Measuring outdoor impressions, digitalizing advertising infrastructure, fully modernizing and developing advertising spaces in metro stations and building new bus stops in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi is what Georgia’s leading company in the outdoor advertising market, Alma, plans for 2020.
“Outdoor advertising has always had a problem with measuring impressions [i.e., how many people see an advertisement], and in the near future we will be able to provide this information to our customers on all advertising panels”, said Alma Chief Executive Officer Giorgi Trapaidze.
Trapaidze said that the number of digital displayswill significantly be increased in the metro stations of Tbilisi.
“This will make our stations much more beautiful and will make it more effective, flexible and quick to place advertisements in metro stations. We have also improved visuals of advertisements on buses by replacing advertising panels. You may have already noted the new bus stops on Chavchavadze Avenue in Tbilisi and on several streets in Batumi. We continue to significantly improve the infrastructure of bus stops in cities”, Trapaidze said.
At what stage of development are Alma’s projects currently?
We have almost completed work in the Tbilisi metro, about 90%. We have entirely new advertising spaces. All of them are illuminated and have additional anti-vandal protection. We have already installed three advertising monitors.
In addition, we have completed certain projects for counting impressions and are able to provide our customers with a full analysis, where we can tell them exactly how many people have seen the advertisements and what effect it has had on them.
How has Alma’s advertising portfolio increased last year compared to 2018 and how many new advertising locations do you have?
Our advertising portfolio increased after winning a tender announced by Tbilisi City Hall in 2019 and gaining the right to advertise on Tbilisi municipal transport (metro and buses) and also on white taxes of the city and the Rike-Narikala ropeway.
We have significantly increased the number of bus stops in Tbilisi by about 80 bus stops and introduced new types of ‘mega premium’ bus stops. In the regions the number of bus stops increased by 50 units.
Now Alma has the right to advertise on bus stops in the towns of Marneuli and Ozurgeti as well.
We have added five new advertising monitors in Tbilisi, three in Kutaisi, three in Batumi and one in Borjomi.
How many billboards installed by Alma are located in Tbilisi and other cities as of today?
In total Alma has about 1,200 advertising spaces throughout Georgia, meaning that there is about 36,000 square meters of advertising space throughout the country.
Also, there are about 1,000 bus stops constructed by Alma in the country.
How has the outdoor advertising market been growing in Georgia?
I would say that the industry is growing. Our company is growing in terms of setting up advertising infrastructure for transport.
Digital advertising has significantly improved in Georgia and we can see examples of this in the streets of Tbilisi.
The market has improved in creating advertising videos for outdoor advertisements and as an example I can point out the video advertisements of financial institutions, online gambling and fast food facilities.
Technological development for counting impressions is also very important. It has become possible to count cars and people and see how many people saw banners or advertising videos.
You mentioned that the industry is growing. How does Alma compete with other companies?
In general there is quite a competitive environment in the advertising industry. Alma competes not only with other players in outdoor advertising, but also with alternative approaches to advertising – TV advertising, internet advertising, including social media platforms.
Our main competitor is TV but the worldwide trend is that TV advertising has been declining while outdoor advertising has become more in demand.
Actually, I cannot say that internet advertising is our direct competitor. This field is growing very rapidly, following technological developments. Using outdoor and internet advertising at the same time significantly increases the effectiveness of advertising.
What is the advantage of outdoor advertising and specifically projects implemented by Alma?
We have introduced the global trend of outdoor advertising in Georgia and brought in all these new technologies that are in widespread use in the developed world.
One success story is when several years ago we started the digitalization process in Tbilisi. At first it was complicated for us to effectively install monitors in the city, however today we see that this has become one of the most in demand and effective tools for outdoor advertising for organizations operating in Georgia.
Congratulations on winning the Golden Brand award. In your opinion, why did experts name Alma their favorite company?
I think the reason is our company’s growth in developing advertising infrastructure, which has positioned us as more interesting business partners for our customers.
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Alma has been operating in Georgia’s outdoor advertising market since 1995. The company offers full services for OOH advertising: indoor and outdoor advertising technical services, printing and design.
Alma can provide a complete solution for any outdoor advertising campaign, starting with research on various outdoor advertising products in the area of the customer’s interest, including a detailed analysis of location, visibility, exposure levels and cost.
Alma has the exclusive right to advertise in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi International Airports. Advertising in airports is available in many forms and captures the attention of passengers at every step of their travel experience.
The company is equipped with high-tech equipment, which is operated by qualified and experienced staff.
The printing machines of Alma’s print house allow for high-quality printing on banners, mesh banners, polyposters, tape, photo paper, any flat, hard surface, paper, canvas, wallpaper, mesh stickers, stickers, floor stickers, and other surfaces or areas.
