While it is true that digital out-of-home (DOOH)  is the latest buzz in the outdoor advertising space and more & more brands now prefer taking the help of technology to ensure higher impact of their campaign, there is also no doubt that traditional formats of outdoor advertising still have their own charm. 'Ads-on-wheel' has been one such most loved traditional OOH advertising format used by brands time and again to become a part of the people’s everyday life. FairPlay, Uber and Zepto too recently took this route for their campaigns. While betting app FairPlay covered Mumbai Metro trains with creatives of the brand, Uber collaborated with comedian Aakash Gupta to share punchlines on the back of auto-rickshaws. Delivery app Zepto has also done similar collaborations with auto-rickshaws for promoting their recent ‘Nahi Milega’ campaign. 

Such formats of advertising, say experts, tend to be more localised as they amalgamate with the local transit medium and help in creating more brand awareness as well as gain more attention than digital advertising. These ads-on-the-wheel advertisements are sometimes more effective than the traditional ones, say the experts.

Talking about choosing auto-rickshaws and collaborating with Aakash Gupta for their campaign, Ameya Velankar - Head of Marketing for India & South Asia, Uber, said, “Uber has always been anything but conventional. Our intent behind the #UberAutoArt campaign was to go beyond traditional mediums, to become a part of conversations, and eventually a part of India's cultural zeitgeist. Alternate mediums can help in building long-term brand salience and drive preference. As a brand, we stand by people who constantly challenge the status quo in the relentless pursuit of their dreams. We wanted to reimagine the daily commute of these individuals by adding a dose of delight to their everyday travel.” 

“We chose three incredibly popular standup artistes - Aakash Gupta, Prashashti Singh and Aashish Solanki- who helped in infusing their brand of humour to create quirky quotes to be put up on autos. Humour, fueled by memes, has become the voice of a nation, and comedians have become the new lifestyle influencers, leading to instant relatability and a deeper connection with the audience,” he added.

Similarly, when asked about promoting the ‘Nahi Milega’ campaign’ through auto- rickshaws again, Anant Rastogi, Associate Director-Brand Marketing,  Zepto, said, “Our OOH campaigns have not only targeted all markets but leveraged cultural nuances like local languages and local product SKUs to optimize ROIs. We have realised that these are intrinsic to the way shoppers respond to our communication, especially in markets like Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.” 

“Transit mediums like autos and metros have been another strong touchpoint in Zepto’s communication. The opportunity to explore creative avenues across these formats has also been immense, be it visually or in terms of content. Our recent ‘Nahi Milega’ campaign that went live across all 10 markets of presence was tailored to address every individual market uniquely.”

Expalining why these mediums sometimes help brands more than any other format, Haresh Nayak, CEO & Founder, of Connect Network Inc, said, “Client's objectives are very clear and the metric has to be in reach, frequency, and impact. Reach and frequency is with the traditional mediums but when it comes to impact, or making it viral, gorilla marketing becomes imperative. In such instances, one takes multiple new media options, for example, in Worli, there is a digital bus shelter which was recently built. It has facilities like charging points and a book library, and it also runs advertising campaigns on the top.” 

“So it is very unique. When you take such mediums not only one gets virality but also the impact. And they are very important because nowadays the world is full of clutter with social media and short attention spans. So one needs such disruptive mediums to break through the clutter.”

Adding the brand’s perspective, Velankar shared, “The role of advertising is to maximize reach, build awareness and generate demand. For #UberAutoArt, our intent was to reshape the way customers perceive the brand. The idea here was not to peg any channel against the other but rather to build brand love in a hyperlocal way. We wanted to complement the launch of our brand campaign by creating some delightful moments for the audience.”

“The 'ads-on-wheel' concept isn't new. That notwithstanding, we reimagined this with a clutter-breaking concept to drive memorability and increase relevance and share of voice. As a brand, our approach to marketing has always been content and insight-led. Content that personifies our brand values. Our quotes behind autos don't carry any CTA - they are purely to drive positivity amongst our resilient aspirers,” he added.

According to Nayak, ‘lift advertising’ and ‘gate advertising’ are two other traditional mediums which are very popular when it comes to OOH. 

While talking about the future of these mediums, Rastogi of Zepto, said, “With advances in technology, the scope for groundbreaking outdoor advertising concepts, especially immersive ones that leverage ambiance, will continue to grow. At Zepto, we will constantly focus on creative innovations and push ourselves to execute out-of-the-box concepts all through our funnel.”

Velankar also seconded that it is an important medium for brands to create an impact and register the brand in the minds of consumers. He said, “It's imperative for brands to identify where they exist in the lives of their customers. Autos are everywhere around us, and we decided to use them to create differentiation by staying true to our brand ethos: Bold, Direct, and With Heart. Brands are increasingly attuning their personality to different sub-cultures. The secret sauce lies in building contextual and timely communication that is relevant to the medium.”