Vritti i-Media’s unique selling proposition has been its distinct range of outdoor advertising services. The most prominent of these is a result of the company’s tie-up with Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) that has enabled it to make announcements at village bus stations, combining bus announcements with advertising. This OOH offering encapsulates a fundamental credo of the company, which is reaching the consumer when he is idle and receptive to information or communication. This service has been among Vritti i-Media’s most distinct and successful offerings since it has allowed advertisers to establish a significant degree of brand recall among the target audience. So, having met peerless success for this innovative advertising solution, Vritti i-Media has stepped up its plans for aggressive growth and expansion in the country by now taking its entire groundbreaking basket of offerings to north and south India.
Vritti i-Media Harnesses Technology to Foray into Uncharted Territories
October 31st, 2012 | Posted by in Articles and Opinions - (1 Comments)
IT and media solution provider Vritti Solutions Limited empowers brands and advertisers to connect with audiences at a grass-root level, through its unique media subset – Vritti i-Media, that is known for its innovative outdoor marketing solutions. A two-time winner of ‘The Best Zonal Media Owner – West India’ at the ‘Outdoor Advertising Award,’ Vritti i-Media has handled some noteworthy and prestigious projects involving effective mass and regional marketing for significant brand entities from almost every segment, especially retail, in the grass roots of India. Its esteemed clientele includes some of India’s largest and most successful brands, namely, Tata Agro Products, HUL’s Wheel and Lux, Big Bazaar, Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, State Bank of India, Star Plus, Star Pravah, J K Cement and Make My Trip, in addition to government entities like Maharashtra Energy Development Agency, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), among others.
Public Address System: an emerging communication tool in India
January 24th, 2012 | Posted by in Articles and Opinions - (2 Comments)Innovation is an integral part of advertising. Consumer interests and behavior is liable to undergo a change with time. Hence, the modes of reaching and interacting with them also evolve with each passing day. Advertisers and creative minds see no boundary of media. What better example than the recent use of the public address systems in the country.
Public address systems at different locations of India have been used very innovatively to attract audience attention and even strongly put across a message. Not only have these initiatives successfully reached the masses but also created ripples of conversations amongst the consumer network. Here are a few interesting examples:
Three years from the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, a group of local Mumbaikars took up the initiative of spreading the message of peace and celebrate the ‘never stop’ attitude of Mumbaikars through a Flash mob at CST Station. The Public announcement system at SCT station was innovatively used to gather public attention and instantly involve them in the act. Within no time hundreds joined the movement, some by tapping their feet, some grooving with the crowd and some by clapping and cheering. The initiative not only helped in spreading the message effectively but also created millions of conversations online as well as offline.
The Public announcement systems at the MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) bus stands in Maharashtra have been recently used by brands to reach the biggest consumer market of India i.e. the rural and semi-urban consumers. Last year, SBI bank ran a 20 day advertising campaign for loans using the PA system at MSRTC bus stands in Maharashtra. While the 20 day campaign generated Rs 550 crore worth of enquiries, the communication also gave examples of a sarpanch (headman) of a village talking about availing loans and repaying on time. That way SBI was able to touch upon NPAs (non-performing assets) arising out of non-payments.
The MSRTC bus announcement system is also being used by the agriculture department of Maharashtra to broadcast vital information about crop management and farming to farmers who comprise a large chunk of the MSRTC commuters.
Another exemplary campaign thought of using 
the Public Address Systems is the Bingo ad campaign executed at various Indian railway stations across India. The campaign aimed at informing the masses about the 25% extra chips given in every Rs. 5 pack of Bingo. Unlike competition, Bingo went with the non- traditional way of informing its consumers. While the public was waiting at the railway station, Bingo used the public address system to announce its message in the same tone & manner as the railways do. Several unsuspecting commuters thought it was a regular announcement until the Bingo! Trademark tone was heard at the end of the announcement. Besides many hearty laughs, Bingo also generated a 32% increase in volume sales. Amusingly, the people neither missed their message nor their train!
