The general entertainment segment on television is at its aggressive best. Channels are using every possible means to grab viewer attention. You just can't escape TV promos—not just on television, but also in newspapers and out on the streets, too. Haven't you seen huge hoardings hitting you at the railway station, while driving, and even outside malls?
Truly, the channel wars have now spilled out on the streets with huge hoardings of every serial. The latest has been Sony's Kajjal, besides Star One's new serials, Paraya Dhan and Sathi Re, and Zee's Betiyan. It's a crowded scene out there, with posters cheek-by-jowl, jostling at every available outdoor space to gain that extra edge over the competition.
"Typically, broadcasters are finding that channel loyalty is being replaced by programme loyalty. ,So the trick is to get 'appointment viewing'," explains R Lakshminarayanan, CEO, Mudra Marketing Services.
The major players in the billboard or the outdoor advertising war game are the serial channels—Sony, Star and Zee. "The television industry spent around Rs 100 crore in 2006 on outdoor advertising alone. Of this, 25-30% is for the period September-December, which happens to be the festival period," says Sanjay Shah, CEO, Starsight India Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based agency specialising in out-of-home advertising solutions. Channel spend on outdoor advertising has gone up by as much as 15% over 2005, informs Shah.
What is the future of outdoor advertising? As of now, it seems to be a healthy picture. The outdoor advertising business is all set to grow by 10%-12% by 2009, say insiders. But why are channels jostling for this space? "Today people are spending more time out of their homes. So, the whole idea is to connect with them where ever possible," says Kaushik Chakravorty, country head, Enhance India. Adds Lakshminarayanan, "From the channels' perspective, outdoor advertising provides them with cost-effective options that work well and generate quick reach."
To promote their latest offerings, channels usually adopt a two-pronged strategy. Explaining the strategy, Chakravorty says, "Typically, any channel has two kinds of shows. One is the anchor show (soap operas, also popularly known as the 'K' serials, these days), which is very important for the channels' existence. The other are the exclusive properties, like the reality dance competitions Jhalak Dikhla Ja or Nach Baliye, on which channels bank for the coveted TVRs. For the anchor shows, channels have permanent sites and for certain properties they take up more sites." Hence, people are witness to both Nach Baliye 2 and Jhalak Dikhla Ja trying to out-dance each other on the streets.
With outdoor advertising taking a big slice of the advertising pie of TV channels, spend on this segment has now expanded to out-of-home advertising, which encompasses cafes, hospitals, airports, traffic signals, retail outlets, malls, et. al. According to Chakravorty, "Outdoor advertising is a subset of out-of-home advertising." New mediums in the form of LCD screens and information kiosks are emerging. A case in point: Sanjay Shah, whose Star Sight designed a massive 3-D cutout of Sony's Extraa Innings hostess Mandira Bedi, along with cricketers at the busy Mahim Causeway, Mumbai.
Out-of-home advertising has caught on in a big way. Explains Lakshminarayanan, "Consumers are no longer available to traditional media. So, advertisers are forced to move towards consumers' other media touch points like housing complexes, hospitals and airports, to name a few." According to Shah, still newer categories in out-of-home advertising are emerging. "Internet portals are emerging a new avenue for advertising, such as shaadi.com and makemytrip.com" explains Shah.
Apart from the usual television channels, other players in the outdoor space are banking and financial institutions, the telecom industry, mutual funds and publications. "On an average, the television industry will spend around Rs 100 crore on outdoor advertising, while banking and financial institutions spent Rs 120 crore, and telecom up to Rs 180 crore in 2006," says Shah.
The out-of-home segment has never seen as much business as it does now, and TV channels are seeking to capitalise on it in a major way. "Media owners from various countries are coming to India. They are taken up by the boom in outdoor advertising in India and now want to be part of it," says Shah. Foreign players like Clear Channel, Decaux, Poster Scope, Poster Publicity and Albion have already made their presence felt. The fun is just beginning. And with competition among channels becoming intense, the outdoor advertising space is the latest battleground. But the viewers aren't complaining. At least, not just yet.
