diesel

Hi speed Diesel is a blend of Diesel and world-class multi-functional additives


sourced from Afton Chemicals (formerly M/s Ethyl Asia Pacific Company). This
additive uses the internationally renowned GreenBurn Combustion Technology.
Multi-functional additive enables the high performance vehicles to deliver their
designed outputs by removing harmful deposits from all fuel metering systems and
engine components. This will also reduce particle level, black smoke and provide
longer engine life.

Hi speed Diesel has been launched in Mumbai and Delhi markets, and in a phased
manner the product will be launched across the country.

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All the above high performance fuels come with the Pure for Sure guarantee which
ensures correct quality and quantity. So, indulge yourself on “Speed fuels ” with the
“Pure for Sure” assurance.

5.2 Basis of Successful Outdoor


Campaign

SAATCHI & SAATCHI has come up with some valuable inferences so as to achieve
successful in any outdoor campaign. The basis for a successful outdoors campaigns
are:

 Outdoors should require doing a proper evaluation system for providing site
comparisons.

 Evaluating hoarding sites in the city of Mumbai & develop a weightage index
based on the criteria as visibility, height & illumination.

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 Angle, competition, deflection & obstruction are basic areas, which should be
taken care of.

 The basic aim of any outdoor campaign is to indicate a gross OTS (opportunity
to see) for each hoarding.

 The evaluation process should consider the number of pedestrians and vehicles
passing by the site.

 Nearness to other nearby messages that might interfere the ambience can
negatively affect the brand image & availability of effective night-time
illumination.

 This type of advertising should consider the traffic and population of


individual routes and an analysis of lifestyles of the people along the route
should be made.

Objectives behind choosing


Outdoors for SPEED

 No advertising campaign is complete without outdoor advertising.

 It is tool which will attract maximum attention of on-by lookers be it billboard,


hoardings or transit advertising.

 Outdoor advertising will prove to be the most essential to make ad campaign


for speed successful.

 Outdoor will provide brand recall to customers while they out.

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 Outdoor effectively used at point of purchase locations can generate effective


sales & in turn it can help to promote the product.

 Outdoor advertising will help to convey the product benefits much effectively
and efficiently & it targets all segments of consumers.

 It will stress on creating awareness about the product and its features.

 It will stress the importance of branded petrol & benefit to all car and bike
users.

5.4 Nature of Outdoor Campaign

Speed Fuel being the first of its kind aimed to create a distinguishing mark in the
market as compared to any other normal petrol/diesel. The idea behind the capaign
was to promote branded petrol and convey the product features and its benefits to all
car & bike owners. It wanted to make itself a valuable product in the market.

BPCL was faced with numerous constraints when it came to promoting SPEED fuel.

They adopted a National launch strategy for SPEED promotion. But National launch
was done in phases due to the constraints of : -

 Insufficient resources, which could not cater to the nationwide market.

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 High Octane fuel cannot be made available in all regions in the nation at one
spot.

 So they targeted major cities, then town and then semi-urban areas. The Phases
were as follows:
Phase I – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatta
Phase II – Pune, Hydrebad, Bangalore, Chandigarh
Phase III – Ludiyana, Jalandhar, Cuttk, Bhubanesh, Jaipur, New Mumbai
Phase IV – Thane, Panvel, Jamshedpur, Ernakulam, Trichur, Kottayam &
Kozhikode

Notable Key features in the launch:-

Since the launch was done in phases TV advertisement & Print Ads would not be an
effective medium as these mediums are known for reach out to a masses of
population but this was not possible in this case as the product was not available
nationwide. TV and Print would be an expensive affair. So TV and Print will not give
a better impact. The product was not even available in the petrol pumps of the entire
city at the time of launch. It was available at selected BPCL Petrol Pumps which were
labeled as “Pure for Sure”. These Petrol Pumps were not selling adulterated petrol.

Advertising through TV and not making product available would create a bad
impression for the Company. This will destroy the brand image of the product if
physical evidence does not prevail at the point of purchase.

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The insufficient availability of the product at the time of launch is a major hindrance
in its promotion. So, Outdoors were attractive options available to the advertisers
to reach out to the people of that particular area where the product was
available. So the advertisements were done through Hoardings in and around Petrol
Pumps, which has the availability of Speed fuel. These Hoardings were initializing
sales at the point of purchase, which provided idea and information about product
feature of Speed conveyed through attractive pictures.

5.5 Did it reach the customer well?

 Speed fuel – a missionary concept of branding even a commodity like fuel was
at the very nascent stage.

 This concept came as an alternative and a better option to adulterated fuels.

 Initially around 1995 at the time of the product launch people were unaware of
the brand.

 Besides the Company could not provide Physical Evidence at the product
during the launch stage.

 Even after the launch not all people knew about the product.
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 The other media used besides Outdoors like TV, Print, etc. and the advertising
done through them could not convey to the masses what “Speed” was.

 Over the years the product became familiar and people started asking for it.

 It were those people who considered the cost of the fuel a secondary issue as
against the longer life and durability of their vehicle.

 The Post launch stage gave excellent Outdoor, TV & Print Ads to promote the
product in the better way.

 The most customers were tapped with effective point-of-sale advertising in &
around Petrol Pumps and also near the Car Showrooms.

 It gave a brand recall to petrol & diesel users and initiated sales.

5.6 Drawbacks:-

 The Campaign focused on selected types of Outdoor media like Billboards &
Hoardings.

 Other types of Outdoors like Posters, transit media, etc. were not explored to
promote the product.