This new medium has proven to be very effective in creating an impact on the consumers. Big brands like SBI and Bingo have believed in this medium due to its certain characteristic features like:
High spread: Being public junctions, advertisers can reach out to a large chunk of masses at a time
High impact: Since the public address systems are meant to relay vital information like bus/ train announcements, people are always hooked on to the announcements, thus ensuring high rate of audience attention.
Flexibility: Advertisers have the flexibility to change the advertisements as per the location, seasons and festivals.
Low cost: As compared to other traditional forms of advertising, this medium offers a relatively lower cost.
On the whole, an advertiser can effectively reach a large population of consumers in a comparatively lesser budget. And due to these attributes of the Public Address system, we see this as an emerging medium of communication in India.
The surprise element in a Digital OOH ad campaign is a must!
January 18th, 2012 | Posted by in Media Coverage - (1 Comments)
“Digital OOH will grow by leaps and bounds in this decade. According to the recent PWC Report, the OOH advertising industry in India will grow minimum at the rate of 30%-35% in the next few years. In today’s world No of screens/LCD do not matter. What matters is the strategic location at which the screen is put up, how many people it can reach and what kind of content it carries and how well it can engage and interact with the TG. The surprise element and uniqueness in Digital OOH is a must.” says Veerendra Jamdade, CEO & Director Technical, Vritti i-Media.
In this one on one with Veerendra MediAvataar.com tries to find out all about one of the oldest medium in its new digital beginning.
1. OOH is an oldest medium yet so unorganised, what’s you take on it?
OOH advertising on hoardings, bus panels, fleet cars ,Bus stand branding etc are dictated at the city/metro level where the municipal corporation gives contracts to local players in every city turning many small vendors into media owners/. This has resulted in OOH being so unorganized. Moreover advertisers find it difficult to control and track the outdoor media as it does not have the desired transparency and thereby creating fear in the minds of advertisers about OOH advertising and its execution.
2. Digital OOH is extremely popular worldwide, how is it shaping up in India?
Digital OOH will grow by leaps and bounds in this decade. According to the recent PWC Report, the OOH advertising industry in India will grow minimum at the rate of 30%-35% in the next few years. In today’s world No of screens/LCD do not matter. What matters is the strategic location at which the screen is put up, how many people it can reach and what kind of content it carries and how well it can engage and interact with the TG. The surprise element and uniqueness in Digital OOH is a must.
3.The clients that you service, what make them chose digital OOH medium for taping the rural audiences?
Our uniqueness is the digital audio part in our medium clubbed with content i.e. The passenger information system announcing the bus departure and arrival timing. This information is very relevant for a MSRTC bus traveller resulting in 100% guaranteed listening. Also advertising on MSRTC bus stands help our clients to reach 10.3 crore people per month on an average. Unlike radio, this medium does not provide an option to change channels to the listeners. This medium is dynamic in nature and the content can be customised according to location/region or based on the season pattern.
4. Still India’s major population is in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, do you think that audio and audio visual outdoor medium has a good impact on these cities?
Yes audio medium has a great impact on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. This medium gives high reach, compulsory listening and dynamic content. Our customers like Lokmat, KBC (SET India), Star Plus, Star Pravaah have fully exploited all these features to get maximum mileage and impact amongst small town people.
5.Throw light on the kind of campaigns Vritti i-Media has come up with?
a. Lokmat- the Lokmat campaign was taken up to drive sales at newspaper stalls. Daily news headlines were announced across bus stands from 6 AM onwards. The concept was of broadcasting the headlines and motivating people to buy Lokmat newspaper from stalls. It has been borrowed from the concept of” Aaj ki Taaza Khabar” shown in films where a boy runs around selling the headline.
b. SBI- SBI did a teaser campaign for 20 days using our audio medium for home loan takeover across Maharashtra and they promoted it across 20 District level ST Bus stands
c. Water Supply Department-‘Jal swarajya’ a campaign to promote clean drinking and potable water by boiling and filtering was a great success. As a result, 98% of people heard the communication & schemes while 90% of them implemented in real lives.
