‘DOOH has grown in scale & quality’

Brands that are looking for disruptive ideas would be inclined to use DOOH in significant ways. And with the volume of DOOH assets growing across the country, an increasing number of advertisers are expected to have DOOH in their consideration set. Haresh Nayak, Founder & CEO, Connect Network shares his perspectives on the success factors for DOOH. Edited excerpts:

Quality of DOOH infrastructure

“Over the last two years, the quality and number of digital OOH screens has increased exponentially and gone are the days when we had to see pixelated images on these digital screens. Brands now realise that for them to connect with the audience and increase engagement it is beneficial for them to utilise this network of screens. Brands are always on the lookout for disruption.

“I believe it took about five years for the DOOH network to be established in the UK, and our country is of course much larger. But if you take a look at the Indian market in the past 2-3 years, the total number of screens have increased from about 60,000-70,000 to well over 1.5 -2.0 lakh screens. It’s a sign that investments are being made in this business segment and the ecosystem is growing.” 

Conventional large format vs. traffic facing DOOH

“I think there are a few important developments to be kept in mind. Firstly, the government has substantially increased its budget for infrastructure development. That indicates a growth in city infrastructure which further implies that OOH assets will grow in terms of quality as well as impact. In metro cities, people have started to see the value of DOOH and we will see more digital OOH assets. The trend will begin in the top eight metro cities or so and reach other markets in due course.”

Media buying patterns

“I think it’s very important to challenge the norms. And with the rise of DOOH, people need to learn different skills with respect to usage, application, and buying. With time, programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) will also start to gain relevance. It will spur competition as it becomes easier to operate in the OOH. But people need to be ready to adapt to the new buying methods, else it will be a difficult time for them.” 

“Given the required investment, the cost of the medium also goes up. So, most brands are okay with sharing the ad space, while some are not. Some feel that sharing the ad space is not justified given that their brand gets only 10 seconds of exposure every minute whereas they have 100% visibility with static billboards. But there are other clients who see the value of DOOH.”

On impressions-driven media

“Today, with technology such as geofencing and mobile phone data, clients expect impression data even for static assets, let alone digital ones. We ourselves have invested in geofencing in over 100 cities in India to understand the traffic. It’s an accurate way to provide client(s) with impressions for a billboard.”