New guidelines for outdoor ads evoke mixed reactions from industry

In the past week, the MIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) has formulated policy guidelines to issue and advertise government guidelines to external media and personal media.

The new framework by MIB comes at the beginning of the election season in the nation and at a time when OOH will see another amplification. As the outdoor media publicity space continues to evolve and spread in addition to traditional outdoor media (such as wall paintings, hoardings, etc.), new technologies and new spaces for outdoor publicity have come up. Therefore, it has become the need of the hour to determine the modalities for engaging with such media platforms for assured access to the Ministry. In addition, the guidelines will serve as a general point of reference for stakeholders in outdoor publicity media for the execution of outdoor publicity projects of the Government of India.

The objectives mentioned in the guidelines by MIB are as follows:

1. To enable the government for better reach and mass communication. By producing effective and people-centric creative content at maximum rates, in a competitive, transparent and time bound manner.
2. To provide stakeholders a clear understanding of the parameters and process of selection, job rewards, rate determination, and other related aspects for transparent and efficient execution of outdoor publicity.

The eligibility criteria for agencies applying for rates under Category A and Category C of external and personal media will be required to meet the following criteria:

1. The agency should either possess the rights of advertisement for the desired media from the officers earmarked for Category A or, in the opinion of the BOC, should be eligible, the BOC under Category C will determine the documents / evidence submitted by the agencies . Support their claims.
2. The agency should apply for media, which has been set up and commissioned. BOC will not consider media which is in conception / production stage.
3. The agency should not be temporarily suspended by the BOC at the time of the rate application and should not be permanently de-empaneled or blacklisted by the BOC. No agency seeking BOC rates should be involved in a criminal act for which the agency owner or director or promoter has been convicted by a court of law. Any agency that wants BOC rates for its media must comply with all the laws of the land.
4. With respect to Category C media, the BOC shall ensure that only such media are considered which qualify as a proprietary item under Rule 166 of the GFR. The feasibility of any media eligible under this category will be reviewed by the BOC after six (6) months to determine whether the media should continue on the BOC panel.

In the context of rate fixation, in a claus he states that if the license fee is the only major criterion on the basis of which media rights have been acquired by the agency / firm (ie, the agency does not require it) of the media or related structure. Construction), the BOC rate will be a maximum of twice the license fee.

A prominent OOH owner, who did not want to come on record, sharing his perspective on this section of the policy guidelines, "has shared that they will double the license fee, where there will be no other expense except the license fee "If billboards and structures are provided by the municipal corporation, then we only have to pay the rent. They will pay double the license which is a good possibility."

Another clause mentioned that the BOC would approve 60-75% of the average commercial rate based on factors such as the city and state / UT where the media is located, media visibility, other media available. . Along with the BOC for the same city / location, the BOC rate for other media in the vicinity, etc., provided that the commercial work orders are reliable.

To this, an OOH owner, sharing his concerns, commented, "This clause did not work. 60% of our commercial rate is not equal to double the amount of profit. This clause is a serious issue. I think That if the range is 60-75% then our license fees will be only 30% for board, structure and license. This does not seem profitable in the current market environment. Clarity on who will set up the commercial business and how it will be set up Is lacking. There should be a set benchmark for this."