HT Media to launch new OOH campaign, retains PrimeSite

Rahul Kapoor - Televisionpoint.com | New Delhi
On back of a strong performance by its Hindi daily (Hindustan), near break even in the radio business (Fever FM) and reduced losses in the Internet venture, Hindustan Times (HT) Media, has decided to strengthen its brand presence in the markets its operates, through innovative out-of-home (OOH) campaigns.

Following an multi-agency pitch, Mudra Marketing Services' integrated OOH communication solutions agency, PrimeSite, has retained the OOH media duties of HT Media, which will launch an new outdoor campaign soon. The size of the account is pegged at Rs 6 crore.

The pitch process involved three brands of HT Media – Hindustan Times, Hindustan and Fever FM. Primesite has been handling the account for the past five years. PrimeSite's focus on OOH signage, visual merchandising and design, along with outdoor advertising, has helped it retain the account, sources said.

Around eight OOH agencies are reported to have participated in the pitch, including Primesite, Portland, Platinum and Navia India, among others. The brief given to the agencies was to break a campaign for HT City (Delhi supplement) and HT Café (Mumbai supplement).

Hindustan Times is in the final process of revamping its content presentation with the intention of attracting the younger generation of readers. Lowe, creative agency of HT Media, has come up with an OOH campaign, titled 'It is time', which gives a peek into the minds of young India.

One of the creatives has the picture of a woman sipping her morning tea saying, "For newspapers to make sense of the world around me," followed by the tagline - It is time.

Another creative shows the same woman, saying it is time "For newspapers to look at the world from my point of view". The third creative features a young man standing at a platform of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), saying it is time, "For cynics to stop saying kuchh nahin hoga".

The fourth one shows a waterlogged road in the backdrop - because of a heavy downpour - with a young professional saying that it is time "For governments to become a lot more accountable." The fifth creative is set in a classroom and a young man is shown raising his hand to say it is time "To stop being a mute spectator and start taking part."

Shantanu Bhanja, vice-president, marketing, HT Media, "The objective behind the relaunch was to refresh the brand HT with a new positioning, more relevant for the new generation of readers, who are used to news sources other than newspapers."

The campaign, targeted at young readers in the age group of 25-30 years, kicked off with outdoor backed by print. Lowe plans to come up with a series of TVCs and radio ads shortly. The OOH campaign, executed by Primesite, principally focusing on Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh, with further visibility built in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Lucknow.

The outdoor campaign is planned in a phased manner. Similar to the first phase that began early this month, the second phase will have a separate set of topical ads covering other youth-related issues.

Rajiv Verma, chief executive officer, HT Media, says, "We had a steady growth in the Mumbai region (Hindustan Times) and rising contribution from Uttar Pradesh (new edition launches under Hindustan) are the key growth drivers for the company's advertising revenue. We aim to spend in these belts to consolidate our position."

During the financial year 2008-2009, Hindustan Times maintained its leadership position in Delhi NCR, while the Mumbai edition continued its upward trend registering 4 per cent growth in readership. In addition, the company is also undertaking trail runs for its state-of-the-art' printing facility in Mumbai, which is expected to commence shortly.

Hindustan, the Hindi daily, continued to witness healthy momentum. Overall, average issue readership grew by 1 per cent, while registering 6 per cent growth in the UP region, thus significantly reducing the gap with competition.

Based on the recent IRS survey, Mint has clearly established itself as the second largest business daily registering growth of almost 25 per cent in readership to 1,75,000 across India. The company plans to expand footprint of Mint with the Chennai edition that will be launched on July 13, while other editions will be launched later during the year.

Fever FM has now become the leading radio station in Mumbai and Bangalore. Despite the weakening advertisement market in the metros, HT Media's radio business did surprisingly well in fourth quarter of 2009 registering revenue of Rs 7.4 crore.