BMTC to bid farewell to 'obstructive' side panel ads; will the revenue be affected?
The decision came after constant complaints from passengers on not being able to look outside the bus due to the opaque advertising side panels
The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has decided to bid farewell to the side panel advertisements on its 3,500 Non- Air Conditioned buses. The decision was taken after constant complaints from the passengers about not being able to look outside the bus due to the opaque advertising side panels. The BMTC authorities have now decided to display a list of destinations of the bus route on the side panels instead of advertisements. The display will be in both Kannada and English.
Talking to exchange4media, Hegade IV, BMTC Chief Traffic Manager (Commercial), says, “The advertisements will be removed by June 30 as it has registered several passenger complaints. Moving forward we will be providing back panel advertisements and we have called tender for back panel advertisements. But the tender for placing advertisements in 1000 BMTC buses were given recently and we are trying to provide best solutions to the issue.”
In 2013, the BMTC had signed a five- year contract for placing advertisements on the side panels of both sides and the back panels. According to media reports, BMTC garnered around 1.1 crore revenue every month in these five years. The revenue reaped through advertisement in FY 2016-2017 was Rs 13.42 crores. The same FY the corporation had a loss of Rs 260.91 crores as it faced challenges from Namma Metro and app-based taxis.
Advertisements are a major source of revenue for the corporation hence removing them could bring more losses. Hegade says, “Revenue of BMTC won’t be affected by the removal of side panel advertisements, we will be balancing out the loss with back panel advertisements. The tender for placing advertisements at the back panel has been called and nothing has been finalized yet, once it is finalized we will be able to provide more information.”
Although the officials are confident about balancing out the revenue, experts in the industry are sceptical. The corporation’s decision to provide only back panel advertisements is limiting the option for the advertisers. And it’s doubtful whether advertisers will be spending the same amount of money for just the back panel advertisements.
Sandesh Marla, Co-Founder, Centigrade Brand, says, “The decision to remove side panel advertisements are sure to affect the revenue of the corporation. Now, the advertisers are left with less options and the same amount will be charged for single panels. We have to see which brands are ready for a challenge like that. Worldwide, panel advertisements garner a huge amount of revenue to the government bodies and I believe we have to explore more and utilize the same.”
“On a personal note I support the decision to scrap the side panel advertisements as it troubles the passengers. Especially, passengers who are standing in the BMTC buses are totally cut off from the outside world due to these opaque side panel advertisements. I believe the decision won’t have any effect on the revenue, as the corporation is quoting the same cost for back panel advertisements, but the question is who will be ready to go for that deal. From the point of advertisers, it doesn’t make any sense to over pay just for a back panel advertisement. Earlier a whole package was available and now it’s limited and we need to wait and see how brands are going to react to this decision,” says GV Krishnamurthy, a media planner based in Bangalore.
Talking to exchange4media, Hegade IV, BMTC Chief Traffic Manager (Commercial), says, “The advertisements will be removed by June 30 as it has registered several passenger complaints. Moving forward we will be providing back panel advertisements and we have called tender for back panel advertisements. But the tender for placing advertisements in 1000 BMTC buses were given recently and we are trying to provide best solutions to the issue.”
In 2013, the BMTC had signed a five- year contract for placing advertisements on the side panels of both sides and the back panels. According to media reports, BMTC garnered around 1.1 crore revenue every month in these five years. The revenue reaped through advertisement in FY 2016-2017 was Rs 13.42 crores. The same FY the corporation had a loss of Rs 260.91 crores as it faced challenges from Namma Metro and app-based taxis.
Advertisements are a major source of revenue for the corporation hence removing them could bring more losses. Hegade says, “Revenue of BMTC won’t be affected by the removal of side panel advertisements, we will be balancing out the loss with back panel advertisements. The tender for placing advertisements at the back panel has been called and nothing has been finalized yet, once it is finalized we will be able to provide more information.”
Although the officials are confident about balancing out the revenue, experts in the industry are sceptical. The corporation’s decision to provide only back panel advertisements is limiting the option for the advertisers. And it’s doubtful whether advertisers will be spending the same amount of money for just the back panel advertisements.
Sandesh Marla, Co-Founder, Centigrade Brand, says, “The decision to remove side panel advertisements are sure to affect the revenue of the corporation. Now, the advertisers are left with less options and the same amount will be charged for single panels. We have to see which brands are ready for a challenge like that. Worldwide, panel advertisements garner a huge amount of revenue to the government bodies and I believe we have to explore more and utilize the same.”
“On a personal note I support the decision to scrap the side panel advertisements as it troubles the passengers. Especially, passengers who are standing in the BMTC buses are totally cut off from the outside world due to these opaque side panel advertisements. I believe the decision won’t have any effect on the revenue, as the corporation is quoting the same cost for back panel advertisements, but the question is who will be ready to go for that deal. From the point of advertisers, it doesn’t make any sense to over pay just for a back panel advertisement. Earlier a whole package was available and now it’s limited and we need to wait and see how brands are going to react to this decision,” says GV Krishnamurthy, a media planner based in Bangalore.
