Influence of Outdoor Advertising on Public

Influence of Outdoor Advertising on Public 2012
2
I
Introduction

3
Advertising is as old as mankind. It is embedded in our lives as is food,
sleep and speech. We all communicate, persuade, influence and lead to some
action every day in our lives.
In fact, Padamsee, the ex-CEO of Lintas says “when a man wears trouser-
shirt ensemble instead of a dhoti, he is advertising he is westernized. When a
woman wears lipstick, she is advertising that she wants to look beautiful. When
a neta delivers a speech, he is advertising that he wants to be noticed. Ads are
parts of human nature to be noticed.” Advertising is “Truth well told”,
according to McCann Ericsson, the first ad agency for Coca-Cola.
Advertising is a form of persuasive communication with the public. The
American Marketing Association, Chicago, defines advertising as “any, paid
form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods and services by an
identified sponsor.” Ad may be any form of presentation, an illustration in a
newspaper or magazine, a television commercial, or a bill board. It is not on a
person-to-person basis, but targeted to the general public. The advertisement
can be for any product, service or idea. It may vary from toothpaste to life
insurance, to even public service ads which sell ideas like road safety, eye
donation, etc…
Advertising is the communication link between the buyer and the seller. It
goes further from providing information; it persuades the consumers to accept
the idea or buy the product or service, with the help of reasoning and emotional
appeals.

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Source:
www.tdiindia.com
Ad is a potent tool of marketing and a component of overall promotion
activities. The marketing operation of any business is guided by its market plan
which has the best possible mix of four variables, namely, the nature of the
product, the price if the product, the channels of distribution which take the
product to the consumer and the promotional activities.
With the help of marketing research, the advertiser is the knowledge and
data about the consumer, the product, and the market. These data are about the
consumers, who they are, what are their needs, what is their buying behavior,
what are the product qualities desired by them, who are the competitors and the
extent of competition, and a great deal more information. These are useful in
planning advertising programmes, and in selecting the type of media to be
employed.
In advertising terms, medium is a channel of communication, some
examples of advertising media are newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and
internet. A medium is a vehicle through which an ad is carried to the consumer.
It is the mediator between the creator of the ad at one end and the consumer at
the other.

5
As a matter of fact, media too have a market o their own and work hard to
sell their media related services. Newspapers try to increase their circulation
while electronic media try to get more viewership and listenership.
Once a medium has been established with a significant audience, it is in a
stronger position to attract advertisers to their medium. Advertisers are
constantly on the lookout for such audiences to put across their promotional
messages.
Types of media
Effective advertising refers to informing the public about the right
product at the right time through the right medium. Conveying the right
message at the wrong time or through the wrong medium would be a waste of
resources. Therefore, the right media selection is the crux of the success of the
entire ad campaign. However, the right message, time and place are also equally
important.
Media selection decision refers to only the selection of a specific medium
of advertising, such as newspaper, or magazine or radio or TV, or outdoor
advertising. On the other hand media planning is a general term encompassing
decisions involving the time and place of advertising in addition to the selection
of the medium. A media plan outlines how advertising time and space in various
Media
Print
Newspapers Magazines
Direct
Mail
Electronic
TV Radio Cinema
Outdoor
Billboards
/Banners
Digital
Hoardings
Transit
advertising
Other media

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media will be used to achieve the marketing objectives of the company through
advertising.
One advertiser confesses “half of my advertising is wasted. The problem
is, I don’t know which half.”
Media planning is significant due to the constant reports that advertising
is wasteful. With the right methodology in media planning, an advertiser can
achieve elimination of wasteful advertising up to a great extent. The
effectiveness of an advertisement depends on when and where it is released.

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Outdoor advertising
Outdoor advertising is actually the oldest form of advertising. It can be
traced back to the wall graphics of the Stone Age. The use of signs in
advertising dates back to the days of ancient Rome and Greece. During this era,
signs were used to mark the location of mercantile establishments. Traders in
those days used signs outside buildings and along the routes as a means of mass
communication. Today’s outdoor media of advertising are nothing but a
refinement of the ancient method of delivering a message to a large group of
people.
It is believed that a human being spends a third of his life outdoors. There
are millions of commuters travelling by cars, bikes, buses, trains and taxis.
Outdoor advertising makes the travelling of these millions of people
entertaining on the road. The potential of outdoor advertising in India was
recognized by the founder for Selvel ad agency, S K Nicholson. In 1941, he set
up the first hoarding at Grant Road on Sattar Building, Mumbai.
Aaren, another leading ad agency of the era started making using this
medium of advertising from 1962, with a modest 8’x12’ hoarding in Mubai
(then Bombay) at Rs.175 per month. Even though the cost of outdoor ad space
may have increased with the cost of living, it still remains one of the least
expensive advertising media.
Outdoor advertising is one of the major advertising media used in the
present day. it also happens to be one of the first forms of display advertisement
in the history of advertising. Today it has evolved into several types depending
on the creativity of the artist designing it. Outdoor media include bill boards,
hoardings, digital hoardings, mobile hoardings, banners, posters, buntings,
translites and much more; the list grows with innovation in the graphic
designing industry. Even though other media like print, radio and television

