FEPE NEWS

57th FEPE Congress in Barcelona: Friday Night Social Evening Venue

We are pleased to announce that the 57th FEPE Friday Night Social Evening will be held at the Boo Beach Bar, Barcelona.

Boo has panoramic views of Marbella Beach, the sea and downtown Barcelona. We will be taking over the whole venue and the will be copious amounts of food, drink and quite possibly live entertainment too.

The Gala Dinner will be held at the Codorniu wine making facility, just outside Barcelona.

Codorníu is synonymous to the history of a family of winegrowers which goes back to the XVI century. It is the oldest family business in Spain and one of the oldest in the world. It now has 450 years of history behind it.

Speakers and panel members already confirmed are Tom Goodwin, James Murphy, Michel Sara, Mark Boidman, Bob Wootton, Annie Rickard, Nancy Fletcher, Rosanne Caron, Noomi Mehta, Alan Brydon, Tim Bleakley and Charmaine Moldrich.

FEPE Board members including Matthew Dearden, Tom Goddard, Christian Schmalzl, Shaun Gregory and Brendon Cook will also be moderating panels and facilitating sessions along with FEPE President Antonio Vincenti.

The full programme and running order will be released in due course.

The 57th FEPE Congress, which will be held between Wednesday June 1st and Friday June 3rd 2016 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Fira Center, Barcelona.

Hotel rooms are more limited than in previous years, so we advise booking as soon as you can if you hope to stay at the Crowne Plaza.

One or two exhibition places are still available, so please get in touch if you wish to showcase your company and products in front of a high level audience of OOH professionals.

The link for the booking form can be found on the FEPE Homepage, at www.worldooh.org

Further details will be announced in future newsletters.

UK: New study predicts DOOH will be the fastest growing media channel

How digital out of home is exciting adland

Inspiring. Exciting. Versatile. Just three the emotions adland associated with digital out of home which is predicted to grow faster than mobile and video on demand over the next five years.

Two hundred and four executives drawn from both media agencies and the outdoor specialists sector responded to a study commissioned by premium digital out of home media owner Ocean to gauge the role, prospects and challenges for digital out of home in the current media landscape.

Key findings of the study:

DOOH is considered the Number 1 medium and is predicted to have the biggest growth in the next 5 years

DOOH is perceived as a tech-driven medium, closely aligned with online and mobile. It’s also described as the most innovative, creative and flexible medium in the market.

Executives differentiate DOOH from its competitors as being more sophisticated, exciting and inspiring

A substantial 86.3% study respondents identified digital out of home as having the biggest growth potential over the next five years, putting the medium ahead of mobile (67.2%), video on demand (60.8%) and every other media channel.

Digital out of home also scored higher than any other media channel for offering dynamic (83%), exciting (69%) modern (82%) and versatile (67%) advertising environments.

“The emotional index in our study shows how a far digital out of home has moved from the being a standard, passive medium to a channel which is modern, exciting and sophisticated, driving mobile and online,” said Ocean marketing group director Richard Malton.

“This shift in positioning is driven by technology like audience recognition, wifi and broadcast capability, which allows us to introduce even better targeting, interactions, creativity and results. The introduction of new trading models is also driving flexibility and value as never before.”

The study allows Ocean to create three specific media clusters;

Potential – DOOH, mobile, online, video on demand

Classic – radio, press and static out of home

Influential – TV, magazines and cinema

Cost and flexibility were two issues highlighted by survey respondents as issues to be addressed.

“DOOH needs to educate and prove to the industry it is audience, content and cost driven, “ said Richard Malton. “Automated planning and trading environments like Signature’s The Loop is a significant step towards achieving the necessary transparency and flexibility.”

Source

UK: JCDecaux’s MyCONNECTIONS has Launched

JCDecaux have just launched their brand new ‘MyCONNECTIONS’ to enhance their insight and data offering.

