OOH adex poised for 15% YoY growth this festive season, say experts

New Delhi: The festive season has given a significant boost to India's out-of-home (OOH) advertising sector, with ad expenditure (adex) witnessing a 15% rise compared to last year.

Haresh Nayak, Founder and CEO of Connect Network Inc., anticipates a 12-15% increase in advertising expenditure for this festive season compared to the previous year. 

Nayak further highlighted that this time of year typically accounts for 50–60% of the industry's billing. 

Praveen Vadhera, CEO of the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA), concurred, stating that the festive adex remains aligned with initial projections. Vadhera observes that consumer buying behaviour during the festive season continues to influence key categories like jewellery and consumer durables. "Jewellery is going to be one of the key components," Vadhera asserted, adding that real estate remains relatively stable throughout the year due to its nature as a high-ticket item.”

Brands intensify their efforts during the festive season across various categories, including automobiles, real estate, and apparel. However, Nayak noted that travel portals lag behind in ad spending during this period due to their greater focus on digital platforms.

While FMCG continues to dominate the overall ad spend across mediums, automobile, jewellery and retail stand to be the top contenders across OOH advertising. Another overall industry trend giving strong competition to OOH “is the significant share of digital spending in the overall media mix. 

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, which constitutes around 12% of the overall OOH ad spend, is gaining traction this festive period, as per Vishnu Telang, CEO of Khushi Advertising.

Technological advancements are further enhancing DOOH campaigns. Telang highlighted the use of countdown timers, interactive experiences, personalised messaging, and social media integration to create more engaging festive campaigns. "Countdown timers, interactive elements, and social media integration are applied to make festive campaigns more engaging," he noted, illustrating the sector’s adaptability to evolving consumer expectations.

The draft BMC OOH policy initially created uncertainty and disrupted planning for out-of-home (OOH) media owners ahead of the festive season. However, the announcement of a delay in finalizing the guidelines has offered temporary relief to OOH advertisers. 

According to sources, the final policy will be released after considering feedback from stakeholders, the upcoming Maharashtra state elections, and recommendations from the Bhosale committee regarding the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse. The new guidelines are expected to be introduced sometime toward the end of, or after, the 2024 festive season.

Dipankar Sanyal, CEO of Latium Communications, noted that while BMC policies are still in development, their impact on festive season plans has been minimal. "The BMC policies are still a work in progress," Sanyal commented, "and they wouldn’t have affected festive season plans that are rather prepared ahead of time."

Sanyal emphasised that the industry’s preparedness and ongoing dialogue with regulatory bodies like AAAI and BMC help mitigate potential disruptions. While these policies aim to curb illegal advertising practices and ensure compliance, their current status does not appear to disrupt the seasonal advertising dynamics significantly, he believes.

Generally, media platforms charge a premium in ad rates due to high demand during the festive period. However, as per Telang, OOH players focus on maximising the duration of ad placements rather than relying heavily on premium charges. 

He said, "Generally, there is minimal additional premium charged for out-of-home (OOH) advertising during the festive season. The emphasis is mainly on maximising the duration of ad occupancy rather than raising ad premiums. This means that advertisers focus on extending the period their ads are displayed to take full advantage of the increased consumer traffic and engagement during this time.”

For the record, outdoor advertising is expected to grow by 12.5% to Rs 3,399 crore, having a 2% share in media, as per this year’s GroupM TYNY report.