Should You Invest In Programmatic Out-of-Home Advertising?
Out-of-home advertising (OOH) is any visual advertising media found outside of the home. This can include billboards, ads on bus shelters or benches, in airports or train stations, or at a stadium or in the cinema.
Leveraging programmatic OOH in conjunction with mobile advertising can help businesses adapt to the post-pandemic world.
Programmatic digital out-of-home, also known as programmatic DOOH refers to the automated buying, selling, and delivery of out-of-home advertising, ads on digital billboards and signage.
With programmatic DOOH, computers are automating the sale and delivery of ad content in a similar way to what you see with most online advertising. Buyers will set conditions under which they want to buy media, and when those conditions are met, ads are purchased automatically.
But since programmatic DOOH ads appear out in the world and not on personal devices, the way you approach building a programmatic DOOH campaign will probably be different from what you’re used to online.
Digital Out of Home advertisements are essentially large screens driving people to small screens.
DOOH ads can offer unmatched size
Big screens like the digital billboards in city centers
offer a lot of room to execute visually stunning ideas
in a way you could never match on personal devices.
DOOH is Unskippable and Ad block-Proof
If people are around a digital display,
they’re going to see it. There are no ad-blockers,
no below-the-fold positions, no issue of users
switching over to a different app or tab.
DOOH is memorable and likeable
A study by Nielsen found that 82% of respondents
recalled seeing a DOOH ad in the past month,
and that a majority of them viewed
DOOH in a favorable light.
Programmatic DOOH is DOOH that is Improved by Data
The key to understanding programmatic DOOH is this: programmatic transactions allow you to set specific conditions, based on external data, that will trigger the purchase of a DOOH ad slot.
The fun thing is that there are virtually no limits to the kinds of data that can be used to trigger content. There are really simple options, like just having different creative delivered based on the time of day. There are also slightly more advanced options, like the weather, daily market performance, or the ongoing results of a sporting event. You can even use live audience information to trigger content ideal for the majority of people at a location at any given time.
Programmatic DOOH is fast and flexible
The difference programmatic makes over direct buy is in terms of speed and efficiency. You can deliver relevant messaging much more quickly, and without having to make repeated direct buys.
Your audience can get a different message for breakfast and around dinnertime. You can prompt them to go for a nice walk to pick up their food if it was sunny, or to treat themselves to delivery when it was raining. The restaurants suggested to them were different depending on where they were located when seeing the ad.
Programmatic DOOH is DOOH that is Improved by Data
The key to understanding programmatic DOOH is this: programmatic transactions allow you to set specific conditions, based on external data, that will trigger the purchase of a DOOH ad slot.
The fun thing is that there are virtually no limits to the kinds of data that can be used to trigger content. There are really simple options, like just having different creative delivered based on the time of day. There are also slightly more advanced options, like the weather, daily market performance, or the ongoing results of a sporting event. You can even use live audience information to trigger content ideal for the majority of people at a location at any given time.
Programmatic DOOH is fast and flexible
The difference programmatic makes over direct buy is in terms of speed and efficiency. You can deliver relevant messaging much more quickly, and without having to make repeated direct buys.
Your audience can get a different message for breakfast and around dinnertime. You can prompt them to go for a nice walk to pick up their food if it was sunny, or to treat themselves to delivery when it was raining. The restaurants suggested to them were different depending on where they were located when seeing the ad.
As soon as the time is right, you’ll be able to automatically deliver the right message to the right screen to reach your audience, whoever they are.
Alignment with mobile
With so much time spent on our mobile phones, it’s clear that consumer behaviors are changing. As a result, it’s important that media strategies adapt with them.
According to research by Nielsen conducted in 2017, the impact of mobile advertising is amplified by up to 17% when audiences are exposed to a brand’s OOH campaign. Through the use of geotargeting, movement tracking, retargeting and sequential messaging, brands can make the most of aligning programmatic OOH with mobile.
Reaching Your Audience
As individuals go about their daily routines, the number of channels simply available to marketers quickly declines, making it even more challenging for brands to establish a consistent presence.
When you take into account the drop in print circulation and widespread mistrust of display advertising, many marketers are left scratching their heads, trying to find a way to engage these individuals. Fortunately, the ubiquity of digital out-of-home provides a powerful way to reach the unreachable.
Digital out-of-home offers the same advantages as other forms of digital media, with the added benefit of reaching consumers when and where they can pull the trigger on a purchase. In fact, one of the top reasons why brands are turning to DOOH is to use location data. Geospatial data analysis enables marketers to understand behavioral trends, learning when and where target consumers are most likely to visit certain places.
Today’s on-the-go consumers are commuting to work by car or public transit, visiting local coffee shops, entering and exiting their office buildings, spending time in gyms and restaurants, shopping at malls and grocery stores, and more – in just a single day!
Other media channels can help to improve either upper or lower funnel metrics, while DOOH has the ability to boost all major KPIs. Whether activating an awareness-based strategy or leaning into contextual, place-based environments, a well-placed DOOH ad can drive real results.
Now consider the impact of exposure across multiple venue types. DOOH enables brands to reach their target audience at multiple touch points throughout the consumer journey.
For example, a brand may want to target consumers in close proximity to their retail location. But what if you can target that same consumer while they’re waiting for the train, running at the gym or in line at a convenience store? Repeated exposure and leveraging a variety of venue types can drive lift of brand awareness, consideration, purchase intent, foot traffic and sales.
When it comes to reaching the unreachable, DOOH completes the marketing mix.
Prior to the onset of COVID-19, the aforementioned benefits of programmatic OOH were already gaining popularity amongst many advertisers and agencies. In an era where marketers will need to do more with less, the ability to plan, buy, measure and report with greater flexibility, agility, targeting, ease, efficiency and data will be more important than ever.
Digital is undoubtedly the future of OOH billboarding. Creative, powerful, engaging and interactive, digital billboards are capturing the attention of the public to instill unforgettable messages. Since video has become ubiquitous in our lives, it’s perhaps no wonder that we’re becoming heavily engaged with it. After all, humans are visual beasts, optimized to process moving images more effectively than any other information. DOOH captures this innate skill and ability, leveraging it to get more out of marketing and advertising strategies whilst bringing fun and interactivity to our busy lives.
