Out-of-Home Does Good

I had posted several Out-of-Home executions that have done good, as in literally - Leo Burnett Chicago & Sydney took on Coca-Cola's Happiness Without Borders to a new level.

Taken from the website:

In March 2013, Coca-Cola set out to break down barriers and create a simple moment of connection between two nations -- India and Pakistan. The initiative "Small World Machines" provided a live communications portal between people in India and Pakistan and showed that what unites us is stronger than what sets us apart. The key to engaging with each other through the machines was simple: people in India and Pakistan could complete a task, like touching hands, drawing peace, love, and happiness symbols -- together.

Let OOH reach you in all senses - sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Then let it touch your heart. Coca-Cola rolls out happiness in the other campaign here

To more good things, good times and good Out-Of-Home advertising.

"Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one."

Image from here

Thank you 2013. 

Happy 2014.

To more good things, good times and good Out-Of-Home advertising.

Boom in advertising expenditure in Myanmar - Channel NewsAsia

After a series of consecutive blog posts about Myanmar, Yangon - Myanmar, rising among Southeast Asia, Myanmar - Rising, Exciting and Ever Changing and Changing.... and finally, 27th SEA Games 2013 Myanmar Nay Pyi Taw, I was really looking forward to post on something else, but this Channel NewsAsia article caught my eye with specific reporting on Myanmar's advertising scene. Full details including video interview in the Channel NewsAsia link:

Boom in advertising expenditure in Myanmar - Channel NewsAsia
POSTED: 26 Dec 2013 15:37
With the recent entries of many international brands, advertising expenditure in Myanmar is growing by leaps and bounds. Last year, it increased five-fold to some US$118 million, and by the end of this year it is expected to be US$180 million. 

YANGON: With the recent entries of many international brands, advertising expenditure in Myanmar is growing by leaps and bounds. According to a local research firm, five years ago advertising expenditure was worth just US$24 million. 

Last year, it increased five-fold to some US$118 million, and by the end of this year it is expected to be US$180 million. 

The advertising scene is quickly changing with the creativity in foreign competition, which is in turn firing up the attempts of local companies in this fast-changing market. 

 Renowned international brands like Coke and Unilever are the latest advertising game changers in Myanmar. 

 Myint Zaw, president of Professional Marketers Association, said: "In 2010, you're advertising because you want to be known. But now it's a need to engage with consumers to get your business. So for local companies' advertising, they need to be more creative, more innovative and more alive. Only then they can make differentiation and only by differentiation, they can make their market share more sustainable and gain some growth." 

Television advertisements currently take up the lion's share of the market, followed by newspapers. It is likely to stay that way for some time to come.

Thurein Nyein, MMRD Research Services’ general manager, said: "Television can reach the Myanmar consumers across the country because the print media like the weekly newspaper or the daily newspaper might have limitation. Television can reach at least 80-90 percent for national TV or at least 20 percent of the total population for the regional TV. 

"For social media, it is just at the picking-up stage… usage is coming up. Compared to the last two years, young people and adults have just started using Facebook. But we still do not see too much of advertisements on social media at this moment.” 

Advertisements selling cars and financial products will also be the next growing trend in Myanmar as such products cater to consumers with rapidly growing spending power. 

With few media outlets in the past, companies had limited opportunities on where to advertise and how to market themselves. 

But that has since changed because the Myanmar government has liberalised the media sector, allowing for more newspapers as well as TV channels to operate.

Companies will also now have to be more focused on where they want to advertise and who they want to target. This means an ad that works in Yangon may not be suitable for those living in the other parts of the country because of different tastes, needs and lifestyles. - CNA/xq

--

27th SEA Games 2013 Myanmar Nay Pyi Taw

I read with great interest as the 27th SEA Games 2013 Myanmar Nay Pyi Taw is nearing its final week. The SEA games is not as well covered as other international sporting events. Furthermore, given the games village location in Myanmar Nay Pyi Taw, even the response of the locals in Myanmar is not overwhelming. I have been watching the SEA Games updates online here Last Sunday 15 Dec 2013, Singapore seem to be doing well especially at the swims and also football as Singapore is confirmed to be in the semi-finals after the 1-1 draw with our neighboring Malaysia.