MyCONNECTIONS consists of three new portals including our brand new ‘MyLondon’ community. It collectively reaches a total audience of almost 10,000 people across the UK! MyLondon is a 5000-strong panel alone, and has been created following our recent TfL bus shelter contract win, enabling us to connect clients to the distinct urban audience.

The new panel is run by ResearchBods and allows clients to ask opted-in respondents questions via a website or the dedicated app and receive feedback within hours. Additionally, MyLondon runs surveys, polls and diaries across the year.

The panel covers both the central 33 boroughs as well as ‘Greater Greater London’ which covers people who visit London to either work or shop but don’t necessarily live within the traditional boundaries. The other two panels consist of MyShop (formerly known as Connected Consumer), and MyCommute (formerly known as Connected Commuter). The communities for each of the three panels have been built to feel like a social network platform.

The brand new features on offer make them incredibly user-friendly and attractive to the individual range of audience sets. There are also some fantastic prizes and incentives on offer that have been tailored to each individual panel to make sure that they have captured the best quality content from a happy community. Please get in touch with JCDecaux at MyConnections@JCDecaux.co.uk to put forward a question for a poll or quick survey, to feed into the monthly surveys or just for a chat with one of our friendly community brand ambassadors to discuss opportunities for bespoke research.

Follow on twitter at @MyCONNECTIONS__ for a sneak peek at the latest stats.

Source

UK: Storm launches Storm Mancunian Junction

Clear Channel’s super premium digital brand, Storm, has unveiled their latest site, Storm Mancunian Junction.

Situated on Mancunian Way in Manchester, close to Manchester Piccadilly train station, Storm Mancunian Junction is the twenty-second site in Storm’s expanding portfolio and a landmark Out of Home site in the North West; incorporating state-of-the-art screen technologies with the architectural style associated with Storm sites.

Storm Mancunian Junction features a unique design inspired by Antony Gormley’s famous Angel of the North sculpture, using Corten steel which will gradually weather over time, transforming the site to complement its urban environment. The site also features striking lighting capabilities and Storm’s signature digital nameplates – allowing brands to take total ownership.

Storm Mancunian Junction, which is the first of three new Storm sites coming soon to Manchester, is Storm’s third site outside of London – where Clear Channel’s premium brand is Number 1 in large format super premium digital.

The third landscape site to join Storm’s portfolio, Storm Mancunian Junction is the latest in Storm’s nationwide expansion which has also seen the recent launch of Storm Towers Liverpool in the North East.

This forms part of Clear Channel’s wider digital transformation project and will see a Storm presence in 10 of the UK’s biggest cities by the end of 2016.

Aimee McKay, Managing Director at Storm, said: “We’re extremely excited to be launching Storm Mancunian Junction – the first of three brand new Storm sites coming soon to Manchester. Manchester is one of the UK’s key cities, and this unique site design creates huge impact and stand-out for advertisers, delivering Fame on Demand on one of the city’s busiest commuter routes.”

Source

UK: WHSmith turns its shop windows into digital OOH ad space

WHSmith has installed digital OOH screens into 100 of its stores which it will use for its own marketing activity as well as that of third-parties and potential sponsors.

The high-street chain has tied up with StreetAd for the roll out. “The outdoor advertising industry has accepted digital display advertising as the way forward and retailers on the high street are now realising their real estate is also the perfect platform for digital out of home marketing,” explained Ian Sanders, group commercial development director at WHSmith.

“WHSmith is proud to become the first high street convenience store to make this transition, and the screens will give our stores both advertising and communication standout, whilst monetising our windows with complete compliance and control.”

The first screen went live over the Easter weekend in Harrow with the remainder of the network to be completed by the end of May.

Source

UK: Exterion Media strengthens its data and insights through partnership with award-winning big data specialists, Beyond Analysis

Exterion Media has strengthened its data analytics capabilities by partnering with award-winning big data insight organisation Beyond Analysis to offer brands a deeper level of audience insight.

