PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA) has endorsed and echoed the World Out of Home Organisation’s (WOO’s) call and efforts to introduce audience measurement in Malaysia’s out-of-home (OOH) industry to lend greater credibility and reliability to the medium.
WOO recently held its maiden Asia-Pacific Forum in Kuala Lumpur convening over 200 global OOH industry experts from 20 countries.
With over 60 members whose total communications spend exceeds RM5bil, the MAA represents the interest of advertisers in driving competition in the economy, promoting self-regulation and working with the government, media owners as well as advertising agencies to ensure a conducive environment for the growth of the industry.
MAA’s president Claudian Navin Stanislaus, who is also Baba Products (M) Sdn Bhd’s head of communication and consumer marketing, in a statement said: “These are truly exciting times for our country and the advertising industry as well. With Malaysians going back to offices and vacationing with a vengeance, the time is right for OOH to take its rightful place in the marketing mix.
“What can catapult the industry to its next phase of growth is an increasingly urgent need to introduce a robust system of audience measurement which marketers can utilise with confidence to achieve tangible results. MAA is fully supportive of WOO’s efforts in this direction and we will work closely with them to make this a reality here in Malaysia,” he said.
MAA is working hard in its efforts in promoting marketing effectiveness, and advertising self-regulation, creating a collaborative business environment for marketing together with agencies, media and regulatory stakeholders.
The association is advocating the complete and accurate disclosure of circulation figures by media proprietors by participating in the management of Audit Bureau of Circulation and more, make it the most important and relevant agency to champion audience measurement in OOH.
MAA’s vice-president Javed Jafri, who is also Unilever (M) Holdings Sdn Bhd’s digital, data and commerce hub lead and media lead for South-East Asia and Indonesia ice cream, said: “In a privacy-first online world, OOH’s pivotal role in driving awareness among the target audience is undeniable. Digital and programmatic digital OOH are the future of the medium and audience measurement is the foundation of that,”
“With data and analytics taking dominance in marketing decisions, audience measurement in OOH is surely the pressing call of the hour. Together with the rest of the industry players, the MAA will help to drive measurability and accountability of OOH,” he added.
Javed added that in 2022, OOH has experienced 22% growth in ad spend across Asia. This shift would support driving brand penetration, hence long-term brand building plus sales led activation due to programmatic ad placements.
Malaysian OOH investment is growing by double digits with an estimated growth of 46% and US$400mil (RM1.8bil) plus contribution to the industry.
The MAA is a member of the World Federation of Advertisers, a worldwide network of national advertiser associations in 60 countries, with 100 of the world’s biggest advertisers being a member.
In its efforts to develop the standards of marketing communications, promote self-regulation and engage with stakeholders, the MAA collaborates closely with 4As Malaysia, Media Specialists Association and Malaysian Digital Association.
MAA was founded in 1964 as the single body representing the interest of advertisers in all areas of commercial communications.