8
generate high revenue with advertising, out of home ads like banners and bill
boards can be much more effective than ads in print and electronic media.
This is due to many factors which favour outdoor media as a form of
marketing communication. Most people today spend more time outside home
than indoors. Due to this, most people are involuntarily exposed to
advertisement outdoors. Also, unlike television or radio ads which are aired for
only a few seconds, outdoor advertisement like bill boards and hoardings are
available for consumers round the clock. It is also a very cost-effective medium.
A running a full-page newspaper advertisement for a single day in any major
newspaper will cost the same amount as putting up ten bill boards for a month -
and it (newspaper) is not nearly as effective. Messages are delivered
continuously and frequently. (Tendick, 2007)
Outdoor advertising is literally out-of-door. It is out of the home or place
of business. Whatever may be the slight difference in the interpretation; all
outdoor ads have no editorial vehicle to carry the messages. The viewer has to
incur no expenditure, not has to make an effort to see an outdoor advertisement.
It is not so with the other media. An ad message is not brought to the audience;
it is the audience who go to the ad message, though they view it in course of
other activities. Outdoor ads on the other hand offer repeat opportunities to view
the message.
In the USA, there is an Outdoor Advertising Association of America
(OAAA), which has established certain standards on size, is qualified as
outdoor media. Roadside and on premises devices, which are not of standard
sizes and/or designs, are not classified strictly as outdoor ads. They are referred
to as signs.

9
Outdoor media can also instill strong brand recognition in the consumers.
Since they make use of colours, graphics, motion clips (in digital hoardings),
celebrities endorsing the message, catchy slogans and typography, outdoor
advertisement tends to grab the attention of commuters at any point of time. It
can also be targeted towards specific audiences in certain areas.
Outdoor advertising offers long life. Moreover, an advertiser can
incorporate names and addresses of the local dealers or agents at the bottom of
an outdoor advertisement. These dealer imprints are called snipes.
Textbook authors and academic researchers have identified a variety of
distinctive characteristics of billboards and outdoor advertising (e.g., Kelley and
Jugenheimer 2004; Sissors and Baron 2002; Taylor 1997; Vanden Bergh and
Katz 1999; Woodside 1990). The advantages of using billboards include, among
other things- potential placement of the advertisement close to the point of sale,
high frequency of exposure to regular commuters, high reach, 24-hour presence,
geographic flexibility for local advertisers, economic efficiency in terms of low
production costs and low cost per thousand exposures, visual impact from
advertisement size and message creativity, and brand awareness. Disadvantages
include the need to limit the number of words in the message, short exposure to
the advertisement, low demographic selectivity, and measurement problems.
Relatively few studies have attempted to examine execution factors associated
with the effectiveness of billboard advertising. However, a few have provided
very specific advice for outdoor advertisers. In examining the outcomes of
outdoor advertising, some studies found that a novel or very creative execution
could improve recall or attention to billboards (Fitts and Hewett 1977; Hewett
1975). Thus, use of a clever creative execution is one factor that has been
hypothesized to correlate with effective outdoor advertising.

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Outdoor media has the area-specific quality, which is an important factor
contributing to the success of this medium. This is especially so in India, since
the consumer population here is very much heterogeneous. The taste and
preferences of consumers differs in every state, every district and town.
This study attempts to find the level of success of outdoor advertisement
as a medium of communication in Mysore city. This study encompasses the
study of consumer’s attitude towards outdoor media, the impact this media
bears on the consumers and its level of success in changing attitudes/buying
habits of people residing in Mysore city.

