Bangladesh has seen its fair share of dynamicity when it comes to outdoor advertising during recent times and, surely, reached the point where it has become the new coolest thing in the marketing industry. The rapid growth in outdoor advertising methods has brought about success for many a brand. And, here’s why you should jump into the bandwagon as well!
Outdoor advertisements have been the most creative and innovative form of advertising all over the world for quite a long time. Studies show that it is the second most effective form of advertising when it comes to ROI. And in terms of spreading brand awareness, it is definitely the first choice of many large and powerful brands all over the world.
Bangladesh has indulged in outdoor advertising from the very beginning. However, the development in this field was a little slow with painting advertisements on billboards being more-or-less the only method of OOH. But recently, the introduction of LED billboards in Dhaka City has turned into a revolution for outdoor advertising in Bangladesh.
These billboards are liked and appreciated by brands and consumers alike. Being soundless, they don’t add to the noise of the city and yet provide something to look at while sitting in the awful traffic. And now, there are even more innovative technologies and methods coming to the field of outdoor advertising in Bangladesh, making it more of an attractive choice for brands to cater towards.
With the progress in OOH, Bangladesh has already seen more than a few successful outdoor marketing campaigns. All of which brought about massive success to the brands introducing them.
One example of the most effective campaigns of recent times is the RFL Bijoyer Golpo campaign, turning out to be a very innovative use of outdoor advertising making use of the already available resources. RFL group painted various scenes of the National War of Bangladesh on the back of 10 thousand rickshaws. This campaign single-handedly added to the beauty of roads in Dhaka city, spread knowledge of the history of our country, made the RFL group even more reputed and increased their web traffic because of the clever use of QR codes.
Outdoor advertising has given this and many other brands the ability to reach out and relate to people from all walks of life with one single campaign. OOH is so powerful that it can turn the heads around and become the buzz all over the country within just a day. Which, many brands in Bangladesh are finding their way in.
On April 4 in 2015, a huge billboard collapsed near Dhaka Club during a nor’wester leaving two rickshaw-pullers dead. According to reports, at least three people have been killed and 14 hurt in billboard collapse since 2009. This led to safety concerns surrounding hoardings located in Dhaka.
A large number of illegal and unplanned billboards have developed in Dhaka city and, in turn, posing safety issues on city natives along with causing aesthetic problems. According to some data available to the civic bodies, 90% of the billboards in the city were established without permission. Moreover, the rules don’t allow any billboard to be larger than 600 square feet, but there are more than a few hoardings that are larger than 1000 square feet.
In August 2019, Anisul Haque, the Mayor of Dhaka North, made a statement upon the query of High Court for an explanation regarding illegal and unauthorized billboards, posters, banners, and other publicity materials in Dhaka city, saying that DNCC will take actions against illegal usage of billboards and posters on establishments. [The Independent]
At present, the legal billboards in DNCC have been removed and mobile courts are being held every week in order to remove illegal ones. DNCC has removed about 70 big billboards already.
This situation with billboards has given way to new technology in the outdoor advertising industry. One of them being digital or LED billboards. The monopoles in Dhaka North City Corporation are small in size and yet effective medium of advertising. People find the LED boards something new and pleasing to the eyes. And they don’t pose safety issues.
Another new method of advertising in the field of OOH that can be a solution to this whole ban of billboard issue is the introduction of mobile billboards.
Mobile billboards have recently become an exciting trend for outdoor advertising in many cities around the globe. Dhaka has finally jumped into the trend as well and is introducing mobile LED screens. A new advertising agency, Mad’ad Digital, has introduced digital screens on vans that will drive around Dhaka city while showing advertisements of different products. The screens will play soundless commercials along with videos on social and educational campaigns.
One of their vans has already been traversing the roads of Dhaka since September. Introduction of more vans will add a little to the huge traffic of Dhaka city but provide a safe and interesting method of marketing. The advertisements are going to be based on 30-second slots and require a minimum of a 3-months agreement from the brand.
These digital boards mounted van is very catchy to the eye and
will provide a medium of entertainment to the people stuck in traffic.
Moreover, these billboards won’t ruin the beauty of the city or
make it look messy and rather add to it.
Considering the recent issues surrounding billboards in Dhaka and the taking down all standing billboards, mobile billboards have a very high possibility of becoming the future of outdoor advertising. As discussed earlier, the large number of illegal billboards have left the civic bodies without many options but demolishing them. But billboards are an amazing way of advertising because of their power to grab people’s attention. This makes the mobile billboards even more effective and safer route to go.
In the overly competitive market of today, businesses need to brand themselves very effectively to survive. And when it comes to advertising, people are always attracted to something new, something unique and innovative. Outdoor advertisements may have them both - uniqueness and effectiveness in their best form.