Beyond Analysis, which has a deep specialisation in financial services payment data, will work with Exterion Media to align consumer payment data with locations and journeys in order to strengthen and develop new insight, planning and measurement tools for Exterion Media’s agencies, clients and partners. The venture is part of Exterion Media’s broader strategy to increase brands’ advertising return-on-investment across all of their assets, including the London Underground, by providing an additional layer of insight for better targeting of audiences based on spend profiles developed through big data.

Mick Ridley, Head of Data at Exterion Media, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Beyond Analysis. Working together will allow us to understand where people spend, when they spend and the brands they spend with – all tied back to the journeys they make. Ultimately our goal is to help advertisers surface ads, content and offers that are relevant and timely; in essence to target the right customers for our brands based on real data rather than simple demographics. This makes advertising more effective for brands and more engaging for consumers.”

The announcement follows the launch of Exterion Media’s Audience Behavioural Insight (Abi) tool powered by Telefónica, which looks at how people move around the capital and draws anonymised behavioural insights that brands can use for more relevant, contextual engagement with consumers. Both partnerships further demonstrate Exterion Media’s commitment to fusing multiple data sources to build a complete picture of how Londoners behave in the real world, and complement Exterion Media’s award-winning work.shop.play. consumer panel, which informs the motivations of these urban audiences through regular topical surveys.

Paul Alexander, CEO of Beyond Analysis: “With this announcement, Beyond Analysis and Exterion Media are launching a revolution in Out-of-Home advertising. This partnership between two global brands offers a huge opportunity to develop a proposition that is completely unique in the market. We are excited in what the future holds with Exterion Media and we are proud to work with a partner that matches our vision, passion and aspiration.”

Paul Alexander and Will Beresford founded Beyond Analysis in 2007 to help raise companies’ metabolic rate by putting data to work; through improving businesses with their own data or through gaining competitive advantage with the use of Beyond Analysis’ unique behavioural data – which comprises the largest set of consumer transactions via its partnerships across the European Financial Services Sector.

AMERICAS NEWS

USA: 50 interviews reveal what's on your mind

By Nancy Fletcher

The out of home (OOH) advertising industry is:

• In transition
• Proud of its capacity to adjust to change, and
• Both optimistic and cautious about the future

Those are key take-aways from 50 interviews I just completed with OAAA principals (thank you interviewees for your time and honesty).

Those 50 principals represent the entire industry, in terms of geography (Manhattan to Chico, CA), size of company, and function (suppliers, manufacturers, specialists, and media companies). Most views are aligned, but there are perceived differences between OOH media companies operating in large versus small markets. Consensus is clear on these fundamentals:

OOH is in Transition

I lost count of the spoken synonyms for the industry being “in transition,” but most believe we are at the right place at the right time. OOH is on the verge of becoming something bigger and better, as we complement flourishing digital media in a highly mobile society.

Digital is Key

Connecting OOH and digital (mobile, social, web) is seen by many as the greatest opportunity for the industry today. All traditional media (except OOH) lost share in the last five years and are expected to continue to decline. OOH market share has stayed constant at 4.3 percent.

At the same time, digital media doubled in share, from 18 to 35 percent, and is expected to hit 49 percent market share by 2019. Assessing this massive migration of advertising dollars to digital (mobile, social, web), OOH optimists point out that ad buyers are willing to move their dollars, by a lot. Worriers make the same point.

A family-owned billboard company principal said his inventory is sold out, much of it under long-term contracts with long-time customers. But that principal ponders this question: when those longtime deals are up, could those customers move ad dollars to mobile media? From either perspective, billions of dollars are up for grabs.

Full article here

Latin America: JCDecaux has finalised the acquisition of the Latin America business of OUTFRONT Media Inc

JCDecaux SA has announced that its subsidiaries JCDecaux Latin America/Corameq, which are 85% owned by JCDecaux SA, have today finalised the acquisition of 100% of the Latin America business of OUTFRONT Media Inc, a group which operates in the large format and bus advertising segment, as well as in street furniture.

