The Washington Inquirer EditorGeorgia’s leading company in the outdoor advertising market, Alma, is continuing to help businesses in the country reach a large audience, increase brand awareness, and establish credibility with customers through innovative approaches and solutions.
Over 28 years of operation, Alma has managed to capture 90% of the outdoor advertising market.
“Alma has the exclusive right to advertise in Tbilisi and Batumi airports, and on public transport (metro stations, buses and bus stops). Alma was the first company to install bus stops throughout Georgia. We have introduced a lot of innovations to the outdoor advertising industry in the country. Alma’s portfolio includes over 5,000 advertising panels so far,” Chief Executive Officer of the company Giorgi Trapaidze said.
Alma offers complete solutions 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 level and cost.
The printing machines at 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.
Thanks to the company’s success in 2022, Alma has won the most influential business award in Georgia, the Golden Brand, again this year.
Q. Alma has won the Golden Brand award again. How has the company maintained the title of Georgian customers’ favorite advertising company?
A. Alma’s success and sustainable development is largely due to our team of highly competent people and the attitude that exists in our company. The Golden Brand award is proof that we are developing in the right direction and that our projects serve the interests of our customers.
Q. The company says that the Golden Brand award increases awareness of Alma in the local and international market. Tell us what plans you have for the international market and how Golden Brand could help.
A. Outdoor advertising is much more in-demand in the international market than in Georgia. Every year we attend the Annual World Out of Home Congress, where we have the opportunity to meet and talk with companies that operate in other countries, including the outdoor advertising giants JCDecaux, Clear Channel and others. They share their experience with us, and we talk about Georgia. Each of our successes in Georgia better presents us to our foreign partners, and naturally this victory in the Golden Brand awards contributes to this process.
Q. There is a diversity of companies represented on advertising banners in metro stations. The number of Alma’s clients has probably increased. Share with us the statistics, please.
A. There was a crisis in the advertising industry and in other sectors in 2020 and 2021, for obvious reasons. Because the metro stations were frequently closed due to the pandemic circumstances, this hurt us a lot.
Although the pandemic was stabilizing in 2021, clients still felt that there was a theoretical chance that the stations would be closed again, thus preferring to run campaigns in the city rather than underground.
As the situation stabilized, our team made a lot of effort to rekindle customer interest in this medium. In the end, with the passing of the pandemic, the demand for the metro increased significantly. Compared to 2021, in 2022 there was three times more advertising activity, which included both one-time campaigns and full-year contracts.
Metro advertising medium is one of the most powerful in our diverse portfolio, as 40% of Tbilisi residents use this means of transport practically every day, so advertising campaigns carried out here in most cases exceed expectations.
In today’s outdoor advertising market, metro’s share is 15%, but considering the trends we assume that it will be at least 25% in 2023-2024.
Q. One of your clients saw customers increase by 200% after an advertising campaign in the metro. Why does metro advertising work so well?
A. Closed space, delay time, more than 500,000 trips per day — this is an incomplete list of reasons that practically guarantee the success of advertising placement in the metro.
Indeed, shipping company Maleo, which was placed in outdoor advertising only in the metro, really achieved a 200% increase in customers in two months; although to be honest, this is only one example from the many successful campaigns that were done in the metro.
It is, in fact, difficult to think of a company that at least once placed visuals in the Tbilisi metro and was not satisfied with the result.
Q. Alma’s innovative promotional offer has impressed passengers and customers. I mean lenticular banners, through which different visuals can be seen from different angles. What was the result of this advertisement?
A. Lenticular banners were another innovative product that Alma offered to customers. As you know, Alma is famous for its innovative approaches and solutions in the Georgian outdoor advertising industry. We follow outdoor advertising trends of developed countries, and try to introduce these innovations in our country.
One of such projects was lenticular advertising, which is a static advertising page. Dynamic, transitioning visuals attract people’s attention five times more, so the effect is much greater.
This time we used lenticular banners on escalators in metro stations. We are working to distribute this product in other media (presenting a number of technical difficulties).
And we have many more interesting and important projects ahead.
Q. In general, how often do the customers benefit from the services of Alma designers?
A. Design services are one of Alma’s services, although not the leading one. This is more of a support for our customers who cannot get such a service with internal resources. We often share our views on what type of content will work best in a particular advertising direction, and we’re happy to share our knowledge based on our years of experience.