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III
Review of Related Literature

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The topic ‘Influence of Outdoor Ads On Public-A Case Study of Mysore
City’ has not been taken anywhere else and this study is the first of its kind.
However, studies related ‘advertising’, ‘outdoor advertising’ and
‘influence of outdoor ads’ have been done all over the world. Though they have
not been done as case studies of cities or states in India, they are aplenty in
other parts of the world like USA. Some of studies which are closest related to
the study ‘Influence Of Outdoor Ads On Public-A Case Study Of Mysore City’
are
• Use And Effectiveness Of Billboards: Perspectives From Selective-
perception Theory And Retail-gravity Models
Charles R. Taylor, George R. Franke, And Hae-kyong Bang
• The Effects Of Outdoor Advertisements On Consumers: A Case Study
Gulmez Mustafa, Karaca Sukran, Kitapci Olgun
• Exploring The Relationship Between Celebrity Endorser Effects And
Advertising Effectiveness A Quantitative Synthesis Of Effect Size
Clinton Amos (Augusta State University), Gary Holmes (Drury University),
David Strutton (University Of North Texas)
• Research Paper On Billboard Advertisement: Title: The Impact Of Zain
Billboard Advertisements On Students, A Study Of The Ghana Institute Of
Journalism
Maxwell Akalaare Adombila (Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ))
• Assessing The Effects Of Animation In Online Banner Advertising:
Hierarchy Of Effects Model
Chan Yun Yoo, Kihan Kim, And Patricia A. Stout

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• Environmental Harmony and Evaluation of Advertisement Billboards with
Digital Photogrammetry Technique and GIS Capabilities: A Case Study in
the City of Ankar
Cevdet C. Aydın , and Recep Nisancı
• Advertising attitudes and advertising effectiveness
Abhilasha Mehta (Gallup and Robinson,inc)
According to Abhilasha Mehta, individual attitudinal factors related to
advertising in general do influence how a respondent reacts to any particular
advertisement, reinforcing expectations by other researchers previously. To be
effective, advertising is something people should like to look at, believe and
find utility with keeping them up-to-date about products and services.
In a content analysis of billboards, Blasko (1985) examined whether
advertisers were following accepted creative principles associated with outdoor
advertising. Drawing on Burton’s Advertising Copywriting (1983) and the
Traffic Audit Bureau’s Planning for Out-of-Home Media (1977), Blasko listed
five main principles of effective billboard advertising: short copy (eight or
fewer words in copy), simple background, product identification (billboard
clearly identifies product or advertiser), simple message (single message
communicated), and creative (use of clever phrases and/or illustrations). Studies
conducted by Donthu, Cherian, and Bhargava (1993) and Bhargava, Donthu,
and Caron (1994) found recall of billboards to be positively related to a variety
of factors, including brand differentiation, emphasis on product performance,
inclusion of price, use of a photograph, use of humor, use of color, and a good
location for the billboard. The 1993 study emphasized that advertising recall can

14
be enhanced by using fewer words or unusual executions. As with the key
advantages of outdoor advertising, there have been many discussions of
strategic and execution factors related to the success of billboards, but little
systematic investigation of the underlying factors that drive successful billboard
advertising. Below, we offer some insight on these factors by providing two
theoretical perspectives on the promotional role of billboards.
Previous survey research has presented evidence on companies’
experience with billboards, their perceptions of billboards versus other media,
and their estimate of the impact of a billboard ban on sales (Taylor and Franke
2003). This study focuses on companies’ reasons for using billboards and their
views on factors that are critical to billboards’ success. Future research could
add to the approaches of these studies in several ways. Expanded surveys of
nonusers or former users of billboards would provide a useful comparison to the
perspectives of current billboard users and give additional insights on the
strengths and weaknesses of this form of outdoor advertising.
Advertising is regarded as a positive effort, which generally contributes
to the economy by developing media facilities and enabling the highest
standards of life for people, which helps cultural development and which has an
immeasurable educational structure (Marketing Magazine, 1979, p.5–6).
Outdoor advertisements, which were first used by advertisers in the United
States during the 1850s, were applied in Turkey in 1985 (Civelek, 2003, p.46).
The most frequently used instruments of outdoor advertisement are as follows
(Assael, 1993, p.606; Marketing Turkey 2004, p.48); Billboards composed of
panels and posters that are immobile and separate, Street furniture such as
racquet billboards, stations and cylindrical towers, Transit panels placed in
airports, railways, subways, buses and taxis. Billboards are the most common
and widely used forms among the outdoor advertisement media listed above

