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The Cuffe Parade Residents Association (CPRA) has written to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opposing digital and illegal billboards in South Mumbai. The residents have demanded that these illegal structures be removed from the Cuffe Parade area. 

Cuffe Parade has numerous banners and billboards installed, which allegedly distract motorists. The road medians are covered with multiple banners, causing visual obstruction and defacing the city streets. 

Padmakar Nandekar, President of the Cuffe Parade Welfare Association and former Secretary General of CPRA, said, “Earlier, we faced issues with illegal constructions in our vicinity, but now illegal billboards and large digital out-of-home (DOOH) displays are defacing our city roads. Illegal constructions on sidewalks and large and small billboards on the street are creating a nuisance.”

Nandekar further stated, “We have written to the BMC to remove all illegal constructions in the area, and we have raised objections to the installation of digital billboards in South Mumbai. Civic officials will conduct an inspection of the area and take the necessary actions.”

Rahul Narwekar, Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, told Storyboard18 that the government is focused on keeping Mumbai free of illegal billboards. “We are very clear that the city should be free from illegal billboards, and the upcoming BMC policy on out-of-home (OOH) advertising should be legally framed without harming the businesses of stakeholders. Urban planners should ensure that actions detrimental to the city's aesthetics are avoided.”

Narwekar joined the BJP before the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections and won from the Colaba constituency in South Mumbai.

A senior BMC official said, "We have received the letter from CPRA and we have acknowledged it. A thorough inspection will be carried out and action will be taken against illegal hoardings and constructions in the locality." 

EXCLUSIVE: Cuffe Parade residents write to BMC, oppose illegal and digital hoardings

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising agencies have raised objections to several clauses in the BMC's draft policy on OOH advertising. According to documents reviewed by Storyboard18 regarding objections and suggestions from OOH agencies, stakeholders have specifically opposed the mandatory bank guarantee clause imposed by the civic body. Additionally, the agencies have recommended that the civic body extend the renewal process from two years to five years and refrain from increasing license fees for the next few years.

The OOH agencies have also suggested that the civic body eliminate smaller hoardings, such as those measuring 10x10, 10x15, 10x20, and 20x10, to prevent visual clutter, which contradicts the vision of the 2008 policy. They propose that hoardings up to 1600 square feet (with the largest size being 40x40) should be allowed.

According to clause 4.5 (c) of BMC's draft policy, advertisers or agencies are required to provide a bank guarantee equivalent to six months' license fees to ensure the recovery of advertisement fees in cases where advertisers or agencies fail to pay BMC dues.

The OOH agencies have objected to this clause, stating, "The method of calculating the insurance for each hoarding needs clarification, as many advertisers take a group policy. This clause requires further deliberation. The bank guarantee clause is not feasible for business. There are already provisions in the policy for non-payment, such as the cancellation of permits."

The objection further states, "A six-month bank guarantee amounting to a significant sum would require substantial investments from the industry and could ultimately cause the industry to become obsolete. Data shows that association members collectively pay 158 crores to the license department in license fees alone, and a six-month bank guarantee totaling nearly 80 crores would be blocked, jeopardizing the entire business viability."

Dr. Yogesh Lakhani, Chairman and Managing Director of Bright Outdoor Media Limited, said, "We have extensively studied Digital OOH worldwide. Whether it's Times Square, Hong Kong, or any other part of the world, Digital OOH is the global trend. It is disheartening that BMC has decided to ban video hoardings in the city."

Lakhani added, "The bank guarantee clause imposed by BMC is not beneficial to the OOH ad industry and will negatively impact business. The industry has collectively opposed this clause, as well as the increase in license fees, which will further burden OOH ad agencies in the state."

The OOH agencies have also requested an extension of the structure erection period from 90 days to 120 days, with an option for another 120-day extension upon receiving the NOC. The draft policy currently restricts the grace period to 90 days, with an extension of 180 days, after which the NOC will be revoked and no further extension will be granted.

Furthermore, BMC's draft proposal mandates that agencies must display a civic message or any other message as directed by the BMC for a period of no less than 15 days in a calendar year.

The OOH agencies have suggested that clarification is needed regarding the term "any other message" beyond civic messages. Such messages should only be displayed when the hoarding is vacant and should not be imposed if there is a client booking. Agencies have also requested that the draft specify a maximum of 15 days in a calendar year for such messages. Additionally, they noted that the waiver of one month's license fees, as provided in the previous policy, is not mentioned in the draft.