d. HUL: HUL wanted to create awareness about Lux Sandal and cream bathing, a new variant of Lux Soap among consumers in the tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This variant of Lux was meant to target the ladies of Maharashtra where Sandal, or chandan as it is popularly known, is considered to be very good for the body and makes the skin softer. As a result any soap made of chandan sells easily in Maharashtra. HUL wanted for there to be an increase in recall about Lux Sandal and Cream soap in the target market as opposed to competitors in the same category as well as an increase in the market share of Lux Sandal and Cream soap in tier 2 and tier 3 cities by highlighting the benefits of using this soap.
The audio advertisement jingle was created and ran for duration of 30 days from the 15th of December to the 15th of January. HUL wanted to have all the ST Bus stands that were under Vritti i-Media and therefore the same jingle was run across all of the 85 bus stands under Vritti i-Media without any changes in the advertisement. This included urban, semi urban and rural locations like Pune- Narayangaon, Solapur- Barshi, Kolhapur, Marathwada – Beed and Vidarbha – Yeotmal.
6. How these campaigns have benefitted the respective clients?
Lokmat Campaign: The campaign helped Lokmat Media in creating excitement in the audience and increasing the readership base for the newspaper. The campaign also gave increased counter sales at the campaign locations alongwith a good brand penetration.
SBI Campaign: While the 20 day campaign generated Rs 550 crore worth of enquiries, the communication also gave examples of a sarpanch (headman) of a village talking about availing loans and repaying on time. That way SBI was able to touch upon NPAs (non-performing assets) arising out of non-payments
Water Supply Department: According to a survey conducted to test the effectiveness of the campaign, 100% respondents felt that the ‘Sujal Maharashtra-Nirmal
Maharashtra Mission’ advertisements played on the ST Stands spread useful massages
among the passengers/commuters on the Stands. According to 98% respondents,
messages (given through Audio Advertisement Systems on ST Stands) spread awareness
and were implemented by audience. 90% people implemented it in real lives. This validated the impact of the campaign.
LUX campaign: Once the ads were aired, it could be seen that there was a positive response from the target market. We conducted a survey with 100 women at bus stops to test the response of the audio ads. The findings showed that there was a deeper emotional connect to Lux Sandal and Cream than compared to other soap brands and women preferred using it rather than other soaps. The survey also pointed out that the amount of people using Lux Sandal and Cream was at a very high level which was 71%. The soaps fragrance and color were found to be the most liked attributes. 19% were of the opinion that the soap had a good effect on skin and made it smooth and soft. Even amongst non users of the soap there were favourable comments as a great deal of them confirmed that they would like to try Lux Sandal and Cream soap.
7. This medium surely provides superb reach but does that ensure quality?
Yes, it provides good clarity in sound. As the sound levels are monitored through our micro processor based hardware, sound quality is taken care round the clock. In our recent survey conducted in association with A C Nielson, showed that the announcements were clear and audible.
8. Do you see more and more companies adopting digital OOH for their brands?
Yes, we see this as the beginning era of digital OOH. We are seeing more and more companies from different sectors adopting this medium to reach the rural markets in Maharashtra. Lately, we have undergone successful associations with companies in FMCG sector like Parle products, Entertainment channels like Star Plus, Star Pravaah,9Xm Jhakaas Marathi Channel.
9. Out of the two kinds you deal in which one has brought you greater returns?
Audio medium is an established medium as it has been in the market since 2007 whereas audio visual medium at the highway food malls was set up in 2011 and is a very new medium to compare.
10. How do you see your competition?
We love competition and but we don’t see any direct competition. In terms of the technology used to conceptualize and execute on the audio advertising medium, the competition is way behind. For instance, our service helps brands reach to remote locations like Nandurbar and Gadchiroli where the audio systems work without any manual intervention over a low band internet connection. Moreover, our experience of over a decade in the rural and small town markets of Maharashtra helps us emerge as rural market experts thus helping most of our clients in conceptualising and executing the campaign.