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(Berkovitz, et al, 1994, p.541; Lichtenthal, et al., 2006, p.237). When compared
to other media tools, the share of outdoor advertisements as a proportion of total
advertising expenditure is increasing – albeit slowly.
In literature, it is possible to find some researches and studies about
outdoor advertising even though it is not so much. One of the researches of
those is that of Karmen and Azhari. Azhari and Kamen point out that brands
and slogans used in outdoor advertising are more memorable than other
advertising medias. While the rate of recall of products and brands used in
outdoor advertising is 79 %, it is 67 % in printed media (1984: 11). In 1975 and
1982, in researches guided by open –air institution, it is concluded that the
importance of outdoor advertising on the subject of recognition and recollection
of brands is gradually increasing (Whitehall, Tinkham and Tinkham 1990: 50).
The purpose of outdoor advertisement as a mass communication tool is to
convey the desired massage to the target group in an effective and lasting way.
According to Mustafa, Sukran and Olgun (2009) the most effective outdoor
advertisement tool is billboards and the most high profile sector is the clothing
sector. According to the respondents, we can see that television ranks first
among the most effective tools
In purchasing a good or service, People generally have positive opinions
about outdoor advertisements. They think that outdoor advertisements are more
eye-catching and creative when compared to other advertisement types and,
their physical size lends them an effective visual impact. People regard the
outdoor advertisements, which they regularly encounter, as a part of the city and
they do not notice that these advertisements are outdoor advertisements. This
situation has been changing as people become more conscious of outdoor
advertisements. In their studies, Shao and Herbig (1995, p.71) stated that tools

16
of outdoor advertising such as billboards (bulletin board-poster panels) are often
used in China and that as Chinese use mass communications and bicycles in
transport, they are exposed to outdoor advertisements every day. They reported
that the reason behind this exposure is that the charges for outdoor
advertisements are relatively cheap and these advertisements have a long-term
usage when compared to the other advertisement tools. Woodside claim that in
his research outdoor advertising not only increase the rate of buying ,in order to
increase sales ,the outdoor advertising should be presented in areas where
pedestrian traffic are heavy (Woodside 1990: 229). In his research of Üsterman,
he express that fictional approach and research design in outdoor advertising
arouse consumer’s interest about brand, initiate and accelerate buying process.
(2009: 108). In a research oriented university students, the rate of ones who buy
products by influencing outdoor advertising is increased by 33%. In the same
research, the rate of ones who tend towards attitude of buying is increased by 54
% (Sezer 2009: 185). According to Lopez and Bassell, outdoor advertising will
continue to grow and diversify over the next decades, not only because of its
cost-effectiveness, but also because it seems to be the only unavoidable realm
from which to reach progressively elusive consumers, and the ideal anchor of
integrated marketing communication.
According to Amos, Holmes and Strutton, celebrities add value through
the process of meaning transfer (McCracken 1986, 1989). The meaning transfer
model posits that celebrities develop a persona through the types of roles they
play in society as well as how they are portrayed in the media. Collectively, the
culturally constituted society then assigns meaning to celebrities. When
celebrities endorse a product, the meaning developed around a particular
celebrity will – or at least it is hoped for by advertisers – transfer to a company,
brand, or product (Erdogan & Baker 2000). Thus, when a consumer identifies
with a celebrity (identification occurs when a person is willing to accept

17
influence from another person) (Kelman 2006, p. 3), he/she purchases the
product in the hope of claiming some of these transferred meanings for their
own lives (McCracken 1989). However, no guarantee exists that any celebrity
can continuously produce popular music, act in financially successful movies,
or win sports championships. In fact, depending on their level of performance,
celebrities do rise and fall in popularity throughout their entire career (Agrawal
& Kamakura 1995). When a celebrity fails to perform acceptably, as defined by
consumers, a celebrity endorser’s effectiveness tends to decline (Agrawal &
Kamakura 1995). The dominant role played by negative celebrity information
suggests that highly publicized negative events/information associated with a
celebrity will likely prove detrimental to advertising campaigns. An intriguing
low risk solution might entail using still popular, but conveniently deceased,
celebrities in product promotion (Till & Shimp 1998).
Several technological developments including plug-ins, JAVA script,
Flash, and streaming media have contributed to improving the design and
interactivity of digital advertising. Motion is often considered to be a critical
component of animated banner ads (Reiber 1991), because most animated ads
are a series of static images superimposed on one another to create an illusion of
motion (Kalyanaraman and Oliver 2001). But according to Yun Yoo, Kim and
Stout, the effect of product involvement on attention is independent from
animation effects. As an individual’s product involvement increases, the level of
attention to banner advertising will also rise, regardless of the level of animation
in banner ads. At some point, too much animation or motion may reduce the
advertising effectiveness due to the individual's limited cognitive capacities or
some negative affective responses (such as irritation or annoyance), even though
those banner ads are eye-catching.

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A recent study of billboard users found that compared with other media,
billboards were rated higher in terms of ability to communicate information
affordably, attract new customers, and increase sales (Taylor and Franke 2003).
While many advantages of billboards have been identified anecdotally, from
experience, or through academic study, there is a need to investigate whether
frequently listed advantages overlap with each other, and to examine whether
they truly are advantages that are important to billboard users (2009: 38). Small
companies and local merchants are estimated to purchase almost 80 percent of
the media (Belch and Belch, 1998). Products such as entertainment, packaged
goods, and media now provide a significant portion of outdoor advertising
revenues (Outdoor Advertising Association of America, 1998).