Breaking: OOH agencies object to bank guarantee clause, suggest 5 years’ time for renewal

On Monday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) extended the date of submitting suggestions by two weeks. The civic body has received multiple suggestions and objections, the Indian Railways which falls under the Union Government’s ambit objected to the OOH policy. 

The Indian Outdoor Advertising Association had requested the BMC to extend the deadline for submitting suggestions by two months. The draft was released by BMC on August 9 which was open for public suggestions till August 26, 5pm.
 
Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) said, “We have extended the deadline to submit the feedback and suggestions. We will conduct a review meeting with stakeholders before finalizing the draft.” 

Meanwhile, a senior BMC official told Storyboard18 that the hoardings installed in the premises of central agencies such as Railways, their role will be clarified further. For now, they have raised their objections to the guidelines claiming that the BMC is a state agency while Railways being the Central government body. 

Sources have said that the BMC will also streamline the draft with definitions of the onus on the hoardings installed across the city and its safety guidelines. The Mumbai Traffic police has raised their concerns on Video OOH and flasher lights installed inside the city. 

A senior BMC official said, “We are very clear that incase of any mishap, the media owner or the permit holder will be held responsible. We do not interact with advertisers. The OOH agency seeks permission to install hoardings and they will be held responsible for any such mishap. That rectification will be made. We have received the objection on those lines as well.” 

The stakeholders have also asked the BMC to allow video OOH ads and have raised objections on the decision to not allow such hoardings. Multiple stakeholders also met senior GRP officials in Mumbai to discuss further course of action. 

BMC extends deadline by 14 days; to streamline outdoor ads policy draft

On Wednesday evening, Ganesh mandals across Mumbai city met Maharashtra Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to discuss multiple issues including the permissions required to install hoardings in the pandals during Ganeshotsav. The Ganesh mandals have assured that the hoardings installed across the pandals will be small in size as compared to earlier and will not hinder traffic movement. 

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Guardian Minister of Mumbai City District, Deepak Kesarkar were present during the meeting at Sahyadri state guest house. Senior bureaucrats from BMC, State government and Maharashtra police were also present during the meeting. 

Ganesh Pandals in Mumbai have raised multiple issues in the meeting including potholes and hoardings. Naresh Dahibhavkar, President of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti (BSGSS), said, "We will be abiding by the rules and regulations framed by BMC and Mumbai Traffic Police Department regarding hoardings and Digital OOH." 

Dahibhavkar said, "During the meeting we have raised the issue discussed that we face difficulty in acquiring permissions to put up Digital hoardings. We have been informed that the Traffic police will follow all SOPs before giving the permission and will ensure a speedy permission process." 

Dahibhavkar said, "Chief Minister Shinde has instructed the government officials to open a single window for all permissions and clearances. We have assured the government that there will be no hindrance to traffic. We will also ensure that the hoardings and banners installed near the pandals are secure and will not cause any safety issues to devotees." 

Dahibhavkar further said, "Smaller hoardings will be installed which are safe. We also make sure that the fire brigade department grants us adequate permissions for such precautions."  

Senior committee member of a Ganesh mandal from South Mumbai said, "We have been told by the BMC to install smaller hoardings as compared to earlier. We definitely agree to that but the issue around Digital hoardings need to be considered as we don't violate any traffic laws. If we compare Digital OOH put across the city, the size is huge and that causes visual hindrance while driving vehicles. BMC and Mumbai police should focus on such hoardings rather than putting restrictions around Ganesh pandals."

Many pandals in Mumbai are already facing penalties regarding digging roads and violating noise pollution norms. Another prominent mandal from North Mumbai said, "We don't want to violate any law further and would definitely follow the rules and regulations set by BMC and Traffic Police. We want the celebrations to be peaceful and not cause any nuisance to the government."

In 2023, the BMC gave permissions to more than 2,700 mandals across the city to set up pandals. BMC had received 3,767 applications. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has instructed the government officials to provide all facilities such as fire brigade, ambulances and other facilities free of cost to pandals which receives huge number of devotees. 

EXCLUSIVE: Ganesh pandals meet Maha Chief Minister, discuss OOH hoardings

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed on Wednesday that the Out-of-Home (OOH) agency, rather than the advertisers, will be held responsible in the event of a mishap. BMC’s draft policy includes terms like permit holder, advertiser, and agency to clarify accountability in case of an accident. A senior BMC official told Storyboard18 that in such incidents, the OOH agency is regarded as the offender, not the advertiser.