11. What is in the pipeline?
a. We are working closely with Outdoor Media and Creative agencies to provide effective communication tools to advertisers targeting rural markets of Maharashtra.
b. We intend to expand our Audio Visual network across different highways in Maharashtra
c. In terms of future campaigns, we are likely to get associated with FMCG brands like HUL, Emami from FMCG. In Banking are likely to get campaigns from BOI and ICICI bank. In Telecom we are likely to get work from Vodafone.
12. What are your plans to expand in the other parts of the country?
We are planning expand our audio network to Gujrat, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the near future.
Covered by Mediavataar
Affordable advertising solutions for SMEs in Maharashtra
December 27th, 2011 | Posted by in Media Coverage - (0 Comments)
Rural markets have grown to be a bigger market for every category of business in India. It’s no surprise that the Indian rural marketshave become the center of attention for every product or service eyeing the Indian market. While the rural consumer is ready to dissect the billion dollar opportunity, companies are in process of modifying their products and services to suit the needs of this class of consumers.The consumer spending in rural areas has taken a drastic hike giving enough growth opportunities to small and mid-sized businesses. SMEsoperating at a local level can make best of the changing market scenario as they understand the market better compared to the giant competitors. For instance, in case of the consumer products category, it has been observed that consumption of such products has increased radically in rural areas. This has resulted in a surge of multi -national FMCG brands like HUL and P&G spending more time and resources in understanding the rural markets and enhancing their distribution networks in such areas. On the contrary, mid-sized FMCG companies who have a wider presence in rural areas can make best of the opportunity by creating an effective presence of their brand. Along with strengthening the local distribution network, companies also need to lay focus on a robust advertising plan to have better recognition of their brands amongst the consumers as compared to the established brands.Advertising plays a vital role in establishing a brand amongst the target audience. It has played a vital role in transforming mere products or services into brands.
Branding and advertising are essentials for any SME to grow big. However, SMEs face a significant challenge of limited budgets and resources. In such a scenario, cost effective advertising is what can ease the problem of SMEs.
Vritti i-Media, a next generation advertising solution provider in Maharashtra has come up with innovative audio advertising solution for advertisers. Vritti i-Media has partnered with Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to run audio advertisements at various district bus terminals. They have been appointed as the Sole Authorized Agency by MSRTC to run commercial audio advertisements that are played along with the Buses’ arrival/departure announcements. Thus ensuring 100% compulsory listening for small towns and rural market consumers who travel frequently in MSRTC Buses. Since the advertisements are aired through centralized web server, Vritti i-Media has been able to connect with consumers in the most remote villages of Maharashtra. The audio network of Vritti i-Media is currently spread across 80+ locations of MSRTC bus stands covering key centers, investor hubs, all districts, important taluka places and pilgrim centres in Maharashtra.
Advantages of Vritti i-Media’s audio advertising solution to SMEs in Maharashtra:
- Reach of 103 Million people
- On-air time morning 6am to night 10pm daily
- Broadcasting every 30 minutes
- Passengers on an average change every 30 minutes and that assures your advertisement is heard by new person every time
- Every District bus stand – Average 40000 passenger footfalls every day
- Per persons cost is almost 10% compared to other media and impact is 100%
- Audio advertisement in local language can reach out to illiterates as well
- Advertisement releases at various district place bus stand and repetition throughout the day and month create a brand image
- Advertisement is heard across bus stand and up to 100 meter periphery
- Mandatory listening as the advertisement is coupled with the bus departure announcement. Passengers are actually waiting to hear the announcement
- 100% battery backup to ensure 16 hours running of system
- Advertisement can be changed within 30 minutes
Vritti i-Media assures wider reach for SMEs in cost effective budgets. This innovative concept of audio advertising solution has also won 2 Gold and 1 silver awards at the Outdoor Advertising Awards, 2011. Gold Award for most coveted “Media owner for western region”, Gold Award for “Best Transit Media and Silver” Award for the Best Format Innovation – New Media category.
