Ex-Percept OOH, Ovez Khan launches Billboards India

Khan is one of the many senior professionals in the outdoor space who have turned entrepreneurs in the recent past.

Ovez Khan who till recently was head, South at Percept OOH, has announced the launch of his own outdoor firm, Billboards India.

In the recent past, the outdoor industry in India has seen many senior executives turning entrepreneurs. Nabendu Bhattacharya left Ogilvy to set up Milestone Brandcom in 2009 and Gourav Tandon quit Mediascope Publicitas as chief operating officer, to launch Apex Integrated Marketing in April, this year.

The launch of Billboards India fulfils Khan's long-harboured dream of launching his own agency that focusses on innovations and ambient advertising. Khan will hold the position of M-I-C (man-in-charge) at the agency.

Discussing the development, Khan tells afaqs!, "Over the past nine years, ambient has been my forte and now with Billboards India, we plan to lay special emphasis on outdoor innovations and ambient advertising."

Khan, who joined Percept OOH in 2009, worked on several brands including Levi's, Future Group, Indus League, Kingfisher, Air France, Arvind Mills, Toyota, Nissan, Denizen, Tanishq, Kohler and Sony PIX. He has more than 14 years of experience spanning advertising, ambient marketing, sales, OOH advertising and acquisitions.

Khan started his career in banking with Standard Chartered, and later joined ABN AMRO. He subsequently moved to Captions Today India as head, marketing. Later, he worked with agencies such as Mudra Max, Posterscope Worldwide and Percept OOH.

The new venture aims to be a one-touch point for media owners, mainline and outdoor agencies, as well as brands. "It will be the 'ad production unit' equivalent of the outdoor industry, where a team of experts will plan, design and execute innovations," he says.

The agency currently has offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru, with a team consisting of 10 people. It plans to bring more people on-board shortly.

Billboards India has started its journey by signing on five brands, including a retail brand, a lifestyle brand and an automobile brand. The agency will look at developing newer revenue streams and business models.