Kiran Dighavkar, Deputy Commissioner (Special) of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, told Storyboard18, “The hoarding applicant will be responsible for any mishap. BMC does not deal with advertisers; we deal with OOH agencies when granting permissions to erect hoardings, etc.”

Further elaborating, Dighavkar said, “An advertiser deals with the OOH agency and not with BMC. For example, if there is an OOH campaign for Dabur or Bisleri, and we find any irregularities, the OOH agency will be responsible for the incident, not the advertisers.”

Dighavkar added, “There is no way that the advertiser will be penalized in the case of a mishap or will be held responsible.”

A senior BMC official said, “When it comes to registering an offense against the defaulter in the event of an accident, the complaint is filed against the OOH agency, not the advertiser. It is the responsibility of the agency to follow all the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure there are no accidents or mishaps due to the OOH installation.”

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/bmc-releases-hoarding-policy-includes-stringent-regulations-for-dooh-holds-advertisers-responsible-for-mishaps-39315.htm">BMC releases ad hoarding policy; Revises SOPs, specifies liability</a>

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/bmcs-new-ooh-advertising-policy-could-do-more-harm-than-good-fear-stakeholders-37646.htm">Read more: BMC's new OOH advertising policy could do more harm than good, fear stakeholders</a>

EXCLUSIVE: BMC clarifies, OOH agencies and not advertisers responsible in case of ad-hoarding mishaps

The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) filed a complaint against Guru Advertising, the OOH advertising agency. Earlier this morning, an oversized wooden hoarding collapsed at Sahajanand Chowk of Kalyan, the incident left two people with minor injuries and a few vehicles damaged. KDMC alleged that the contractor did not follow standard operating procedure to maintain the hoarding site. 

According to Mahatma Phule Police station officers, KDMC had contracted the advertising site for five years starting 2021. One of the accused in the case has been identified as Rishikesh Dhule, the contractor. The Mahatma Phule police station is conducting the investigations and has registered a case of causing damage and hurt due to negligence. 

Vijay Naik, Police Inspector of Mahatma Phule police station said, "We have registered a case under section 125 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), 125A (causing hurt) and 324 (2) (causing damage) of the BNS. The complaint was filed by the ward officer of the KDMC against Guru Advertising. There are 3-4 owners of the agency and we are investigating the matter."

Former Member of Parliament, Dr. Kirit Somaiya visited the hoarding collapse site on Friday afternoon and met KDMC commissioner demanding an audit of all the hoardings and to pull down large hoardings violating norms in one week. He demanded that police officials should strictly deal with the offenders to avoid Ghatkopar like incident. 

In May, the collapse of an illegal ad hoarding in Ghatkopar killed 14 and injured over 75, shook the whole nation. The illegal billboard was roughly 120×120 feet—nearly thrice the permitted size of 40×40 feet.

Ever since then, multiple cities in the country have been taking stringent actions against the placement, size, legality and structure of the hoardings.

Civic bodies in cities including Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Kolhapur, and Navi Mumbai have said to have taken significant steps, including penalties in many cases.

Marketers have come forward to check the bona fide credentials of the OOH vendors they choose to work with. 

Breaking: Kalyan hoarding collapse; KDMC files FIR against OOH agency

The Mumbai Police has arrested the 47-years-old structural engineer, who allegedly gave a stability certificate to the giant billboard that collapsed on a fuel station in the city's Ghatkopar area, killing 17 people and injuring 75 others. The accused engineer of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), was arrested by a team of the Mumbai Police's crime branch.

While installing the 120 feet x140 feet hoarding, the foundation should have been at least 20 feet deep, but it was superficial and substandard, said one of the officials, as per a media report. Instead of raising objection, the now-arrested engineer issued a stability certificate for it. He is being produced in the court today.