Vritti i-Media has been responsible for making various brands a house hold name in rural and semi urban areas of Maharashtra. SMEs like Kirti Gold, Maharashtra K knowledge Corporation, Gujarat Tea traders – Vikram Tea, Pitambari, Kalnirnay publications and many more have been successful in building a brand name in rural and semi-urban parts of Maharashtra with the help of Vritti’s advertising network.
The article is authored by Mr. Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Head-Marketing, Vritti i-Media on the official India Mart Blog.
Image source: Top News.inFree agricultural advice provided to farmers through Public Address System at bus stands
November 19th, 2011 | Posted by in Client campaigns - (0 Comments)The agricultural department of the Maharashtra Government has set up an agro advisory feed at Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus stands with the objective of providing expert agricultural advice to farmers in Maharashtra public address system at the stands. This initiative has been started with the aim of keeping the local farmers up to date with the latest in farming techniques and to increase their awareness about agriculture. The initiative is conducted across all parts of Maharashtra excluding Mumbai.
MSRTC buses are the chief mode of 
transport for farmers in rural Maharashtra, thus forming important junctions for communicating information. The agro advisories by agricultural universities and the meteorology department are broadcasted through Vritti’s audio network along with the announcement of bus timings at regular intervals. Experts share advice about quality of seeds and probable quality of production in the coming harvest season, information about market prices, seasonal crops, using fertilizers and hybrid seeds. In order to increase financial stability, farmers are also informed about various beneficial government plans, its application process and the advantages reaped out of them.
Speaking about this initiative, Mr. Veerendra Jamdade, CEO, Vritti Solutions says, “It’s a matter of immense pride for us to be able to help out our local farmers who would otherwise have very little means to receive such privileged information. Our medium facilitates customization of advice specific to the location thus making the information relevant to the types of crops grown in the region, types of pests likely to affect the crops in a particular climate and solutions to cure them. For instance, in the Konkan region, which is the highest cultivator of rice, the messages are customized to provide solutions for better rice cultivation. This kind of timely, location specific advice has greatly benefitted farmers across Maharashtra.”
This initiative of the Government has received an overwhelming response in a short period of time. The farmers have reaped the benefits of this initiative at no cost while travelling to their destinations.
Flavours of rural advertising
November 4th, 2011 | Posted by in Articles and Opinions - (5 Comments)“There are 700 million people in India who live in rural area. We don’t want to neglect them. We see a huge opportunity there,” Coca-Cola Company Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Joseph Tripodi told reporters on the sidelines of AdAsia 2011.
This clearly states the potential rural markets offer to the product & service category in India. But with opportunities come challenges and in the Indian rural scenario, obstacles vary with geography. The problem faced by marketers in the villages of Uttar Pradesh would be different from the obstacles faced in the hinterlands of Maharashtra or South India. Marketing communication and promotion poses a lot of problem in rural India.
Constraints in rural advertising
From the profile of people to the availability of media, there are various problems that pose barriers to advertising in rural areas. For instance, the literacy rate among the rural consumers being low, the printed word has little use in the rural context. So far TV has been one of the ideal mediums of reaching the rural audience however its reach remains restricted even today. Radio has so far been the most favorable medium in terms of accessibility in rural areas. But according to report by Linterland, rural expert of India, the penetration of radio is not very high in rural areas because many cannot afford to own a radio set.
This goes to show that conventional media has still not been able to find its foot in the rural markets of India. It has been estimated that all organized media put together can reach only 30% of the rural population of India. Lingual diversity compounds the complexity of advertising in these areas. Hence, arrives the need to go beyond the standard forms of media to create a long lasting impact on the minds of rural consumers.