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II
Methodology

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Statement of the problem
Every research begins with a question or a problem. Identifying the
problem correctly is crucial to the research because it gives the focus needed on
the study, and makes it easy for the researcher to find answers. This research is
based on the effect of advertising on the people, the effectiveness of the medium
used to advertise, and the response to advertisements.
• Before commencing the study titled ‘Influence of Outdoor Advertising on
Public- A case Study of Mysore City’, the following questions are constructed.
• Up to what extent are the people of Mysore City exposed to outdoor
advertising?
• How many of them have applied the advertising message in their lives and
experienced change of attitude?
• How many of them purchase products/services promoted in outdoor
advertising?
• What can be done to improve outdoor advertising in Mysore city?
Objectives
• To analyze the variety of outdoor ads in Mysore city
• To see the popularity of outdoor ads on public in Mysore city
• To examine the influence and impact of outdoor ads on public in Mysore city
• To study the role of outdoor ads in the purchasing habits of the public in
Mysore city
• To suggest remedies to improve quality of outdoor ads in Mysore city

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Scope of study
This study has a significant scope in the advertising industry in Mysore
city. The analysis of data collected by this study will provide a document for the
references of advertisers all over Mysore. It gives an account of the
effectiveness of different types of outdoor media, namely- billboards, banners,
mobile hoardings, digital hoardings and transit- in the opinion of the residents
of mysore city.
This can be a document for reference of advertisers and media planners of
mysore to choose the medium of advertising, or more precisely, the type of
outdoor advertisement to make it more effective.
Area of study
Since this is a case study of Mysore city, the area of study is Mysore. The
respondents are randomly taken from different areas, residing in different
neighborhoods and working or studying in different places in Mysore city.
Limitation of study
This study was conducted for duration of 3 months, from march to may
2012. Due to the time constraint, the sample size taken is 50 respondents. Also
due to the same limitation, the study focuses on outdoor advertising only and no
other media.

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Research Methodology
The study titled ‘Influence of Outdoor Advertising on Public- A case
Study of Mysore City’ is a quantitative analysis. The method of study used for
this research is survey method.
Survey research is a method where the researcher selects a population of
study, and then selects a smaller sample which represents the population. The
researcher then uses tools of data collection such as questionnaires or interviews
to collect responses regarding the study. This data is then represented in the
form of statistics, and in a graphical form. Based in these statistics, the results of
the survey are interpreted and a conclusion is drawn on the subject.
Sample: the population of this study is the entire population of Mysore
city. The sample size taken for the study is 50. A method of convenience
sampling is used to select the sample size, again due to several limitations like
time and resources. The respondents are almost equally divided into strata based
on age groups, professions etc.
The tool of data collection used in this study is questionnaire. Each
questionnaire contains 15 questions including the socio-demographic variables,
media habits and other open ended questions.
The data collected is first represented in percentages and in the form of
bar graphs. This is then analyzed to make interpretations and draw the right
conclusions.

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IV
Data analysis and
Interpretation

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Part A:
1. Gender and 2. Age:
Group-1: 18-23 Group-2: 24-39 Group-3: 40 and above
17 21 12
M F M F M F
6 11 4 17 6 6
Graph 1: Represents the percentage of male and female respondents,
belonging to different age groups.
In the sample size of 50, the respondents are equally distributed among
the three age groups. Group 1 consists of respondents between 18 and 23, who
are mostly students. Group 2 (24-39) consists of working men and women, who
have a regular income and spend a fair amount of time outdoors, and also home
makers. Group 3 (40 and above) consists of middle aged and senior citizens,
who are residents of the city for a long time and may have an exposure to the
outdoor advertising in the city. Group 1 takes up 34% of the population (12%
male and 22% female), Group 2 takes up 60% (8% male and 54% female) and
Group 3 is 24% (12% male and 12% female). The sample consists of a majority
of female respondents, as they were more co-operative in answering the
questionnaires.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
18-23
24-39
40 and above
Female
Male

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3. Education:
10th PUC Degree Post Graduation
3 3 22 22
Graph 2: Represents the education level of respondents.
As indicated by the graph, most respondents are educated up to the level
of Bachelor degree and Master degree. Only 12%, who are home makers, have
education up to class 10 and PUC. 44% of the respondents are graduates and
44% are post graduates.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
10th
PUC
Degree
PG
Series 1