Earlier, the Mumbai Police also arrested Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of the advertising agency that installed the now-collapsed hoarding. He is currently in judicial custody. Police have registered a case under IPC sections, including 304-2 (when there is knowledge that death may be caused by one's act), 338 (endangering life or personal safety of other) and 34 (common intention), against directors and officials of Ego Media and other related persons

Mumbai hoarding mishap: Engineer held for giving stability certificate

Note to readers: The last decade has witnessed significant advances in mobility and transport. New technologies and opportunities have brought a dramatic change to our societies. Planet and people-friendly transportation is more relevant than ever in the history of humankind, with everything from health to climate crises hitting us at warp speed. Storyboard18’s Month In This - EVolve 2022: Building an electric future, is an opportunity to bring to the forefront conversations around charging up marketing and brand building, to exchange and share new ideas, challenges and solutions in the field of clean transportation and mobility. Catch this Storyboard18 special on Moneycontrol, CNBC-TV18 and Forbes India. 

As electric mobility continues to gain popularity among sustainability conscious upwardly mobile Indians, advertisers might find a new way to advertise to this new set of customers.

Earlier this year, a report from advertising and marketing focussed news portal reported that a US-based EV charging network Volta Charging, which boasts of 2,137 stalls nationwide, is launching a dedicated media network, Volta Media, to better serve its advertising partners.

The move simply means that brands across categories will now be able to advertise at these EV charging stations to capture the attention of tech savvy and affluent consumers.

On Volta Charging's website the company states: "It's time to rethink your media strategy. Our growing network of charging stations reaches millions of qualified customers with premium place-based, interactive content in a sustainable format."

In India, the same model can potentially be replicated as the EV infrastructure strengthens owing to the strong impetus given to ramp up the EV ecosystem both by the government and private players.

The Centre said it is planning to install up to 70,000 EV chargers across the country in the next few years. Meanwhile, under phase II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-India) scheme, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has sanctioned 2,877 electric vehicles (EV) charging stations in 68 cities across 25 states. 1,576 charging stations have been sanctioned across 9 expressways and 16 highways.

FAME was launched in 2015 to improve the infrastructure required for the large-scale use of EVs. Phase II, which began in April 2019, is the current phase and will last five years.

Meanwhile, key companies including Mercedes-Benz India, already have 100-odd EV stations across the country where EVs of all brands can be charged easily.

Ideal touchpoint for engagement

Experts believe that EV stations can potentially be an impactful outdoor advertising platform, giving brands access to upwardly mobile, tech savvy and an affluent urban consumer base. This cohort are not only early adopters of technology but are also equally conscious and responsible about the environment.

Rachana Lokhande - Founder, Glocal Bridge and advisor at the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA) says that the EV charging stations require higher electricity voltage and the availability of larger spaces to build the stations which can accommodate multiple cars.

“The plans for battery swapping stations and building a dense network of charging points instead of charging stations are emerging to be a better solution. Considering that charging stations might likely be on the outskirts, this dense network of public EV charging points is an ideal touchpoint for developing a good DOOH (digital outdoor) /OOH network,” she adds.

Viability of charging stations advertising

Industry executives seem divided on the potential of charging stations becoming a hot favourite of advertisers when it comes to targeting a specific set of consumers.

Nilay Chandra, VP - marketing and charging infrastructure, Ather Energy, notes that in India, our two-wheeler parking locations are in the corner where there is not enough parking space and outdoor in such an area will not be in the best looking or well lit-up space probably beyond a point I don’t know how many people will be visiting that area to get return on investment (RoI) of that location.

“I believe even in India in some locations this model can work. The need to get operational revenues from advertising is little low in India. Even if 40 percent of our vehicles convert into EVs in the next five years we are talking about 10 million EVs so our volumes are so substantial even without doing outdoor advertising at charging stations there is business viability,” he explains.

Chandra further adds that the charging time is so less at these stations one doesn’t get such a highly captive audience that brands might get at an airport.

“While volume might be high, the engagement will be so slow that conversion rates won’t be high. My belief is that while in some prominent locations this model might work but this will not be the prominent model of how revenue generations at these stations will happen,” he rues.

Meanwhile, luxury automobile maker Mercedes-Benz India, which has over 100 charging stations in the country, says that it intends to keep its stations advertising free.  

“In future, there will be charging points for luxury cars (more than 100 kW) and the others will be for the mass brands. We however do not want to intrude customers with advertising messages when one is charging their car, rather focus on offering a quick charging experience,” says Santosh Iyer, vice president of sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz India.

Lokhande of Global Bridge argues that the potential of outdoor advertising is dependent on exposure to the audience, which is dependent on the time taken to charge a vehicle and the positioning of the public charging points.

Whether the outdoor advertising at EV charging stations picks up big time is something only time will tell, the adoption of electric mobility in India is clearly undebatable.