 Outdoors helped to just initiate sales at the point-of-purchase.

 This campaign would not have been successful with support from other media
types like print and television.

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 Ignorance about the product and inability of the product to create the need for
branded fuel posed a major hindrance during the launch stage.

 The advertisements never conveyed the product properly.

5.7 Hoardings made for Speed:-

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Chapter 6
Future and Conclusion
6.1 Future of Outdoor Advertising
6.2 Conclusion

6.1 Future of Outdoor Advertising

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The size of the outdoor media industry in India is estimated to be about 11% of the
total ’05 media spends of Rs. 11,000 crores. Due to the fragmented nature of the
industry, there is no single audited figure of spends on outdoors.

In terms of potential, the Indian outdoor industry is bigger than that in U.K., Germany
and the U.S. where the market share is 5.2, 3.2 and less than 2 percent respectively.
Additionally, with printing & site level impact enhancing innovations gaining
importance, the outdoor industry offers tremendous potential for growth. Retail &
Multiplex Space are the newer applications for this media.

Outdoor advertising has traditionally lagged behind other media. This has made
outdoor planning and buying very subjective. But there are some profound changes
on the anvil…crystal gazing into the future of outdoors and attempting to answer the
direction the medium is predicted to go, the medium is bound to recast itself in the
years to come & become an increasingly potent media vehicle.

The cornerstone of this hypothesis is that outdoor will become an increasingly


important element of the media mix – most certainly for some new age categories like
telecom, automobiles – both 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers, Insurance, durables and this
will drive media spends to increase to 20% levels from the current 11%. These high
outdoor consuming categories will demand greater width & depth of outdoor
deliverables.

As affluence spreads into India’s hinterland, marketers will train their sights to find
focused and localized media to supplement visibility. As the market demand led
change surges ahead across markets large and small, the large towns will be the first
to fell the heat of market and media saturation & media inflation. This will throw up
interesting ‘localised’ opportunities for outdoor media practitioners in small and mid-
size towns. Outdoors can lead this ‘localised’ media surge & attempt to match the
‘demand’ led footprint.

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Today “outdoor” includes an enormous selection of media display products


(billboards, transit, street furniture, and alternative outdoor media). The status of
outdoor has improved as it is being repositioned from a limited, fragmented, price-
driven local medium to a powerful, cost-effective, high reach, synergy medium

Today the Indian advertising scenario is as unpredictable as the British Weather, You
never know what’s next but with little imagination, outdoor advertising is an ideal
medium for achieving local reach, frequency and continuity on a very limited budget.
As a national and global medium, outdoor advertising has achieved great success. In
today’s growing advertising industry each medium has created a place for itself. As
each medium offers something better or different than other medium may / may not
offer, outdoor carries the message 24 hours with good geographical and
demographical flexibility which helps break linguistic barriers and helps to create an
impact on the precise target group.

Today outdoor is so popular that demand now exceeds supply, but such hurdles
would definitely be overcomed by a whole new generation of buzzing advertisers,
who will find out new outdoor tools with guaranteed innovation. With the family
members working income levels increasing their purchasing power also increases.
Increase in education standards in the country means more people are responsive to
the advertising stimulus and hence there are greater needs of advertising. As regards
product lifecycle, it is obvious that in future also, firms will need to concentrate in
growth areas to achieve or maintain leadership position. Outdoor advertising is bound
to grow with the extension in the national highways. Due to increase in the number of
automobiles in use, the dispersion of population to the suburbs will lead to greater
mobility of the people. The more people travel, the more people are exposed to this
medium.

Future of Indian advertising, if spoken about is definitely growing as technology and


right infrastructure of a country is directly related to each other.

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We also have to accept the fact that Indoor advertising especially Television is
growing at a very rapid rate, but outdoor is going to definitely catch up, as today
Indian brands are going more and more local; India is a country with great diversity
in Culture from village to village so advertisers have to face a lot of linguistic
barriers. This need compared to all other mediums is best catered by outdoors.
Technologically too outdoors advertising has started to move from painted hoardings
to digitally Vinyl Printed Hoardings in the urban areas.

6.2 Conclusion

In today's fragmented media world, outdoor advertising is the one answer to target
mass audiences effectively.

People of all backgrounds and nationalities are spending more hours each day out of
the home: commuting, working, shopping and socializing. This is particularly true of
young, mobile people who are traditionally hard to reach with other forms of
advertising. With brands fighting for recall advertisers are committing larger budgets

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Outdoor Advertising – The Future Media Tool

to this medium each year in order to deliver high impact displays in busy town and
city centers throughout the world.

Research has shown that outdoor advertising is one of the most cost effective and
wide-reaching forms of advertising available. Case studies have proven the
effectiveness of this medium, with its high levels of viewer retention and product
awareness. Outdoor advertising offers repetitive impact at a low cost. In
comparison to other advertising media, outdoor advertising delivers a lower cost per
thousand of viewers reached.

Outdoor advertising allows customers to target or pinpoint certain areas in which to


promote their products or services. Your prime marketing areas are
focused upon or new markets are cultivated. There is no waste of
circulation as in printed media and fringe areas of radio and TV
coverage. As a matter of fact, TV, radio and newspaper companies have
become huge outdoor buyers - it appears the competition has even
realized the benefits of using outdoor.

This trend illustrates the effectiveness of the medium in meeting a variety of


communication needs. As a result, outdoor media commands an ever-growing
share of all ads spend.

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