By Abhijit Sengupta
CEO, Outdoor Advertising Professionals (I) Pvt. Ltd
Nursing a drink and watching Kaun Banega Crorepati, Manoj, a good friend and colleague of mine, yelled at the TV, “Bloody stupid!”. Intellectuals over the years have said that liquor brings out the truth, and in this case I knew that those couple of pegs had started working. Well, Big B was going through a bad phase for sure, but he couldn’t be blamed for the birth of Small B and termed stupid. Being a fan of the superstar, I protested and was genuinely interested in the game. With another round of expletives from Manoj, I understood that he was referring to the participants. That also surprised me, because their general knowledge was at least better than ours. But Manoj had a point. He felt it was unnecessary to go through the ordeal of scanning, then fastest finger first and finally the mind-crushing quiz.
Being a crorepati (millionaire) is simple. Just join outdoor advertising. No questions asked, no lifelines required, and knowledge is at best a secondary requirement. The handful of such crorepatis is the envy of those who earn their money the hard way. Keeping track of umpteen new companies venturing into the “unknown” outdoors is difficult.
There are rich men galore. Two months ago, I got a call from a chap in Kolkata. I recall this guy as a ‘5x5’ (he spent five years in Class V), who would certainly have beaten everyone, had there been a teen patti championship. Today, he is the proud owner of a company with seven billboards in Kolkata. A small link in Mamatadi’s TMC earned him a fortune. I can also mention a new media owner who wanted to buy a luxury car, but couldn’t pronounce or write the name of the car manufacturer. He actually drew the five circles of Audi to explain it to my friend. I hear all his unauthorized billboards were razed with the change in guard at the municipal corporation, but that is another story.
Millionaires (I am still conservative about saying billionaires) in outdoor agencies are well-organized. By the time the management realizes that such a crorepati is in the making, the person easily slips into another agency. The speed at which the email IDs of such meteors change, it might challenge the very theory of speed. Don’t be surprised if you see many of us with words branded on our arms, like Bachchan in Deewar, but with a different message: “Main chor nahi hoon” courtesy the MD.
The low entry barrier has been the biggest problem in outdoor media. The leading outdoor agencies and media owners can regulate this. So can the government and advertisers. If we add up all the billboards in India, we will surely beat the length of the Great Wall of China. Indians love thalis. Outdoor media in India is like a huge thali, with lots on the plate. To reduce the visual overload, the numbers have to go down drastically. That will ensure a good entry barrier, higher and better investments. Also, the day advertisers start demanding Return on Investment and a transparent process, the handful of shady operators will depart.
I hope to see a real fastest finger first. And millionaires, if not billionaires, but with money earned the right way.
Feedback:abhijit@oapindia.com