With more than 62,000 advertising displays in 12 Latin American countries, JCDecaux has strengthened its positioning in the region's 3 largest advertising markets which are Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, as well as in Chile and Uruguay.

Source

USA: Technology Fuels Renaissance in Out-of-Home Advertising

Brands Link Outdoor and Mobile Marketing

There is a billboard along a highway west of Chicago that is just as smart as any online ad, if not smarter. Motorists behind the wheels of a Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata or Ford Fusion might even get the feeling that they are being watched. They'd be right.

The sign has "eyes" that belong to General Motors, part of an outdoor campaign using cameras on billboards to identify passing vehicles by their grilles. When Camrys, Altimas, Sonatas and Fusions go by, the system tells a digital billboard 1,000 feet down the road just what to tell drivers about why their cars are inferior to GM's Chevy Malibu. Some will learn, for example, that the Malibu has "more available safety features than your Hyundai Sonata."

"Their branding is to 'Find New Roads' and they really challenged us to find new roads with out-of-home and push the envelope," said Helma Larkin, CEO of Dentsu Aegis-owned Posterscope USA, which created the effort in partnership with outdoor ad company Lamar Advertising as well as Carat and Commonwealth McCann.

The campaign, also rolling out in Dallas and New Jersey, exemplifies just one way that technology is fueling a renaissance in out-of-home advertising. Marketers are linking online data to digital billboards, producing ads that bridge the digital and real worlds. And audience-measurement techniques relying on mobile devices are giving brands a better grasp on what types of people encounter their signs every day. As a result, out-of-home advertising is drawing a steady stream of marketing dollars even as other forms of traditional advertising lose ground to digital. It doesn't hurt that consumers are encountering more signs and out-of-home video while online ads and TV commercials get easier to avoid.

Out-of-home advertising was the only traditional media business to grow last year, Magna Global said in its ad revenue forecast last December, citing "the superior yield brought in by digital panels as well as better measurement and trading metrics allowing OOH and cinema to tap into branding budgets and TV budgets."

Spending on out-of-home ads in the U.S. grew to $7.3 billion last year from $7 billion in 2014, according to the forecast, which groups cinema and outdoor advertising together. The sector still accounts for only a modest share of total ad spending, 4.3%, compared with 35.3% for digital. But outdoor is forecast to hold about that same share through 2019. By contrast, the share for newspaper print ad spending is expected to fall to 4.2% in 2019 from 8.4% today while magazine ad pages drop to 5.3% from 9.2%, according to Magna Global. (Online ads bought on newspaper and magazine sites are grouped in digital.)

Marketers are increasingly attracted to outdoor partly to link it with their mobile marketing. Look no further than the streets of New York City, where brands are taking advantage of new digital signs appearing via the city's LinkNYC program. The program aims to eventually replace more than 7,500 pay phones with free Wi-Fi kiosks.

Full article here

AUSTRALIA NEWS

Australia: BroadSign International, LLC Selected by Tonic Health Media for Digital Out-of-Home Network in Australia

Conversion of 700 screens will be followed by expansion to 2,500 displays.

The top-ranked provider of automated digital signage software, BroadSign International, LLC, has been selected by Tonic Health Media to power the company’s 700 screens reaching an audience of 2.7 million viewers per month. Digital screen viewership is expected to grow to 7.5 million per month by July 2017 as total displays increase to 2,500.

Tonic Health Media’s health TV network, TonicTV, is an evidence-based patient education and entertainment system for GP, allied health, specialist and hospital waiting areas. Full sight and sound video runs on 32” and 42” screens, with the purpose of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare in Australia.

“Running content designed to improve health literacy and patient self-management, it is essential that TonicTV operate reliably and at the highest of quality standards,” said Dr. Matthew Cullen, Managing Director at Tonic Health Media.

