“Roda’s work on IOS should benefit industry”

Globally, the United Kingdom (UK) is considered one of the more vibrant markets for outdoor advertising globally. Contrary to popular perception, markets like the UK, Switzerland and France have a bigger market for outdoor advertising than say, the US. The market share of outdoor advertising in the media plan of the above-mentioned countries is above 10 per cent. The outdoor advertising industry in the UK has grown in volume terms and this growth has been as a result of a conscious effort on behalf of the industry in evolving better systems and practices. Bindu Nair caught up with John Ellery, Group Deputy Chairman, Poster Publicity (one of the leading independent planners and buyers of Out-of-Home media globally and soon to be renamed Kinetic) at the Outdoor Advertising Convention held recently in Mumbai and spoke to him about outdoor advertising, moral misgivings and ‘Mumbai Mirror’. Excerpts…

As far as the Indian outdoor market is concerned, what are your observations?

From what I have seen, it is apparent that there is a lot of enthusiasm amongst the owners of sites, contractors and outdoor agencies to work together and grow the industry. They have a good percentage share in terms of media spends (about 7 per cent) but the total amount of money spent is not enough. I believe there is a desire to get going as an industry, which is encouraging as that is how the market progressed in the UK. What is required (in the Indian context) is the need to grow the credibility and accountability of the medium. The issue of outdoor measurement is extremely important. To be able to measure the audience and know that the medium is delivering to the right audience is a key requirement to grow the outdoor medium.

What is the measurement tool prevalent in the UK market?

We now have Postar, which is about 4 to 5 years old. It evolved from an earlier system called ‘Oscar’ and other previously-used research systems. It has developed from the early days when a man called Brian Copland produced the Copland model. Most countries would be aware of Copland, who produced a coverage and frequency model, which was basic but worked. Now, Postar has been refined over the years and I am told it conforms to gold star standards, in fact, it is considered one of the best forms of media research in the UK.

Although the UK is an evolved market, there must be issues that stunt the market growth. Could you elaborate?

There will always be issues. Legislation is a concern — from the local authority’s point of view (in condemning sites as illegal); or “let’s improve the environment and get rid of these sites” point of view. There is also legislation in terms of what you are allowed to show in outdoor advertising. Tobacco is banned; alcohol could be next; fatty foods, fast foods, sweets for children, vehicles that use a lot of energy, etc. I think these issues are the major concerns. Another issue would be, ‘How do you encourage creative guys to come up with good, new creative thoughts?’ It’s not an easy thing to do.

Which are some of your favourite outdoor campaigns?

Among my favourites in the UK are ‘The Economist’ campaign, of course. BBC had a terrific long-term campaign, but they had a big budget and they spent it over a whole year. There are also a number of musicals like those for Chicago, which have been very creative but those are localised to London. British Airways’ outdoors (a 20 by 10 panel), where the majority of the message is the ticket price — ‘59 pounds’ (To Lisbon and back) — delivers the message effectively. To me, that creates top of the mind. In India, the WWF campaign (rmg david) is bang on the button. I believe it should create a lot of interest. I have been in India only for a few days but the ‘Mumbai Mirror’ newspaper’s campaign has stood out. Among the entire outdoors that I saw in Mumbai, this outdoor campaign with its use of red and white really caught my attention.

How important is research for outdoor advertising?

Absolutely vital! The guy who pays us all is Mr. Advertiser. He has to be very satisfied that what he is getting is value for money. In fact, he must feel he’s getting more than value for money. Only then will he feel absolutely committed to support the outdoor medium and come back next year to spend more money. We have to convince him that he is reaching his audience and that is not possible without research. In that sense, what Roda (Mehta) is doing with the IOS, should really benefit the industry. From what I have learnt about the system and from what Roda herself has told me, I expect it to achieve all that they set out to do.

To read the entire story, grab your copy of Impact Advertising and Weekly magazine issue dated June 20-26, 2005