India’s population is steadily becoming urbanized and modern advances have penetrated even the rural areas. That’s why it is easy to find many farmers engaged on their phones, even so on Whatsapp. Advertising in contemporary times is seen adapting as well. Today old compliments the new, so to say. New technology combined with old ideas has created success stories. Outdoor media allied with other mediums can be very beneficial.
One particular industry that could benefit most from out of home advertising would be the e- commerce websites. One of the fastest growing sectors and it is projected to keep growing. It has transformed consumer behavior (one of the greatest feat of social engineering). Everything today is simplified, from hailing taxis to sell old washing machines. All can be done by sitting at home.
To cash in on the growing market, many companies have begun to unleash a media buying ‘blitzkrieg’. It is now normal to see daily newspapers featuring e- commerce advertisements. So much so more space is allotted to ads than there is to news. In fact some papers get fatter just before the festive seasons. Like in many instances these pages are flipped right over or torn away. Although very effective, it is still not enough.
In today’s world there is more room to be creative as work can be easily out sourced to professionals thousands of miles away. At a much cheaper rate than compared to the past when doing such thing was impossible or very difficult.
Outdoor media or out of home advertising is a tricky fish, if not done properly, it may slip out of hand. Basically, advertisements need to compliment the reader (consumers!)
Duration
It can be identified according to seasons, festivities etc. E.g. when the winter arrives winter care manufacturing companies begin to advertise for their product because there is a demand during the season. Outdoor advertising can create a huge impact on the consumer. In some cases it can even remind the consumers about the approaching winter season. Same goes for festivities. Outdoor media can remind people about the big festival in a less intrusive way because; it does so without invading an individual’s personal space.
Connection
Consumers can be attracted but they need to be persuaded. One dot can be put on a board and it will be noticed by as many commuters as any normal ad would. What needs to be done is content has to connect with the consumer. Content has to be so engaging that it will retain the viewer till the end. So brilliant and convincing, even if someone is selling sand in the desert, the consumer would buy it.
Location
Don’t just buy advertisement space. Sometimes one advertisement location can pull more traffic than 10 less prominent ones. Outdoor media relies heavily on the location, depending on the product prominent location changes. An expensive soap will sell better in affluent areas of the city than the less affluent ones. So better to advertise only in the area where people can actually afford to buy the product.
