Advertising with TDI International India P Limited

Airports define a synergy between brands and campaigns, as Ramu Ramanathan finds out Travellers at the Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) cannot miss the Jaguar display which is 10ft in height and 18ft in length. The project is handled by the outdoor firm, Laqshya Media, which holds the ad rights at the RGIA for 30 years. The six-month campaign – visible on six backlit mullion units – is a chance for the Tata-owned upmarket Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) car marque to engage with passengers departing from RGIA. Shashi Sinha, senior vice-president, Laqshya, says: "The campaign carries images of the luxury XF Diesel Jaguar. The six month-long campaign is in the check-in hall at the airport used by both domestic and international passengers. JLR enjoys the media location, connect dominance and a very premium media environment, which together magnifies its luxury quotient." Three years ago, Laqshya Media was awarded the advertising rights for RGIA for a period of seven years. This is the first airport in India which is a greenfield airport project and Laqshya Media executed the project. As Sinha points out, this includes: "Planning, design, manufacture, installation and advertising displays at RGIA." Laqshya also has the advertising rights for Colombo Airport in Sri Lanka, making it the only Indian OOH company to have gone international in airport advertising. Focus on airports At the recent OAC convention in Mumbai, the OOH industry was "guesstimated" to be approximately Rs 1,600-1,800 cr and growing at a rate of 10% annually. For companies like Laqshya, airport OOH also offers them more and better revenue opportunities, as well as options for advertisers. Digital screens mean advertisers can maximise their use of time-sensitive messages, as well as allowing the poster owner to engage with multiple advertisers on the same screen -- for example, a daily paper in the morning and an alcoholic spirit in the late afternoon or early evening - all the better if that drink is also available at the adjacent bar. As a result, the airport space is hotting up. For instance, visual merchandising at Terminal 3 (T3) of Delhi airport will attract the eyeballs of 34 million passengers per annum. Interestingly enough, besides premium airlines and passengers, T3 has shopping areas, restaurants, bars and executive lounges. In addition, a business centre and state-of-the-art IT and communications equipment for the business traveller will also be part of the airport experience. No wonder Laqshya, along with French OOH specialist JCDecaux, pitched for rights for advertising at the Terminal 3 (T3) of Delhi Airport. But it was Times OOH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entertainment Network (India) Limited (ENIL) which tapped into the rights for advertising for 20 years. Today, Times OOH has the rights for airports in Delhi and Mumbai. Likewise JCDecaux has the exclusive advertising concession at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) where they offer "a new experience in airport advertising". Established player Today, 10 firms control the lion's share of outdoor opportunities, encompassing almost 250,000 panels nationwide. The situation is similar with dedicated airport branding. One such firm is TDI (Transport Display Innovation) International India P Limited. Founded in 1986, TDI dominated the airport space. After the privatisation of airports, there was a shift. Today, the company provides advertising solutions at Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, as well as some ten or so smaller airprots in cities like Goa, Jaipur, Trivandrum and Amritsar. "The average dwell-time at airport ranges from one to three hours" Hiyav Bajaj, Transport Display Innovation The TDI mantra is: 'Some of these cities are new business and industrial hubs in India. And people who matter are travelling to these centres.' Hiyav Bajaj, the director at TDI, says "Airports are a great place to advertise because they not only help advertisers target affluent decision makers in business communities, but also policy decision makers with the government and public sector." Bajaj adds: "There's a perception that airports have a high cost of reaching the TG. In reality, the cost of reaching the TG at the airport is approximately 25% to 33% of the cost of reaching the same TG in a mass OOH environment." Bajaj says that this is due to reduced spillage and more focused TG and quality footfalls at airports (SEC AB). These airports reach out to 38.5 lakh consumers every month. In addition, as Bajaj states: "There is an average dwell-time of one-three hours at the departures". Unusually for a media sector where reliable metrics are hard to come by, airport travel figures have a solid underpinning, Bajaj explains: "In terms of metrics, the Airports Authority of India releases statistics of travellers at airports on a monthly basis. This is a third-party neutral number which is available to calculate reach on a regular basis. This is a significant advantage for airports compared to mass OOH where no such figures are easily available." 'Cost-effective medium' TDI also points out that, compared to other media an advertiser might use to reach the same TG, airport OOH is cost effective - for example, says Bajaj, among the "affluent decision-making male segment which advertisers target through news and business magazines". The cost per thousand of reaching the same TG at TDI airports is Rs. 700-1600 with the advantage of much higher reach. There are also, however, price differentials between airports. According to Bajaj: "TDI airports are cost competitive as compared to airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru or Hyderabad which come at 3-5 times the CPT (cost per thousand) that one gets at TDI airports." Shashi Sinha has a counter-view: In an ambience-driven location like an airport, advertisers look beyond "CPT" ... it is the quality that counts. The key is the kind of brands that are found at the airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The other notable trend one sees is the shift in production methods. Ten to 15 years ago it was conventional hand paint, litho or screen. Now outdoor is a digital print technology. Most of the OOH firms don't use conventional printing technologies. B Prasad of Printech Digital, a multi-location print service provider says: "Runs of 50-150 can be done economically using digital print." He adds: "In the conventional printing process, the colours are more vivid and it can add value but time preparation, pre-press process and production process does not make it economically viable for Out Of Home segment where every campaign has timelines and on time production, installation of display is key to the success." Clearly, the 'no-print' option of digital displays is transforming the advertising opportunities in the Out Of Home segment. Digital display comprises of options like LED screens and LCD screens are boosting the ad-revenue model. Most of the campaigns in Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad airport have harnessed the advantages digital displays can offer in terms of time-sensitive messaging. Bajaj says: "Airports are a proven place to target decision makers for the B2B segment. Airports work as a great medium to advertise because when people travel for business they're in decision-making mode and amenable to changes. Similarly holiday-makers are relaxed and open to changes when travelling. Hence airports are a touch point to target both decision-makers and consumers in a receptive frame of mind spending a lot of time there."