Given the speed of which Myanmar is developing over the last 18 months and how quickly it has set up itself for the SEA games, I am frankly impressed. Myanmar set to take over Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair in 2014. The saying that 2014 is the year of Myanmar is not far-fetch at all.

Myanmar - Rising, Exciting and Ever Changing and Changing....

As the economy grows, the overall media scene in Myanmar is growing by leaps and bounds.

Dailies and Journals at a Typical Newspapers Kiosk along the Myanmar Streets

From my last heard, there are at least 25 newspapers in Myanmar and depending on if they are government newspapers, private or even club newspapers, different content and advertising can be published within. It would be worth the efforts to meander through all these different factors if both readership and circulation are high. Out-of-Home advertising is still key to reach out in high density Asian countries especially with high fragmentation and no clear leaders in other media.

A recent New York Times article spelt out the reality of newspapers in our digital era even in one of the newest emergent countries in the world:
 From the New York Times

Publishers suffering from lack of advertising and competition from Internet

27 NOVEMBER 2013
YANGON — Myanmar’s journalists celebrated this year when the government lifted a five-decade ban on private newspapers.
But six months after a dozen dailies rushed into production, journalists who had withstood the wrath and cruelty of a military dictatorship are struggling against something much more mundane: Market forces.

Despite expectations of pent-up demand, publishers say they are suffering from a lack of advertising and competition from the Internet.

“Every publisher is bleeding,” said Mr U Sonny Swe, Chief Executive of the Mizzima Media Group, which publishes a daily. “You have to be ready to fight. And ready to lose.”

Three of the 12 dailies introduced this year have already shut down, and none of the remaining nine are reporting profits, publishers say.

Some of the challenges facing Myanmar’s new dailies are the same as those that have confronted the news business globally for years, like declining readership for print publications.

But Myanmar’s new dailies are also operating in an impoverished country where the legacy of military rule is pervasive. The private dailies are competing with state-run newspapers that were the mouthpieces of the junta and remain in business.

Distribution in big cities is still unreliable for private papers, especially during the rainy season, and it is nearly nonexistent in the countryside. And a typical cover price of 20 cents (S$0.25) a copy for the private papers is too high for many readers, publishers say. State-run publications sell for a fraction of that.

Ms Daw Nyein Nyein Naing, Executive Editor at The 7 Day Daily, one of the new newspapers, said finding good reporters has also been difficult. Her reporters are addicted to Facebook, she said, and often post scoops on their Facebook pages, rather than filing stories to their editors.

She also lamented that many readers appeared to prefer dailies and weeklies that she said ran sensational articles of dubious veracity. “People are not buying quality,” she said.

Smaller newspapers, meanwhile, do not have the kind of financial support that large private daily newspapers enjoy, where they are effectively subsidised by a weekly journal.

Mr U Thiha Saw, a long-time journalist who clashed with censors many times during military rule, runs the country’s only private English-language daily, Myanma Freedom Daily.

“We scrimped and saved and sold our apartment,” he said. “Relatives and friends chipped in.” He is considering courting outside investors but is worried that their money might come with “strings attached”.

Journalists say they face unfair competition from the state-run newspapers, especially because the state publications sell for a fraction of the price and have plentiful advertising — a legacy of military rule when they were the only dailies in the country.

Mr U Kyaw Zwa Moe, Editor of the English edition of the Irrawaddy, a widely-read Internet news site that also publishes a monthly magazine, said the state-run papers are an impediment to the development of a free press in the country.

