OAC 2011 to be held on June 17-18 in Mumbai; two new categories added

The seventh edition of the event has the theme 'Think Tomorrow. Today', and includes the new categories, 'Single Execution' and 'Lifetime Achievement'.

The Outdoor Advertising Convention (OAC), an expo, convention and awards event for the OOH (out of home) advertising industry, is scheduled to take place in June, in Mumbai.

This year's event (the seventh edition), scheduled to take place on June 17-18 at the Hotel Renaissance in Powai, has been conceptualised around the theme 'Think Tomorrow. Today'.

Discussing the theme, Sachin Jante, chief content officer and marketing strategist, VJ Media Works (the group that organises the event), says, "Every year, we speak with a representative sample from the OOH industry before deciding on a focal agenda for the event. This year, the feedback we received was largely to move away from the operational issues and to focus on developing a strategic and achievable outlook for the industry."

Hence, this year, the efforts will focus on understanding and assimilating the opinions of all interest groups of the industry and reaching a consensus with regard to the best possible direction ahead.

The convention will bring together media concessionaires, specialist agencies, brands, media and creative agencies, research specialists, printers and regulators to deliberate on a cohesive and profitable agenda for the industry. Outdoor Advertising Awards (OAA), the awards module for the industry, has also been reworked to bring more focus to certain existing categories, as well as the inclusion of new categories such as Single Execution and Lifetime Achievement.

"We have made a few structural changes in some categories that recognise contributions of media concessionaires to provide a more practical basis for identifying the winners. We have also created a separate category for single execution OOH work, to avoid being compared with projects with larger scale and scope," Jante points out.

The awards, for the first time, will also include a Lifetime Achievement Award, a non-entry category where individuals from any sub-domain in the OOH industry will be honoured for their contributions.

VJ Media Works is a media company with interests in publishing and industry events. Its magazine concepts extend to events in the form of In-Store Asia (the exclusive show on marketing-at-retail), OAC (Outdoor Asia Convention) and DSA (Digital Signage Asia) under the banner of ThoughtShows and Events.