“As such, we converted to BroadSign for features such as its automated platform and audio control, which will allow us to easily maintain and enhance the patient experience as we grow.”

Accommodating the 35-minute dwell time patients experience in doctors’ offices, TonicTV’s ad-based content loop is contextually relevant for health and wellness customers. An optimal hour is typically composed of 27 minutes of editorial content, two minutes of local practice advertising, six minutes of news and weather and 24 minutes of paid content.

Customers include the Australian governments, insurers such as BUPA and Medibank, and commercial organisations such as Dyson.

“Tonic Health Media strives to be the most trusted knowledge intermediary in the Australian healthcare system and we are looking forward to supporting the network in achieving just that as it develops and scales in size,” said Maarten Dollevoet, Vice President EMEA at BroadSign.

Australia: Out-of-Home takes another slice of the revenue pie

The Out-of-Home industry has wrapped up the first quarter of 2016 posting an increase of 18.2% on net revenue year-on-year with $177.1 million, up from $149.8 million* for the first quarter in 2015.

This unparalleled success follows on from the all-time high revenue growth at the end of 2015, when revenue increased by 17.0% over 2014.

Monthly results have continued to surpass expectations with the industry posting an increase of 13.4% for January and 20.7% for February year-on-year. March figures show an increase of 19.6% year-on-year, with net revenue of $70.1 million. These increases continue to reflect across all formats: billboards, street furniture, retail/lifestyle/other and transport. Digital revenue is sitting at 35.6% of total net revenue year-to-date, which is an increase over the recorded 20.2% for the same period last year.

“It’s evident that advertisers, big and small, are looking for a media channel that can build awareness, drive desire, trial and transaction, all while complementing other media channels, especially in this changing media landscape. Outdoor is equipped to meet these needs and the results of our first quarter in 2016 reflect this,” said Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of the Outdoor Media Association.

“OOH can connect advertisers with their audiences anywhere, anytime, whether via a traditional outdoor poster, a digital screen or the merging of the two through the Internet of Things – or IoT. Location is the new currency of marketing and this is OOH’s key driver,” Moldrich continued.

Category figures first quarter 2016

• Roadside Billboards (over and under 25 square metres) $65.6 million

• Roadside Other (street furniture, taxis, bus/tram externals, small format) $54.6 million

• Transport (including airports) $31.5 million

• Retail, Lifestyle and Other^ $25.3 million

Category figures first quarter 2015

• Roadside Billboards (over and under 25 square metres) $53.7 million

• Roadside Other (street furniture, taxis, bus/tram externals, small format) $47.4 million

• Transport (including airports) $28.7 million

• Retail, Lifestyle and Other^ $20.1 million

* Figures have been adjusted from previously reported 2015 revenue to reflect changes in OMA membership, allowing direct comparisons in revenue year-on-year.

^This rapidly growing category reports shopping centre panels, as well as all place-based digital inventory including office media – covering inventory in lifts and office buildings, cafe panels, and digital screens in doctors surgeries and medical centres.

**Figures may not add to total due to rounding.

AFRICA NEWS

South Africa: Continental Outdoor and JCDecaux recognised as key donors to the Nelson Mandela Foundation

Continental Outdoor, now JCDecaux in Africa, were recognized for their continuous and generous contribution to the Nelson Mandela Foundation at the unveiling of the donor wall at a function at the Centre of Memory on 30 March 2016.

The event was officiated by Sello Hatang, Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and Tokyo Sexwale, the Chairman of the Resource Mobilisation committee for the Foundation. Bazil Lauryssen, CEO of JCDecaux sub-Saharan Africa, was one of the three donors invited to share their shared commitment in contributing to the facilitation of Nelson Mandela’s living legacy.