26
4. Employment:
Working Not working
22 28
Graph 3: Shows the employment of the respondents.
The respondents are almost equally divided among those who are
working and those who are not. 44% of them are working in different sectors
ranging from software to agriculture, while 56% are not working. A majority of
them are students at degree and post graduation level.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Working
Not working
Employment

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5. Income:
10000 or less 10000-50000 50000-I lakh Above 1lakh
33 11 4 2
Graph 4: Represents the income of respondents.
As nearly half of the sample consists of those who are not working, a
huge majority (66%) of them earn less than Rs.10000 per month. However, in
the group of working individuals, 22% earns between Rs.10000 to Rs.50000.
however, only 8% of the respondents earn up to 1 lakh, and only 4% earn more
than 1 lakh.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
within 10000
10000-50000
50000-1 lakh
Above 1 lakh
income

28
Part B:
6. Do you read/watch/observe advertisements?
All the time Sometimes Occasionally Never
8 34 8 0
Graph 5: Shows the percentage of people who observe advertisements.
All respondents have exposure to advertisements. While only 16% of
them observe the ads and think about them much, a majority of 68% them just
notice ads. Another 16% occasionally see them and do not observe much of its
content. Basically all the people of Mysore are exposed to advertising.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
All the time
Sometimes
Occasionally
Never

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7. Which of the following media do you prefer to see/hear advertisement?
Graph 6: Represents the people’s preference of medium to see/hear
advertisements
Most of the respondents (52%) prefer TV, the audio visual medium to see
advertisements. While some prefer both print and TV, only a small minority of
2% prefer as a medium of advertising. 12% of the people prefer newspaper,
30% prefer both newspapers and TV and only 2% prefer radio.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Series 1

30
8. Are you aware of the medium called outdoor advertising?
Graph 7: Represents the level of awareness of outdoor advertising.
14% of the people are highly aware of outdoor media, 10% are unaware.
A majority of 76% are just aware of outdoor advertising.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
highly aware
aware
unaware
Aware of outdoor
ads

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9. Are you aware of the following outdoor ads?
Billboards, Digital hoarding, Mobile hoardings, Banners, Transit(ads on
public vehicles)
Graph 8: Represents the exposure to individual types of outdoor
advertising, namely Billboards, Digital hoarding, Mobile hoardings,
Banners, Transit.
30% of the population is highly aware of billboards, 52% aware and 18%
unaware. 22% of the population is highly aware of digital hoardings, 55% aware
and 24% unaware. 14% of the population is highly aware of mobile hoardings,
70% aware and 16% unaware. 34% of the population is highly aware of
banners, 62% aware and 4% unaware. 14% of the population is highly aware of
billboards, 50% aware and 34% unaware.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
Billboards
Digital
Hoardings
Mobile
Hoardings
Banners
Transit
highly aware
aware
unaware

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10. Rate the effectiveness of these advertisements in descending order (1 for
most effective and 5 for least effective:Billboards, Digital hoarding, Mobile
hoardings, Banners, Transit(ads on public vehicles)
Graph 9: Represents the ratings given by people of Mysore to each type of
outdoor advertising, namely Billboards, Digital hoarding, Mobile
hoardings, Banners, Transit.
This question asks the respondent to indicate the level of effectiveness of
the outdoor medium by rating it. According to the graph, banners have been
rated ‘1’ by majority of people, while billboards, mobile hoardings and digital
hoardings follow closely. However transit has been rated ‘5’, that is least
effective by a huge majority. It is also the least rated as ‘1’ in effectiveness. This
may mean that people fail to notice transit as a medium of advertising, or do not
appreciate the idea of public vehicles covered with ads.
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
1
2
3
4
5
Billboard
Digital hoarding
Mobile hoarding
Banner
Transit

33
11. What kind of outdoor advertisement do you usually observe in Mysore
city?
Graph 10: represents the kinds of ads seen in Mysore, as observed by the
respondents.
36% of the respondents think that cinema ads are more in the city, a
whopping 54% have observed a majority of commercial precuts ads and 12%
have said that political ads are seen in large numbers. Whereas only 8% of the
respondents have observed social message ads and only 6% of them have seen
ads for services.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Cinema
Social ad
Commercial
Service
Political

