Outdoor Advertising Association of Malaysia (OAAM) president Maaresh Starling
PETALING JAYA: At a time when competition is heating up and challenges are brewing in the outdoor advertising space, the Outdoor Advertising Association of Malaysia (OAAM) is focusing strongly on the launching of the country’s inaugural industry-wide audience measurement system for out-of-home (OOH) advertising to ensure sustainability and credibility of the outdoor advertising industry.
Its president Maaresh Starling, who is also group CEO of Redberry Media Group, told StarBiz he hopes the measurement system would be launched by sometime next year.
“The pilot testing of this measurement system will commence in July this year and by next year, we hope the measurement system will come into effect.
“Our current priority is the rollout of Malaysia’s inaugural national industry-wide audience measurement system for OOH advertising.
“This is important to ensure the credibility, accountability and sustainability of Malaysia’s outdoor advertising industry.”
Based on this trend, in a recent interview, Maaresh said he expects OOH would likely remain muted or may decline marginally for 2024.
On the other hand, he added that digital out-of-home (DOOH) is expected to grow further with an estimated 15% to 20% growth for this year, while OOH is likely to see a 5% drop on “cannibalisation” from DOOH.
The OOH advertising declined marginally by RM30mil or 7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in 2023, while DOOH advertising grew substantially by RM148mil or 25% y-o-y.
On the whole, he said outdoor advertising would continue at a modest growth in 2024, primarily driven by DOOH.
Maaresh added that more outdoor advertising sites are expected in the Klang Valley this year, as well as in other major market centres (Johor Baru and Penang) and secondary towns (Seremban, Melaka, Kuantan, Ipoh, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu).
Last year, there was an increase of 46 new outdoor advertising sites in the country and this strong growth is expected to continue this year.
In terms of competition in the outdoor advertising arena, he said competition is heating up due to the increase in media owners in the market.
On top of that, Maaresh said illegal billboards are creating an uneven playing field in the outdoor advertising industry.
This would undermine the efforts of legitimate players and impact their financial viability, reputation and compliance with regulations, Maaresh noted, adding that this would make it difficult for legitimate players to sustain their businesses.
At the same time, he said underfunding of OOH prevents total media plan optimisation because the outdoor advertising share is being allocated to other channels beyond their point of diminishing returns.
Maaresh said real-time data collection and reporting pose a challenge for the outdoor advertising industry, especially when compared to platforms like digital, TV and radio, which offer more measurable metrics.
Hence, some marketers and brands have been hesitant to invest in OOH because the return on investment, or simply in plain terms, the monetary value of an investment versus its cost, cannot be met.
Following in the footsteps of developed markets like Australia, OAAM is working on the introduction of Malaysia’s inaugural national industry-wide audience measurement system for OOH advertising.
This advancement promises a significantly more precise measurement framework, bringing it in line with online, TV and radio metrics, he added.
Meanwhile, Maaresh has been re-elected as OAAM’s president at the association’s latest AGM, which was held on April 24. Mary Koh, who is the executive director of WOW Media, has been re-elected as the association’s vice-president.
Additionally, Henry Tan of Parisign Media has returned as honorary secretary, while Ron Graham of Sanctuary Billboards has been elected as honorary treasurer.
The elected committee, representing Big Tree Outdoor, EDSB Outdoor and Seni Jaya, rounds out the council.
Maaresh expressed his gratitude for the trust and confidence placed in the leadership team by OAAM members, stating: “It is indeed an honour as most of us have been re-elected.
“We aim to continue our vision and mission of building and promoting a sustainable industry with high standards, good governance and ethics.”
Highlighting OAAM’s commitment to responsible growth in the OOH advertising sector, he emphasised: “As the peak association representing out-of-home advertising, OAAM has always cooperated and will continue to work with federal, state and local governments.”