Bazil Lauryssen said, “We would like to show our gratitude and respect for Madiba, particularly in these difficult times that South Africa faces, and do our part to keep his legacy and his vision for South Africa alive.”

“We are honoured to be involved in celebrating the life of Madiba, and with our new share-holders, JCDecaux and Royal Bafokeng Holdings, wish to continue our relationship with the Foundation to continue the magnificent work that Nelson Mandela spearheaded”.

“Our relationship with the Foundation goes back seven years. Key campaigns that are currently being flighted are “Make every day a Mandela Day”, and the ARNSA and Nelson Mandela Foundation’s anti-racism campaign”, ends Lauryssen.

Nigeria: Federation Of Out-Of-Home Advertising Association Ratifies Charter

The West African Federation of Out-of-Home Advertising Association (WAFOHA) will tomorrow ratify its operational charter as well as draw up a strategic road map for the growth and development of out-of-home advertising business in the West African sub region.

The association which members cut across all the West African countries such as Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Republic of Benin, and Nigeria will take the decisions at its executive meeting slated for Sheraton Hotels, Lagos.

Members of the association representing the various countries at the meeting are, Mr. Charles Azubuike Chijide, President and Mr. Emmanuel Ajufo, General Secretary, both representing Nigeria respectively.

Others are the 1st Vice President, Mr. Torgbor Mensa, Ghana, 2nd Vice-President, Mr. Mahamma Coulibaly, representing Francophone country, Cote d’Ivoire. Also expected from the Republic of Benin is the treasurer of the association, Mr. Frank Dossa and the Managing Director of Ennovation Outdoor in Ghana.

Also expected is the Public Relations Officer of the association, Mrs. Linda Amofa Aguemang. As well as the host in Nigeria, the President of Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) Prince Babatunde Adedoyin.

Source

South Africa: Advertising comes full circle: OOH is the new black

By Terry Murphy, Primedia Outdoor’s marketing and marketing services executive.

Increasing urbanisation and an unrivalled ability to make the most of digital and social innovation bring out of home advertising back to the top.

Out of home (OOH) advertising – which targets consumers while travelling, shopping or otherwise engaged away from home – is one of the oldest known forms of advertising. Having come full circle, out of home is poised to once again become the medium for mass communication.

Two main factors are driving this development:

1. OOH reaches more people, thanks to increasing urbanisation

By the end of 2016, it is estimated that two-thirds of South Africans will live in cities. This leads to greater mobility, more on-the-go audiences. OOH thus offers a constant presence for a brand, a way to stay connected to consumers when they are on the move and are not (or should not be) online. Consumers are in a different frame of mind when away from home or office, and near the point of sale. This is when people commonly make buying decisions – and out of home advertising ensures that potential consumers have a particular brand top of mind.

As the IAB’s Jessica Ramirez, writing on ‘Top 5 Trends for Digital Out of Home’, notes, “a recent study by YuMe and IPG Media Lab found that consumers are 41% more receptive to advertising in public places than at home”.

2. OOH’s success at integrating with digital technology is unrivalled by other traditional media

Along with increasing urbanisation, a second crucial factor driving OOH’s renaissance is that of all traditional media types, it is by far the most successful at integrating with digital, social and innovative technologies. Figures for advertising revenue growth across OOH, TV, radio, and newspapers (from PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2015-2019), put OOH in the lead. The study also notes that ‘by converting panels to digital, providers can vastly increase their revenue by displaying multiple ads of higher quality in the same space. This process will drive an impressive CAGR of 13.2% in DOOH advertising revenue’.

Many bulletins and posters are now digital and interactive, displaying real-time web, social, and mobile messaging. Street-level kiosks, bus shelters, and shopping mall displays are often video monitors and interactive touch screens. Smartphones have become the mobile link to OOH search, social media, downloads and transactions, and can even act as credit cards. And emerging technologies like location-specific targeting and augmented reality are beginning to transform the opportunities OOH advertising provides.