34
Part C:
12. Do you think the advertisements result in change of attitude?
Graph 11: Represents the extent to which outdoor advertising results in
change of attitude.
Most of the respondents (52%) are non-committal about the effect of
advertisements on their attitudes. They have responded that outdoor ads may be
responsible for change in their attitudes. However, 36% of the respondents think
that outdoor advertisements do change attitudes, but 10% of them think that
they do not result in change of attitude.
While most of them believe that ads give information about the product
or service, they would buy only the product but not the idea. Some of them have
opined that the people, who are exposed to these ads and have the level of
understanding to perceive its message, also are intelligent enough to make their
own firm decisions. They are not influenced by advertising. They have also said
that in the busy life of today not many people have the time to sit and analyze
outdoor advertising to have a change of attitude. However, a large number of
them believe that advertisements provide consumers with lot of information,
and influence in purchasing habits. It communicates from the manufacturer to
the consumer and helps the consumers decide which product to buy. But it can
do no more than that.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Yes
No
Maybe
Yes
No
Maybe

35
13. Do you think the outdoor ads make you want to buy the product/service
advertised?
Graph 12: Represents the influence of outdoor ads on the purchasing
habits of the people
Again, a majority of 58% of the respondents is not sure and think outdoor
ads may or may not be responsible for their purchase decisions, depending on
the product quality etc. whereas 26% of them are influenced by the ads and buy
the product, and 16% are not influenced at all.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Yes
No
Maybe
Series 1

36
14. Do you agree with the statement that celebrities being brand
ambassadors have influence on your purchasing habits?
Graph 13: Represents the people’s opinion on celebrities endorsing
products and services, and their influence on people’s buying.
This question got mixed reactions from the respondents. 38% of them
disagreed that a celebrity as brand ambassadors has influence on consumers,
32% of them agree on the same. 245 of them gave a neutral opinion. Among
those who agree, most respondents are from group 1 and 2 (16% and 16%
respectively), that is between ages 18 to 23, and 24 to 40. Among those who
disagree, a majority are from group 3 (14%), that is above the age of 40.
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
Agree
Disagree
Can't say
Group-3
Group-2
Group-1

37
15. Do you agree that outdoor advertising in Mysore can be improved?
Yes/No
Graph 14: Represents the people’s opinion to whether outdoor ads in
mysore can be improved or not.
Some of the opinions given are:
• By attractive, simple slogans.
• Ad can be segregated, must be more pleasant, should not hamper free flow of traffic, and
must not be vulgar.
• By using innovative ideas
• Billboards in prominent places will improve visibility.
• Ads should be original.
• Government should support advertising in all places.
• Through attractive sentences and pictures.
• It can inspire people in buying the products as well as it helps to provide knowledge about
newly introduced products and helps in creating awareness among people.
• Digital hoardings are very less in Mysore city. New method of marketing improves sales.
• Through creative ideas.
• By improving the presentation of goods and products in a catchy way.
• With the strategies like targeting the people who are confined to the product being advertised.
• Through mobile hoardings.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Yes
No

38
• Go for more options like billboards, wherever you can find more population. Engage the
residents from Mysore for the purpose rather than commercializing the product with brand
ambassadors.
• Using present modern technology
• By advertising in attractive manner, more and more on busy streets and traffic signal spots.
• By putting more ad flex in and around the city
• Taking away bill boards from heritage sites would be appreciated. Also, sponsoring a clean
road or a green park would help.
A majority of the response is favorable towards more outdoor ads and
their placing in heavy traffic areas and at more visible viewpoints. The results
have also shown that people prefer to see advertisements with creative but
simple copy, slogans and punch lines rather that celebrities and long copy with
illustration. This shows that what attracts the viewers more than the illustration
or the celebrity in the ad, is the copy.
Few of the respondents have also implied to the use of more advanced
technology to attract the viewers. This may refer to digital and animated
hoardings. With enough resources on the budget, digital hoardings can also
make a very effective advertising medium

39
V
Conclusion and
recommendation

40
As represented by the graphs 7 and 8, more than 90% of the residents of
Mysore City have exposure to outdoor advertising. Among those who are
‘highly aware’ of outdoor advertising, most are students of the media and
regularly exposed to various advertising media. Among those unaware of the
medium are home makers who are less likely to be exposed to outdoor ads.
However, youth and working professionals who spend much time outdoors are
all aware of outdoor advertising.
The results of this study show that outdoor advertising is effective to
some extent in changing people’s decisions and making them buy the product.
But they have not been successful in changing their attitude in general. They are
viewed as mere tools providing information about the product and services to
the consumers.
According to the observations of Mysoreans, the roads of Mysore city are
dominated by commercial advertisements of products and services, and cinema
ads. While political banners are also seen in places, only negligible numbers of
social messages are advertised. Advertisers can include some social messages
and make them stronger so that it results in change of attitude of the people. It
may also help to promote the commercial products and services with a social
message to bear a stronger impact on people of Mysore.
The people have rated transit advertising as the least effective medium. It
is also worth noticing that a majority of people are unaware of transit
advertising. It is possible that they are aware of the type of advertising but not
the name ‘transit’. However, transit is less in Mysore compared to other metro
cities and can be used more often to put across an advertising message.
The results of this study also reveal that banners are rated the most
effective type of outdoor advertising. The next effective is billboards, closely
followed by mobile and digital hoardings. But the study also reveals that a

41
majority of people prefer to see ads in an audio-visual medium. Hence,
improving on the digital hoardings could make and effective medium of
advertising in Mysore.

