Why DITO won't make a dent into the Telco Market Share

Over the past few years since DITO came onto the scene as the third telco, I've been watching how they have been spending their money OOH-wise.  It is quite obvious that DITO has not invested in a landmark static structure on EDSA.  Perhaps this could be due to the fact that we live in the digital age and that DITO's offering is mainly in the digital space.

Nevertheless, there are things which a static billboard can deliver if one wants to stake their claim in the Telco arena.  Nowadays we talk of value in terms of plans and network speed but at the bottom of it all, it still boils down to how wide one's coverage is.  With that, there is no better medium to declare that a telco provider has coverage in a certain area than a static billboard which heralds its dominance.

I came into McCann-Erickson in 2001 to handle the OOH business of Globe at the height of the telco wars between Smart and Globe.  Smart invested in high quality OOH using the supplier, JKJ, who was well known for its unipole structures, patterned after installations in Malaysia.  Not only that, Smart also used the printing facility of MMT. 

From our end at McCann and Globe, we arranged our arsenal with key sites all over the country, mapping out presence in areas close to the town center and the airports.

I haven't seen DITO adopt this kind of strategy.  Yes, there will always be those who will say, then is different from now.  Even so, OOH is all about being remembered especially among the mobile consumer.  There are merits to using digital OOH placements in today's programmatic world.  But, using that alone while everyone else is drawing out the big guns, SMART maintaining dominance at Guadalupe, will make things a tough climb for DITO.

I honestly hope DITO will soon start spending in static OOH especially in the airports.   That's the way to go for networks.  Unless they do so, they'll be drowned out by the competition, even as Smart and Globe ramp up their 2022 static placements.  If they just insist on dporadic DOOH placements, then DITO won't make a dent into the telco market share.

SMART's new placement on EDSA Boni MRT

The writer, Lloyd Tronco, is an Out-Of-Home Media Strategist.  He is a constant subject matter expert on Out-Of-Home Media and Digital Signage.  He is also the industry journalist for OOH in the Philippines.