The year 2020 was a challenging year for the entire outdoor advertising sector, but 2021 is beginning to create a different story especially for brands and companies that were able to immediately move forward and adapt to the new normal.
As people become more comfortable outdoors while wearing face shields and face masks, outdoor advertisements are on the rise once again. HDI Admix said new advertising channel trends are emerging this year.
While other brands have taken a step back with their advertising budgets, some brands are taking advantage of the uncluttered view of the roads by putting up the most creative messaging and visuals on billboards.
“We were surprised. Though there is a portion of our sites occupied by big companies. SMEs and start-ups are also becoming more aggressive in terms of traditional OOH [out-of-home] placements,” said Raoul Buencuchillo, president of HDI Admix.
“I think the edge of traditional OOH is that it provides an unskippable huge platform. And if you couple it with a material that is eye-catching and triggers the interest of your target market, you can maximize the power of OOH, just like the first-ever dynamic lightbox. This bus shed execution is stunningly flashing through night and day on the busy highway of EDSA will for sure attract everyone’s attention,” he said.
HDI Admix added the Jeepney Passenger Divider to spice up the traditional ‘Jeepney Ads’ to excite the audience while they are on their journey and to adapt to the new normal transportation.
“If you are a brand with celebrity endorsers, this is the perfect platform to connect with your customers. Just by putting the face of your endorser on Jeepney Passenger Divider, not only will you make your target customer get ‘kilig’, but they will also definitely remember that your brand made their daily commute more fun and exciting,” the company said.
To also adapt to the 360-shift in audience behavior and the most complex stage of the advertising world, HDI Admix also added digital advertising platforms and Beep cards to its growing offers. This is to help brands become top of mind, and top choice by being present in multiple customer touchpoints.
HDI Admix’s Multi-Touchpoint Plan aims to trigger the audience interest through massive platforms, excite them through creative executions in transit ads or mini billboards and influence them with winning digital strategies and presence.
While in the middle of adapting and innovation, HDI Admix had its fair share of challenges. In 2020, HDI Admix and sister companies HDI Stopovers and HDI Adventures were involved in some legal controversies following the indictment of former directors and officers for violation of P.D. 1018, otherwise known as Anti-Dummy Law, which limits the ownership and management of mass media to Filipino citizens.
“It has always been our position that HDI Admix, HDI Stopovers and HDI Adventures are not engaged in the business of mass media. That being said, there is no way that the officers of the company –former or current, can be said to have violated said laws. As a lawyer, I have respect for the findings of the Office of the Prosecutor, but the courts of law will have to rectify these findings if only to assure us all that justice is indeed served,” said Atty. Ma. Paz Llasos-Ortega, HDI’s corporate legal counsel.
The Metropolitan Trial Court of Quezon City dismissed the case for violation of PD 1018. It held that the officers and directors could not be charged with violation of P.D. 1018 as there is no conclusive and binding determination yet that the HDI corporations are mass media entities in the first place.
It went on to emphasize that the 2016 SEC OGC Opinion itself, supposedly classifying HDI as mass media and which has been the basis for the finding of probable cause by the Office of the City Prosecutor, provides that it cannot be used as standing rule binding upon the courts.
“We are glad to share the news that HDI has recently received the decision in the said case wherein the trial court declared that HDI Admix, HDI Adventures and HDI Stopovers are not engaged in mass media. With this judicial pronouncement, we are hopeful that the court will eventually dismiss the Anti-Dummy Case because there is simply no legal and intelligent basis to rule otherwise,” said Llasos-Ortega.
Strengthened by challenges for years, HDI Admix learned that every crisis comes with opportunities. And aside from the business aspect of it that will unfold the inner robustness of the company.
“Yes, we are definitely starting 2021 stronger, and we are more than 100-percent ready to face the coming years full of determination and perseverance for our clients and partners. We would not be having a positive shift this year, despite the challenges, if it weren’t for our employees, clients, and partners who continuously support and believe in us. This authenticates the integrity and reputation of HDI Admix in the advertising industry,” said Buencuchillo.