With changing times, marketers have tried and tested various unconventional forms of media which remain exclusive to the rural lands of India. These can also been termed as ‘Rural Specific’ media. The rural specific media with its effective reach, powerful input and personalized communication system has helped marketers achieve their set goals.
Rural Specific Media:
This media has been developed over the years to suit the local taste of villagers and other peculiarities showcased by them. Like, one of the most popular non-conventional forms of advertising is at the social gatherings of villagers, popularly known as the melas & haaths. Such gatherings are organized at a local level in different villages of India. As these occasions are also perceived as sources of new information, marketers have evolved strategies to captivate their attention at such occasions either by setting up branded kiosks providing educational information or having live demonstration of products & services.
It has been observed that advertisement couched in entertainment go down easily with the villagers. As important aspect of rural specific media is the language. Rural communication has to necessarily be in the local language.
Case: The MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) bus network is the key mode of transport for most of the villagers dwelling in Maharashtra. The bus stands from where travelers board their respective buses have an announcement system in place which helps the passengers with bus timings and other crucial information required. The announcement system also broadcasts brand advertisements exclusively in Marathi. As these advertisements are heard between the bus timing announcements, the bus stands serve as a place to captivate the audience attention at the time they want to listen to you. Moreover, the advertisements broadcasted are based on real life instances created in Marathi which has a powerful impact on the people as they can easily connect to the ad and also understand it.
Outdoor hoardings are also used very well in rural communication. In fact, currently many companies are using the outdoor medium imaginatively in their rural communication mix, through hoardings, wall paintings, illuminations and other displays in the rural areas. Moreover, getting one’s wall painted with the product messages is seemed as a status symbol.
Case:
Asian Paints promoted its Utsav range of paints by painting Mukhiya’s house or Post office 6 months prior to the launch of the paint to demonstrate that paint does not peel off.
Rural consumers place more emphasis on the experience of others who have used the brands to make their purchase decision. Hence, the Utsav campaign not only won the attention of rural consumers but also built reliability as the ad was displayed on the Mukhiya’s house wall.
The cost effectiveness and high involvement of consumers is what makes these form of media successful in the rural landscapes of India. Rural India is unique in its own ways and exploring each bit of it is a new learning in itself.
Recommended posts:
- Transit media advertising: Does your ad campaign have what it takes?
- Presence in rural markets: no longer a choice but a necessity
Mr. Veerendra Jamdade, CEO, Vritti i-Media
Whether you are out on the road, up in the air, on your first date, on your long treks or on your way to work – you can always be assured of the constant company of ‘The Brands’. In a world dominated by consumerism, the marketing gurus are watching your every move, have your travel plans figured out and have already reached your destination probably before you even thought of getting there. The Indian outdoor advertising industry, comprising less than 8 per cent of the total advertising budget has today become burgeoning industry worth Rs 1,900 crore, thus ensuring that the consumer is always thinking, albeit subconsciously, about his choice of brands – right from the toothpaste he uses in the morning, to the mattress he sleeps on at night.
The Indian outdoor industry has undergone cataclysmic changes in the recent years. Gone are the days when a plain old billboard was enough to make a consumer sit up and take note. In a scenario where thousands of brands are jostling for top of mind recall, the need of the hour is innovative, smart outdoor advertising.
The year 2011 was a period of ups and downs for the industry as a whole. An extended cricket season that caused majority of spends to be diverted to TVCs and decreased spends from the telecom and finance sector during the year caused a major setback to the industry mid-2011. However, the forecast for the industry looks bright as per PWC which has recently published a report stating that the Indian OOH advertising industry is projected to reach Rs 2,400 crore in 2015 from Rs 1,400 crore in 2010, showing a growth of 11.4 per cent.
As we speak of the potential of the industry as a whole, lets take a look at some of the key challenges and issues that have plagued the industry, a few trends that are definitive of how the industry has shaped up in the past year and the future direction that needs to be carved out to reach the complete potential in the coming years.
