Printing firm ventures into digital advertising

IN its bid to support Fiji's small business thrive in today's competitive economy, a local family-owned business has ventured out of its core printing business activity to a totally new product advertising.

Well aware of the local business environment and the pricey tags to rent a space in newspapers and or time slots on radio or television, printing company Davui Printery is still confident of the shift.

It is introducing somewhat of a new form of advertising u a digital billboard, both with still or animated advertisements.

Davui Printery managing director Ramesh Sharma told The Fiji Times Business that while his main aim was to support small businesses access opportunities to market and sell its products, it was also an opportunity to bring Fiji on par with other developed economies.

"For me, it is really about seeing how Fiji as a country can move forward," Mr Sharma said.

"And we have small businesses in mind. We are targeting small businesses so we can give them an opportunity to grow and sell what they have for the people in Fiji," he said in an interview yesterday.

At present, Davui Printery has installed two of the digital screens on Viti Levu, a 3 x 3 metre screen at the fast-developing Garden City in Raiwai, Suva; and a 3 x 2 metre screen at the shopping centre at Nakasi.

The screens were bought from China three months ago, with one screen trading at more than $100,000.

Mr Sharma said those screens were eco-friendly in that it chewed less electricity and it did not emit heat rather absorbing lights during the day that it then slowly releases at dusk.

Meanwhile, the company is also working on a proposal to various relevant sporting bodies and government authorities to secure partnership to have those LED outdoor screens erected at sporting tournaments.

"We are planning on acquiring another new LED screen from China, this one will be mobile and we can transport it to any sporting venues and play live feeds of the games.

"But to do this, we need the support from some of the organisations we intend to submit our proposals to, and we intend to submit that proposal sometime next week," he said.

Once this is approved, in the next few months, Davui Printery will be able to show a live game on big screen at the tournament venue.

In the meantime, small businesses can now access the new digital billboard advertising medium where they will access 24 hours per day advertising, with clients expected to share 20 to 30 spots, with flexibility to change featured products within a month at the same price.

For awareness programmes however, by any private or government institution will be free of charge given its corporate social responsibility, particularly for fire safety, environment protection, health awareness, etcetera.