A busy 2010 for TDI Media Services Nov 29, 2010 Aarti Chhabra, New Delhi Sharing the secret to keep afloat Hiyav Bajaj, Director, TDI International India P Limited, said, “All these campaigns are distinctively different in terms of their creatives, locations, logistics, target audience and other elements. The key to success in the ‘out of home business’ is use of media ambient and the campaign durations. TDI has covered the length and breadth of the country, covering every possible city in the country. The activity ranged from covering cities in north east for a client like Sharp to covering more than 150 cities for Hyundai. The Diwali campaign for Videocon & Sansui LED’s executed across Delhi, provides a good example here. The media mix of billboards, designer bus shelters, utilities and mall facades were used to create a perfect blend of conventional and non conventional OOH media that ensured high visibility at important junctions. The Weston TV and Appliances campaign has also been executed keeping-up to the objectives. Here the campaign was displayed in a larger than life in more than 60 locations in North India ranging from developed towns like Lucknow, Kanpur to small and remote areas like Garh and Siyana. The Billboards were strategically placed for multiple exposures and was less than likely to escape the attention of the TG. The agency also created an unforgettable fashion night out in DLF Emporio for their client Vogue India. Also, TDI worked for Siemens via Airport Advertising options at the Pune airport – again the place where they could get maximum mileage, Pune, being hub of manufacturing. Audi Cars have continued with their branding with TDI at the DLF Emporio which perfectly suited their target audience and helped them in generating leads. Besides this TDI media services executed campaigns for Canara bank and Havells in Kolkata. High level campaign was recently done for Baskin Robins in Mumbai and Adobe in Bangalore. Fortune Hotels has been one of the most recent campaigns executed by the agency in Gurgaon on the Metro properties for their upcoming hotel at Sohna Road. For the record, TDI Media Services is one of the largest networked Out-of-Home Agency in the country with 20 offices nationwide. The agency in its continual quest for provision of 360 degree OOH solutions to its clients, has taken rapid strides in the last couple of years in the increasingly relevant spheres of Retail and Activation.

Advertising- A brand’s communication tool Advertising is a paid form of brand, service or business promotion and requires a proper and planned budget. Creative control is one distinguishing feature of advertising. Every advertisement requires creative control. Advertising is customer centric in nature. Customers play an important role in any major or minor ad campaign because they are the one who are going to decide the fate of the ad campaign. Some benefits of advertising include Popularizing your brand, idea or service to the target group Informing target audience about your brand or service’s presence in the market Encouraging healthy competition in the market Providing social benefits for the brand Increasing the sales of the particular industry Advertising provides a major contribution to brand competition in the market. Advertising not only provides information about a product or service but also promotes innovation. Besides advertising also facilitates consumer satisfaction. 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Once the advertiser recognizes his target group, the ad campaign can be deployed through different channels such as websites, newspapers, television, radio, magazines etc. Directing your advertisement in such reachable channels make the customers think that they are being addressed to. This creates a first hand experience about the brand and moulds their mindset. Various forms of advertising are again based upon different themes. Among the various themes of advertising, motivational advertising is one of the effective themes of promoting a brand. The big motivators for consumers are fear, guilt, greed, ego etc. Fear is the most potent theme for motivational advertising. Fear can become a primary factor for indulging a potential target group in product selling. It will not be surprising to know that a wide range of advertisers indulge in fear themed ads simply because audiences really buy a product out of such fear themed ads. Advertising as tool of brand communication will carry forth its own legacy in different mediums and with various available resources. It is up to the advertisers to decide and deploy which channel, tool and technique of a particular advertising campaign will suit best for which product. Advertising As an outdoor advertiser you have to take care of various proven strategies to put your brand ahead from your competitors. It has never been an easy task to influence your marketplace. You sure need to differentiate yourself from your peer competitors so that you can successfully position your brand in the market. Go through the musings of an outdoor advertiser which highlight about the right approach to an attention-grabbing outdoor campaign. When it comes to outdoor advertising the first thing which should strike the mind of the target group is the quality of your campaign. A good outdoor campaign has become popular now and its time to provide excellent campaign. Excellent in terms of colours, visual displays, location etc. A perfect orientation of colours, visual displays, location etc is the secret behind a successful outdoor ad campaign. Secondly, a superior ad campaign is all about the one which explains the toughest idea in the simplest language right? Simplicity is the mantra you should adopt as a smart outdoor advertiser. Even if your campaign has a good theme with a vivacious look, a complex message can spoil the over all effect of your campaign. So, it's always ideal to stick to simple and direct messages which can strike your target group at a glance. Outdoor advertising has become a daily cup of tea for almost all the advertisers. With various technological innovations, a wide range of outdoor media vehicles have also been revamped. Digital signages have become a latest tool for outdoor advertising. Digital signage is usually a form of electronic display that shows an ad, information or any other message. LCD, LED, Plasma Displays or projected images come under the category of digital signages. These tools are mostly used in corporate building and retail stores. Digital signages provide striking impact upon the target audience with its colourful and interactive visual displays. Big and small outdoor advertisers at present deploy this tool of outdoor advertising as it creates a rich impression upon the target group. Last but not the least; will not be misleading to cite that outdoor ads are a great source of entertainment. Imagine if outdoor ads were not there at all, moving out of home would be a boring experience for everyone. Outdoor ads with its glitzy looks and styles and witty messages entertain us all. Outdoor ads indeed excite you and encourage you to move out of home. We are already aware that creating a brand footprint upon the market place is the prime objective of any ad campaign. 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