Taking the Media Wars Outside: A look at Intense Outdoor Advertising in Pakistan Telecom Industry

Abstract

Wherever we go and whatever we do, we are constantly bombarded with advertisements. In the past few years’ outdoor advertising has gained momentum in Pakistan’s advertising scene, attracting interest not only from local advertisers but large multi-national companies. Advertisers are increasingly recognizing the ‘power’ of this medium to reach a highly mobile society that happens to be spending less and less time indoors. It is a truly unique and effective medium. Consider the number of times one is exposed to outdoor advertising each day; be it commuting to work, driving to the shops or meeting friends for dinner. It is unavoidable and cannot be switched off. Therefore it impacts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Outdoor advertising gives companies the flexibility to interchange their creative among different site locations at their convenience to compliment their current media campaign. Basically this medium enables organizations to reach their target market with multiple visuals and establish brand and/or product awareness. In an age of ever-increasing specialization, with media focusing on smaller and smaller slices of the population, outdoor advertising, particularly billboards, remains the champion of the generic and the all-inclusive. Many think only of billboards when thinking of outdoor advertising. However, the category contains far more than just billboards. Other types of out-of-home advertising include signage on transit and bus shelters, bus exterior ads, street furniture such as public benches and more. The humble billboard itself has undergone a metamorphosis in the last several years. Advancements in billboard technology include vinyl and computerized painting as well as backlighting. These advancements boost billboards’ ability to capture viewers’ attention. Of course, outdoor advertising has its drawbacks. Many consumers feel that billboards are hazardous but at the same time they feel the signs are entertaining. The focus of the thesis was to analyze the outdoor industry in Pakistan and the intense advertising being done by cellular companies on this particular medium. The fact that outdoor industry is not structured but it helps increase awareness and complements other mass mediums is indeed true. The results of the survey and analysis supported all three hypotheses. The industry is unstructured as consumers feel there is no standard regulatory body overlooking the positioning and quality of billboard structures. Cellular companies like other national and multi-nationals firms are advertising on billboards as well as on television and in newspapers. They have rented billboards of various sizes and are displaying their latest advertising campaigns in clear, legible format around major thoroughfares of a city. Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and Warid are the most common advertisers in the cellular market. Paktel and Instaphone are not advertising on this particular medium like the other four competitors. When asked respondents about various outdoor cellular campaigns many referred to Telenor Talkshawk being the best but Mobilink’s Indigo and Jazz Ladies First connection are also stored in consumers evoked set. Traffic jams are a typical site in most metropolitan cities; therefore most advertisers display their billboards at major traffic signals/squares/chowks. These locations have been deemed prime sites because many cars stop at a traffic signal for at least one minute and the passengers and drivers cannot miss huge billboards of 30x90 feet, with luscious colors and attractive visuals. The effectiveness of this medium is a proof of the budding growth in outdoor advertising adspend which is around 14 percent. Outdoor was not even considered in advertising spend calculations until recently when the industry starting growing at a rapid pace. The outdoor industry has a lot to offer to the advertisers and of course the billboard site owners. Outdoor advertising has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a roadside poster. It is pure and unfettered, a proud beacon, beautifully rendering a product's benefits and whereabouts to a large market.