Players in the outdoor medium have come together to form an association to lobby with the government for their rights. Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA), a national body with its office in Mumbai, has leading players of the outdoor medium like Selvel Advertising, Jagran Engage, Times Innovative Media, Clear channel, Prakash Arts and Laqshya Media as its founding members."The main aim of the body is to promote, protect and the advance the interest of the outdoor advertising media companies. The association will ensure cooperation of the companies. The state authorities have some issues which we will help in finding solution to," said Noomi Mehta, managing director, Selvel and the chairman of IOAA. Till date, 15 leading outdoor media companies have associated themselves with the association.As traditional media gets cluttered, out of home media is gaining importance as the medium connects with the consumers while they are out of home. The current domestic size of the industry is estimated to be Rs 1,200 crore and by the end of this financial year, the industry is expected to close at Rs 1,400 crore. The industry is growing at 17 to 18% year-on-year."Currently there are no uniformity in the industry. We will try and frame certain rules which will establish some uniformity in the industry. The outdoor medium in India is not at par with the international outdoor medium, our efforts will be to bridge the gap," said Indrajit Sen, business head and COO, Jagran Engage and vice chairman, IOAA.The association aims to play the role of a consultant so that the friction between the state government and the outdoor medium players can be reduced. Currently, in Mumbai, the hoarding owners are facing the wrath of Bhrinmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the association hopes to play a role in the solving this problem.