OOH – Not just a ‘reminder’
As the quickest, most cost effective method of grabbing consumer attention, the OOH industry has been steadily gaining significance as a key element of a media planning strategy that goes much beyond ‘just a reminder’. The tools and techniques of outdoor advertising have undergone cataclysmic changes. Gone are those days when ordinary billboards were used for outdoor displays. The OOH industry has given a lot to advertising brands in terms of ROI, strategic locations and innovations in the previous years which has led to increased spends especially from the finance sector into the outdoor segment.
Increased transparency
Earlier in the year, I was fortunate to have been a part of the Outdoor Advertising Convention, based on the concept ‘Think Tomorrow, Today’. Among the many highlights of the event, there was a point made by Ashish Pherwani, Associate Director, Ernst & Young India Pvt Ltd, which made a profound impact on me as it will largely define the future of the outdoor industry. He had said, “70 per cent of advertisers are not, or are only somewhat comfortable, in buying OOH, and 68 per cent are willing to increase spends on OOH if they can get greater transparency.”
Increasingly more advertisers are demanding formats in segments with greater measurement metrics such as traffic count; dwell times, passenger engagement etc which are answers the industry will have to provide to scale up rapidly.
Urban saturation = rural potential
As OTS (opportunity to be seen) opportunities get slowly exhausted in the urban markets due to high budgets and market saturation, the smarter marketers are moving away from the city hubs and exploring the untapped and vast opportunities that lie in transit media advertising and rural OOH.
Taking an example of Maharashtra, of the 90 million residing in rural pockets, with 55 million in semi-rural or rural areas, only 40-45 per cent have access to Print & TV as mediums while the rest of the audience is subject to ‘media darkness’, that is, incapable of any media consumption due to barriers such as illiteracy and lack of TV and print. For this audience, the only effective way to make an impact is through the audio advertising medium, where messages can be relayed to them in their local languages, which they can comprehend. This model has met with tremendous success during the last couple of years with telecom brands opting for this medium to convey the brand messages to a significant part of their target audience, that is, the rural consumers.
Vritti i-Media has developed a proprietary technology whereby audio advertising messages are relayed to an audience at ST bus stands across Maharashtra along with bus arrival and departure timings which makes for mandatory listening and cost effective brand campaigning.
Highway advertising – Food malls become Digital Hubs
While signages, kiosks and samples have been tried and tested methods of branding at Highway Hubs, marketers are now moving towards a more dynamic form of advertising which is attractive, cost effective and easy to modify suited to the advertiser’s needs. A good example of this is the highway food hubs in Maharashtra, notably on the Mumbai-Pune and Pune-Nasik highways, which are dotted with food joints that have audio visual screens where advertisements are broadcast in between bus arrival and departure announcements thus ensuring the captive attention of the audience. The technology based audio visual screens allow advertisers to modify messages based on new product launches, change of schemes or to simply highlight an ongoing sale a little more effectively.
The audio visual method of outdoor advertising on food malls will pave the way for brands to communicate to a diverse set of audiences, in a multilingual format at half the cost, thus ensuring seamless delivery of messages that can be modified as and when required. It is also being touted as an effective way for brands to spread social awareness among their audience, especially the truckers, who are largely illiterate and who form a large part of the audience profile that frequent the roadside dhabas. It will be interesting to witness the shift in strategy of marketers from traditional to outdoor audio visual advertising, which will largely define how the future of this medium shapes up in the near future.
Digital OOH – An idea whose time has come
Offering benefits like flexibility to advertisers, higher recall and cost advantages, Digital OOH is an idea whose time has come. The medium facilitates audience measurement and monitoring of consumer preferences besides allowing category exclusivity which are all the aspects that the industry is looking to resolve at present. With high end luxury and automobile brands making entries into the Indian retail market, we can certainly hope to experience a lot of innovation on this medium in the coming years.
Authored by Mr. Veerendra Jamdade, CEO, Vritti i-Media on Exchange4Media
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