If you travelled in or out of Bengaluru or Kanpur’s airports just ahead of Dussehra this year, you couldn’t have missed an unusual spectacle from e-commerce brand Flipkart. The company transformed vast farmlands near the two airports into giant crop-circle-like formations, announcing the start of its flagship Big Billion Days sale. During these festive weeks, Flipkart was one of many brands to have pushed the boundaries of outdoor advertising.
Advertisers have challenged the limitations of outdoor campaigns, finding possibilities in nearly everything during the past couple of months. Which is why Sebamed turned nail art into tiny billboards and Cars24 found a branding opportunity in potholes! Beyond the cities, rural markets have also seen outdoor advertising really take off, with autorickshaw panels turning into ad space, along with wall murals and mobile billboards.
“When we speak about advertising during the festive season, we generally think of channels such as social, e-commerce and OTT. But the outdoor growth story has been remarkable year-on-year, especially with the number of airports and malls growing in the country,” notes Sajal Gupta, CEO, Kiaos Marketing. Airports and railway stations are OOH gold for brands targeting travellers.
Technological and creative innovation has been the hallmark of out-of-home (OOH) advertising these festive months, with brands embracing formats such as 3D, anamorphic billboards, AR-enabled bus shelters and augmented reality-based installations. Industry estimates show OOH spending has increased by 15-20% this festive season. OOH ad expenditure is expected to reach 5,200-5,400 crore during this calendar year, up from 4,650 crore in CY24. Festive campaigns account for nearly 40% of this revenue at `2,000 crore.
A major catalyst has been digital display and campaign management. It has transformed outdoor advertising into a dynamic, tech-enabled medium. Industry research indicates that digital outdoor has seen double digit growth over the last couple of years, and is increasingly popular among advertisers for festive campaigns. Market estimates peg the digital OOH market in India at around `1,000 crore, whjich is about a fifth of total OOH revenues. That figure is expected to grow sharply with infrastructure upgrades and state-level policy support.
Many operators and buyers are attributing between 30 and 50% of their incremental OOH revenue growth this season to digital formats, driven by dynamic scheduling and creative flexibility. Brands change the creative messaging and display by time of day, weather or sales events that are valuable during festive windows. Location data and programmatic buying are also making outdoor planning a lot smoother than before the pandemic.
“Analytics and programmatic buying are reshaping how outdoor media is planned, allowing advertisers to make data-backed decisions about locations and audience targeting,” says Vaishal Dalal, co-founder & director, Excellent Publicity. This has also helped address the challenge of measurability and ROI, things that have plagued the industry for years.
Several campaigns have incorporated QR codes, live polls and social media tie-ins during the season to engage with audiences. Brands are able to optimise ad spending based on footfalls and audience analytics.
Window of opportunity
To make the most of the festive window, big spenders routinely scramble for huge OOH sites in top metros. This year too brands such as Apple, Nykaa, ITC Foods and LG have employed larger-than-life formats in markets such as Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru. Vikas Nowal, founder & CEO, Interspace Communications, says, “They bring immediate visual dominance in high traffic corridors, and generate stronger creative theatre as they turn simple messages into memorable moments.” In unorganised sites, strategic locations might be advantageous but the dynamics change when they are outsized by larger billboards from bigger spenders.
Experts note that while metros and major cities account for upwards of 65% of outdoor ad spending, tier-II markets and beyond have witnessed faster expansion. Spending outside the top cities has witnessed roughly 15% growth annually.
Dalal of Excellent Publicity says early campaign rollouts — and therefore a longer running window — has helped with brands beginning promotions around Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam, and maintaining visibility through Durga Puja, Navratri and Diwali. And technology has enabled them to customise their advertising for a community during Navratri in one geography, while making it relevant for another region where Durga Puja is widely celebrated.