“In a democratic society, you don’t expect the Ministry of Information to publish newspapers,” he said. “It’s a barrier for the freedom of the press, and for private and independent media groups.”

In the long term, both private and state-run newspapers are likely to find it harder than ever, editors say.

With Internet connections improving and big foreign telecommunications companies poised to install mobile phone networks that could bring tens of millions of people online for the first time, Myanmar is likely to follow the global trend of people looking online for their news.

“Newspapers are so new for this country — that is why everyone is publishing,” said Mr Sonny Swe. “But you don’t want to be in newspapers for 10 years. Our future is in mobile.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES

On an even more exciting note - the 27th South East Asia Games (SEA Games) are upcoming and the countdown to the opening ceremony is going on. It is less than 11 days to the opening ceremony on 11 Dec 2013. The games will be taking place in both Yangon and the capital city - Nyapyitaw.

SEA Games Souvenir Naypyitaw Junction Mall

One of the most watched events would be the FOOTBALL and host country Myanmar has its eyes set on a gold. In fact, as published in the TODAY ONLINE, "Myanmar’s Sports Minister Tint Hsan has also set a target of 100 gold medals for the nation’s more than 1,000 athletes competing across the Games’ 33 sports."

Temporary SEA Games Billboard Traders Hotel 

I am sure Myanmar will do their own country proud as with all other projects that have been going on now. I am looking forward to that!

Myanmar, rising among Southeast Asia

By Chris Ong

Among the various Southeast Asia countries, Myanmar is rising and making an impact in the region. With the other regional countries having the head start, the gap between them and Myanmar would be even more obvious. But things are about to change. Since the welcome of its political freedom, we can see the global influence to the country’s culture and economic status.

With the opening market, we can see International banks penetrating. From Bloomberg BusinessWeek report,  we can see Key players like Visa and MasterCard are aggressively finding collaborating partners and setting up ATMs in Myanmar to made a presence in Myanmar. We are proud to be part of the effort for the MasterCard campaign in Yangon International Airport. Strategically located at key locations in the Airport, MasterCard welcomes the visitors and also “reminds” them their presence in the country with simple and impactful message and placements. 

Yangon International Airport Arrival MasterCard Greetings

Yangon International Airport Arrival
 MasterCard Series of Lightboxes

Domestic brands are under huge pressure from the rapid influx of foreign companies, Not only does major western companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are rushing in for opportunities, we can see Asian brands trying to make an impact too. "It is very tough for us, now that these big multinationals are here," said Sai Sam Htun, chairman of the Loi Hein Group of Cos., one of Myanmar's largest conglomerates, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Billboard Scene at Yangon CBD located at
Bo Gyoke and Sule Pagoda Road

Jetstar billboard with us at the corner of Bo Gyoke 

and Sule Pagoda road, facing Trader Hotel

China brand like Midea and ChangHong have their brands advertised along the streets and roads of Yangon. Not only will they be competing with the domestic brands for home appliances market, big players like LG, Panasonic and Samsung have their own outdoor advertising billboards all across the country in strategic locations.

Chang Hong Electronic billboard at Yangon Airport Road

Midea strategic billboard placement just outside of the
Airport along the Airport Road

Following the report from The Economist, telecommunication and IT infrastructures are growing at a healthy speed, no wonder HTC and Smasung are spending big money with billboard placements located at key locations to target their consumers. Along the busy streets in Yangon, we can see that these giant mobile phone makers are always trying to make their product the most prominent and head on by the vehicles and the human traffic.

HTC Wall Facade along the busy streets of Yangon CBD Area

Samsung showing off their flagship Galaxy Note II phone
along the major road leading to Traders Hotel

As the culture opens up more, the Burmese are more tech and IT savvy, we can see advertisement for IT product can be seen all around Myanmar. For Kyocera, they see this as a chance to penetrate into this growing market. Their regional campaign with us targets the regional market like Bangladesh, Nepal and also Yangon. Their Yangon campaign was done with a placement at the Airport arrival; they will be able to capture the attention of all the arrival passengers.

