At GTOOH 2026, HCF's Amit Parikh Makes the Case for Daily Outdoor Reach

The argument: show up every day

Amit Parikh, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of HCF, used his opening session at GTOOH 2026 to argue that outdoor advertising remains the most powerful medium for reaching regional consumers. The event was held at the Hyatt in Ahmedabad, where he spoke under the title "When the Medium, Message & Culture Come Together: A Macro Creative View."

His core claim is about repetition. Parikh said a brand can reach the same regional consumer every day through outdoor, even if only for a few seconds, and stay in their memory. He contrasted that with digital, where he said a three-second viewing time is considered normal.

That framing matters for marketers weighing channel mixes, because it treats outdoor as a familiarity-building buy rather than a one-off awareness burst. Parikh also said outdoor was as important in 2003 as it is today, and that quality and innovation in the industry have improved considerably.

Two campaigns Parikh used to make the point

Parikh pointed to two campaigns from last year. The first was for Fortune, which wanted to strengthen its market share in Gujarat. Built around the Gujarati love for food and the idea of "Pakko Gujarati," the campaign ran for one month across more than 125 outdoor sites across the state. Parikh described the result as very successful, though the presentation did not include performance data.

The second was for Kemchho Papad, a brand launched in India after earlier rollouts in 47 countries. Parikh said the brand chose Gujarat as the first step toward going national, signed a Sindhi celebrity as its face, and ran the campaign "Sachcha papad, achcha papad" with 70 to 80 percent of the media plan allotted to outdoor. He also noted that "Kemchho," a regional word, has gained wide recognition.

What the talk did not settle

The session was a creative argument, not a measurement study. Claims that the Fortune campaign was very successful and that no other medium matches outdoor for cultural connect, consumer connect and recall are Parikh's assessments, and no third-party performance figures were provided for either campaign.

His closing view, that "there is no better, no best media for regional brands than outdoor," is a stated opinion rather than a tested finding. The source also does not give a specific date for GTOOH 2026 beyond the year, so treat the event as recent rather than pinpointing it.

Why regional brands are paying attention

For planners working on regional launches, the practical takeaway is about pacing and presence. A one-month, 125-plus-site buy, as described for Fortune, is a saturation approach aimed at steady daily exposure in one state rather than broad national coverage. The Kemchho example goes further, putting most of the budget into outdoor to build recognition before a national push.

Both campaigns lean on cultural specificity rather than generic reach: a Gujarati food insight, a regional brand name, a celebrity face. That is the real argument Parikh is making. Outdoor is not simply a cheaper channel, in his telling, but a way to speak to a local audience in its own language, repeatedly.

How marketers might use this

Consider whether your next regional launch has a culturally specific idea that can survive on a billboard for weeks, not just a clever line that works once. If so, the Fortune and Kemchho examples suggest testing a concentrated outdoor burst in one state before scaling nationally.

Keep expectations proportionate. The success claims here come from the presenting agency, and without measured brand lift or sales data you should treat the case studies as creative direction rather than proof of return. Ask vendors for site-level audience or footfall estimates before committing a large share of the plan to outdoor.

None of this proves outdoor outperforms digital for every regional brand. It does show why the channel still earns a hearing in local campaigns, which is the point Parikh brought to the GTOOH stage.

Advora perspective

Editorial analysis: brand and media planners preparing a regional launch should consider a concentrated outdoor burst with a culturally specific creative idea, as described for Fortune and Kemchho, because daily repetition can build familiarity with the same local audience. The limitation is clear: neither case study includes measurement data, so use the approach as a starting hypothesis and set up your own measurement before scaling it.

Editorial analysis: agencies pitching local brands could borrow the structure of these campaigns, pairing a regional insight with a long-run outdoor presence. That recommendation rests on one practitioner's presentation rather than independently verified results, so pair it with site-level audience checks and a clear test-and-learn plan.

Read the original announcement