Festive season hopes dim for Bengaluru OOH players hit by COVID & govt norms
The use of large format media has been banned in Bengaluru for over two years now. This has left OOH players with only two options to offer to brands: transit and DOOH inventories
In the Unlock stage, as the country gears up to face the new normal, metropolitan cities are trying to revive OOH advertising. The OOH ecosystem has been hit hard by COVID 19 and is in an economic turmoil with zero filings recorded in Q1. But for Bangalore OOH players, it has been a double whammy. The sector was already facing restrctions due to government-imposed rules on media sites, and the COVID-induced slowdown only added to their woes. The use of large format media has been banned in Bangalore for over two years now. This has left OOH players with only two options to offer to brands: transit and DOOH inventories.
Last month, Bangalore's civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) permitted OOH players to advertise on hoardings, but that was only to spread awareness on COVID and nothing commercial was approved. Even the permission for COVID messages had strict regulations, such as use of flex/plastic or any other harmful material was not allowed. Also, no kind of product promotion was allowed.
Like other metropolitan cities, OOH players in Bengaluru too made an appeal in April for a waiver of licence fee during the lockdown. However, there hasn’t been any response from the civic bodies on this appeal to date. The appeal has been made only for transit media. Post lockdown, Bengaluru OOH players have also requsted for an audience measurement system for transport footfall. The OOH players have appealed that the footfall numbers should be considered by technological means and the pricing for the media sites in transit should be set accordingly.
We asked Bangalore OOH players to give us a perspective on the sites that are open for advertising and measures needed to revive OOH advertising in Bangalore.
Speaking about the challenges, R V Basavaraj, Proprietor, Ripple Media, says, “As of now, in Bengaluru, OOH is at a standstill. No decision has been taken by the authority and a PIL on the matter is still pending in the court. Meanwhile, they (authorities) called a tender on 'signboards against advertising’, but they made it difficult for many to participate in the tender by restricting turnovers and projects executed by applicants. A newly added condition in the tender, that never existed before in this field, is ISO Certification. It is making it difficult to participate in the tender process."
"Also, the signboards are only allowed 60 sq ft on each board. Normally these kind of signboards are put up with just sponsor's logo. But there are chances that these signboards may lead to objections from citizens. Watching these signboards on the direction board at signals may lead to mind diverson and even cause accidents.”
Pradeep Kumar, MD, Vijaya Advertising, remarked, “Bengaluru OOH owners/agencies are also very bullish and buoyant on the potential of OOH advertising. But, unfortunately, the sector is facing certain policy issues with BBMP, and the temporary ban imposed on OOH in August 2018 for a year is still not lifted due to the delay in the new OOH policy approval.”
The rules formulated in 2018 by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Outdoor Signage and Public Messaging ByLaws 2018 were actioned in December 2019 and the verdict was passed where all hoardings were deemed illegal.
Talking about the inventories available in Bangalore, Basavaraj says, “In the city, only Skywalks, BQS, and Public Toilets signs built on the PPP model are allowed for advertisement. Some igitals signboards are running with old stay orders and only one has newly come up at Trinity Circle.”
Kumar commented, “because of the ban, the only OOH spots currently available are at airport sites on Trumpet Flyover and outskirts of Bengaluru.”
Kumar remarked that even the available inventories are being left vacant. “OOH in Bengaluru malls is still in its nascent stage, and DOOH is also stuck due to policy matters with the municipality.”
Stating the measures the players can take to amplify OOH advertising growth in the city, Kumar says, “The priority of OOH companies should be to bring OOH media back to business and ensure complete 100% legality of the business going forward.”
Kumar says that even this year's festive season in the city of Bangalore won’t be a saving grace for OOH. “The festive season would have sparked immense interest as it is peak business time for OOH. But unfortunately, Bengaluru OOH owners and agencies will have to skip this time due to the reasons mentioned above,” he concluded.