42
Bibliography:
• Foundations of advertising theory and practice- S A Chunawalla and K C Sethia
• Use And Effectiveness Of Billboards: Perspectives From Selective-perception Theory
And Retail-gravity Models
Charles R. Taylor, George R. Franke, And Hae-kyong Bang
• The Effects Of Outdoor Advertisements On Consumers: A Case Study
Gulmez Mustafa, Karaca Sukran, Kitapci Olgun
• Exploring The Relationship Between Celebrity Endorser Effects And Advertising
Effectiveness A Quantitative Synthesis Of Effect Size
Clinton Amos (Augusta State University), Gary Holmes (Drury University), David Strutton
(University Of North Texas)
• Research Paper On Billboard Advertisement: Title: The Impact Of Zain Billboard
Advertisements On Students, A Study Of The Ghana Institute Of Journalism
Maxwell Akalaare Adombila (Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ))
• Assessing The Effects Of Animation In Online Banner Advertising: Hierarchy Of
Effects Model
Chan Yun Yoo, Kihan Kim, And Patricia A. Stout
• Environmental Harmony and Evaluation of Advertisement Billboards with Digital
Photogrammetric Technique and GIS Capabilities: A Case Study in the City of Ankar
Cevdet C. Aydın , and Recep Nisancı
• Advertising attitudes and advertising effectiveness
Abhilasha Mehta (Gallup and Robinson, Inc.)
• www.EzineArticles.com
• The Many Benefits of Billboard Advertising- Robert Tendick
• Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), USA, official website
www.oaaa.org
• www.tdindia.com

43
Appendix: I
Questionnaire for data collection:
University of Mysore
DOS in Communication and Journalism
Project work
I am the student of Manasagangotri, Mysore, Department of Communication and Journalism,
and presently doing a project on “Influence of Outdoor Advertisement on the Public-a
Case Study of Mysore city”. I request you to kindly fill the questionnaire below and assure
you that the data generated shall be kept confidential.
Part A:
1. Gender: M / F 2. Age:
3. Education: 4. Employment:
5. Income:
Part B:
6. Do you read/watch/observe advertisements?
All the time Sometimes Occasionally Never
7. Which of the following media do you prefer to see/hear advertisement?
Newspaper/magazine TV Radio
8. Are you aware of the medium called outdoor advertising?
Highly aware Aware Unaware
9. Are you aware of the following outdoor ads?
Billboards: Highly aware Aware Unaware
Digital hoardings: Highly aware Aware Unaware
Mobile hoardings: Highly aware Aware Unaware
Banners: Highly aware Aware Unaware
Transit: Highly aware Aware Unaware

44
10. Rate the effectiveness of these advertisements in descending order (1 for most effective
and 5 for least effective
Billboards:
Digital hoardings:
Mobile hoardings:
Banners:
Transit(ads on public vehicles):
11. What kind of outdoor advertisement do you usually observe in Mysore city?
Cinema Public service Commercial/Product ads Services
Political ad
Part C:
12. Do you think the advertisements result in change of attitude?
Yes No Maybe
If “Yes’, how?
_________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__
If “No”, how?
__________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___
13. Do you think the outdoor ads make you want to buy the product/service advertised?
Yes No Maybe
14. Do you agree with the statement that celebrities being brand ambassadors have influence
on your purchasing habits?
Agree Disagree Can’t say.
15. Do you agree that outdoor advertising in Mysore can be improved?
Yes/No
If “Yes”, how?
___________________________________________________________________________

45
Appendix: II
Photographs of Outdoor Advertising around Mysore city

46
Outdoor advertising on and around Devraj Urs road, Mysore

47
Outdoor advertising on and around Devraj Urs road, Mysore

48
From top: Public service, Political and social message ads

49
From top: billboard, cinema ads and Transit on city buses in Mysore

50
More transit advertising in the city

51
Middle: advertising on bus shelters

52

53
Veta: digital hoarding on Saraswathipuram, Mysore

54
Digital TV: digital hoarding on Saraswathipuram, Mysore

55
Ads at a traffic signal near K G Koppal, Mysore

Influence of Outdoor Advertising on Public

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