Portal Set Up For Outdoor Advertising

Signageworld.com, a portal for outdoor advertising which was launched here yesterday, will now give material suppliers, sign makers, site owners, experts and users across the country a chance to form a single online community.

An investment of around Rs 50 lakh has been made on the website. Also, Rs 1 crore has been set aside for the marketing and further development of the site during the year. The website has been launched with a database of 500 sign makers and sign material suppliers in the country. The site also provides a platform for organising the signage industry in India.

To begin with, it provides information on the sites available in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta. In the near future, it plans to offer complete data on all the sites available in the country.

 

"The next eight months we will spend in collecting data for the website," said Kirti Vijay Sharma, chief operating officer, signageworld.com. "As the name suggests, we will spread out and the website will be providing information about the global signage industry," he said.

It will enable buyers and suppliers in the signage industry to provide global exposure to their products, services and sites. It later plans to conduct signage business online.

Referring to the potential of the signage industry, Sharma said the industry was expected to grow by 40 per cent in 2000. The industry size in 1999 was Rs 1,800 crore. Projections for various components of the industry estimate Rs 550 crore for site rentals, Rs 700 crore for raw material and Rs 5 crore for old equipment sales.

The promotion of outdoor advertising serves as a major source of revenue for the local government, generates local employment opportunities, is an effective medium for social messaging and improves public facilities free of cost, he said. In 1999, US outdoor revenue was about $4.8 billion and is growing steadily at 10 per cent.

In 1998, Hong Kong Metro Rail earned 12 per cent of its total revenues from site rentals (Rs 500 crore), whereas Indian railways total advertisement revenue in 1999 was Rs 30 crore.

The modes of outdoor advertising include kiosks, bus shelters, buses, taxis, trucks and boats _ banners and railings.