Kyocera Light box prominently located at

 Yangon International Airport Arrival

konica Minolta situated before the turn into

Yangon Railway Station

Myanmar’s auto market is now blossoming too. Most of the market is dominated by Japanese automakers like Nissan Motor and Nissan, but western companies like Ford motor and General Motors have all established or plan to establish presence in the newly open country. Hitching a ride from the Korean wave, Hyundai will also be setting up their shop in Myanmar. Younger people of Myanmar are influenced by Korean culture; they are walking into showrooms looking for cars that were shown in Korean drama.

Naypyidaw, which have just recently opened their International Airport, have seen a growth in the market. This capital of Myanmar have held the World Economic Forum 2013 during this year’s June, ever since, Naypyidaw have been in the radar of various investors. To target the investors who are there for the forum, MasterCard have worked through us to locate a premium site which helps to create an impression to them and also the tourist and locals of Naypyidaw.

Located at a prominent location before

 reaching Junction Center of Naypyidaw.

The second largest city which is situated north of Yangon is the capital of Mandalay region. Mandalay is the economic hub of Upper Burma and is considered the center of Burmese culture. With the high influx of Chinese immigrants, it has shaped the city’s ethic makeup and increased commerce with China.

Mandalay is the major trading and communications center for northern and central Burma. Much of Burmese external trade to China and India goes through Mandalay.

Mandalay City Center 

With so many different kinds of industries heading into Myanmar, we are sure that the outdoor scene there will get even more vibrant than what we see now. Investors will definitely keep this country within their radar for more investment.  

Poster, Posters Everywhere

By Chris Ong

Other than trailers, the second thing that will force me to shell out the money from my wallet to watch a movie in the theaters would be the movie poster. Movie posters are usually clean and simple, usually showing the genre of the movie using simple pictures.

As the number of blockbuster yearly increase, it would be harder for these movie makers to stand out among the stars. In recent years, we can see movie makers spending more and more budget in outdoor advertising for their new movies.

Outdoor advertising works wonder for movies; they usually create word of mouth both physically and also digitally. This would greatly improve the campaign awareness and also create a greater impact and feel to the movie.

One of the simple and my personal favorite execution for is done quite some time ago for the movie “The Day After Tomorrow”, which is about Manhattan being overwhelmed by a huge tsunami.

Half Submerged billboard creating an impactful message for the movie and created a buzz

This creative placement was done in India Mumbai. The billboard poster itself is pretty straight forward, but it’s the location of it that's clever and witty. Its message is totally in line with that of the movie, and you just can’t help but look at it. It clearly shows the theme of the movie and effectively promotes it.

To sell the futuristic theme of the movie “Tron Legacy”, Fluorescent lights were used to show a different feel to this huge movie poster along the streets of United State.

Simple movie title for Tron Legacy by Disney, wait till you see the night version…

Now, THIS is Tron! 

We see how this simple movie poster was portraying the theme of the movie across to the consumers. With bright neon light lighted for the movie title, both human and vehicle traffics would be sure to notice the gigantic poster.

Remember the movie “Inception”?  They are the talk of the town some time back, with a huge cast of actors and a wonderful story line  They have spent quite a bit on out of home advertising with great placement at strategic location in France and United State.

What is real? The building or the gushing water?

Now, the dream is real! 

Cleverly using the tall building along the streets, the posters and billboards manage to show the movie’s concept and grab the interest and target the passerby. With a placement so big and a concept so special, these poster will sure to generate a talking point and create awareness across the nation.

With strategic placement and simple and clear message, we can see how movie posters can hooks a person’s interest of a movie in just an instance. To end it off, I would like to share one interesting campaign for the movie “Contagion” which was done at Canada. Wonderful campaign and true to the message it wants to bring across. Not to mention, using something that you would never think of, bacteria.