In addition, social and digital media can leverage OOH to increase their reach. While outdoor advertising benefits from the social relevance and engagement offered by social media, the latter in turn gains from the large audience appeal and massive viewership provided by outdoor advertising. Adding billboards to other media can potentially increase reach by up to 300% (Posterscope USA, 2013). Various social media platforms can be included into the creative design of the many out of home formats available, and so reach consumers multiple times throughout their day.

With the growing use of social media as a free way for brands to interact with consumers, out of home advertising can be a strategic media choice and a valuable seeding tool.

Full article here

ASIA NEWS

Thailand: Thai OOH media firm PLANB buys local ad agency for $1.13m

Thailand’s leading out-of-home media firm Plan B Media (PLANB) has taken over local advertising agency Tuna Advertising Co through its subsidiary Master Standard Display Co for 40 million baht ($1.13 million).

Tuna Advertising has registered and paid-up capital of 5 million baht, divided into 50,000 shares with a par value of 100 baht. The company agrees to acquire 26,250 shares from Zonate Transport Co and 23,748 shares from Coffee Mania Co, which represents 99.99 per cent of the paid shares capital, at the price of 800 baht per share.

The selling price is negotiated, based on the company’s performance. Tuna Advertising Co has operated the advertising media business under the rights from the Department of Airport on 9 outdoor billboards, 67 indoor billboards, 27 light boxes, 1,023 airport trolleys and 10 digital signage monitors in 28 airports.

“The acquisition will help expand our media space in the new potential area and boost our business growth in the long term,” said PLANB’s director Pinijsorn Luechaikajohnpan.

Tuna Advertising reported total revenue of 16.24 million baht and the net profit of 9.5 million baht in 2014, rising from total revenue of 4.79 million baht and the net profit of 1.8 million baht in the previous year. The source of fund will come from internal operating cash flow, he said.

PLANB posted the revenue of 2.1 billion baht and the net profit of 400.21 million baht last year.

Source

India: The challenges for the OOH industry have only multiplied, say experts

At the exchange4media’s NEONS OOH Conference and Awards, the audience witnessed an enthralling panel discussion on the topic: Vision 2020: Looking forward or stuck 20 years back. Suresh Balakrishna, CEO South Asia and Middle East at Kinetic Worldwide moderated the panel discussion which included names like Dr. Sarandeep Singh, CEO & Master Trainer at Out of the Box Leadership program, Minali Shah, Head Marketing at Abbott India, Puneet Anand, GM & Group Head- Marketing at Hyundai Motor India Ltd, Arghya Chakravarty, CEO at TIMES OOH, Deepak Kapoor, Director at Gulshan Homz and Anup Jain, COO/CMO/Mentor and Angel Investor.

The OOH theme for this year was "The BIGGER Picture" and it referred to a keen understanding of where ‘Out of Home’ fits into the “the big picture” of media. Moreover, while the world over, the OOH medium embraces digital, in India it still is only 10% of the universe. In such a scenario isn’t OOH still ill equipped to embrace creatively the real power of the digital integration? While the world is pegging a 2020 vision India OOH is still stuck 20 years back?

“COFI is the way I’d say the OOH industry would develop in the next few years to come. COFI is an acronym where ‘C’ stands for ‘Connected Consumer’, which if the industry has to grow, it needs to understand that it is necessary to relate to the consumer; ‘F’ stands for ‘Format’ which basically means the traditional and digital format and ‘I’ stands for ‘Impact,” pointed Shah.

While Kapoor said, “OOH is a platform to register yourselves in the minds of the consumers. To create a visibility, OOH becomes a wonderful platform and that is why most of the real estate companies are using it. This medium will definitely grow exponentially in the coming years.” He further added, “We have observed that with India being the second largest consumer of smartphones, people do not spare time to observe anything around them and are completely glued to their mobile screens. Hence it is important to bring OOH to mobile as future lies in the digital.”

Full article here