Digital screens see rapid rise in outdoor media

Owing to digital outdoor, there’s an upsurge in 3D creatives, anamorphic designs, enhanced billboards, and integration with mobile devices

For an industry that dwindled during the two years of Covid-spurred lockdown, India’s out of home (OOH) media has seen a remarkable recovery. The Ficci EY report expects OOH media to cross ₹4,500 crore this year and touch ₹5,400 crore by 2026. “The resurgence in outdoor media is noticeable with entertainment brands, gaming companies, start-ups and tech companies leveraging the medium with strategic placements in high-traffic areas. OOH has bounced back and surpassed pre-pandemic levels this year,” said Sanjeev Goyle, CEO, OOH and Rural, IPG Mediabrands India.

Today, digital billboards mimic TV advertising as brands can book 10-second slots on the screen.

Yuvrraj Agarwaal, chief strategy officer at Laqshya Media Group, pegs out of home media at nearly ₹7,000 crore since published reports do not capture the business beyond the metros. “Outdoor advertising is poised to grow in double digits for the next 10 years, higher than other traditional media like TV, print and radio,” he said.

Traditional billboards converting to digital screens is driving this growth. “In the recent past, I have seen digital screens mushroom, at least in Mumbai,” said Nabendu Bhattacharyya, founder Ideacafe, an agency specialising in out of home media.

Owing to digital outdoor, there’s an upsurge in 3D creatives, anamorphic designs, enhanced billboards, interactive installations, and integration with mobile devices. Durba Mandal, head of OOH Business at Cheil India, said in the digital era, OOH has enabled advertisers to reach affluent audiences particularly those who choose ad free video/audio options. “Earlier, an outdoor ad was a cut-paste of a print creative. Digital screens have brought in a lot of dynamism in outdoor advertising. OOH is like mobile on steroids,” said Bhattarcharyya whose firm has made anamorphic ads for brands like Piramal Realty.

Today, digital billboards mimic TV advertising as brands can book 10-second slots on the screen. But Bhattacharyya cautions against mass conversions to digital billboards to avoid commoditization. “Even in the US, only 30-35% of billboards are digital. Not all brands may want to share the screen,” he said. Goyle agreed: Digital billboards carry higher installation and maintenance costs, and are more prone to technical glitches and power failures. In contrast, conventional billboards offer uninterrupted display time and a higher share of voice as the space is not shared.

Outdoor media comprises large static billboards, unipoles, gantries, digital billboards, street furniture like bus shelters, transit media (airports, metros), and other media in retail, malls, corporate hubs, restaurants, pubs, gyms, and cinemas. “Large format billboards contribute more than 70% of revenue to the OOH industry owing to their sheer size and 100% share of voice roadside,” said Goyle.

Yet digital hoardings are gaining traction. Laqshya Media, for instance, has installed a network of 20 digital screens in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex. “The idea is to connect these screens to enable programmatic ads even in outdoor media. When such connected screen networks are available in the country, you can simply log into your Google account and run an ad on any of the screens based on the bidding and on the availability on that select screen,” said Agarwaal. Digital out of home contributed 9% to Outdoor segment’s revenue in 2023. It is expected to reach 15% in 2026, as per Ficci EY report.

But the tragic Mumbai hoarding collapse earlier this month that killed 17 people will remain a black mark for the country’s outdoor industry. The industry’s big affliction “is its highly fragmented nature, with more than 3,500 media owners, including many informal players. Large organised media vendors are few,” said Goyle.

Besides, rules for the sector vary from state to state. “The framework and the laws are in place however, enforcement of the rule is key,” said Cheil India’s Mandal. Clearly, tighter regulations are the need of the hour to streamline the sector where entry barriers to the business are very low. Anyone managing to get permission for a hoarding site, becomes a media owner, experts said.

Mandal added that currently, the local municipal bodies treat OOH only as a source of additional revenue. “They could look at a few but high-quality media in key areas. There’s a great deal of learning to be taken from places like Dubai and Korea where “less is more” philosophy has garnered good results.”