Welcome back to our CHANNELS series, where we cover the main channels that advertisers should consider when planning their campaigns. Last time on the blog, we covered Streaming Audio Ads, and this week we’re discussing Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) Advertising. If you’re enjoying this series, sign up so you never miss a post!
What is digital out-of-home advertising?
I’ll be honest: when I see the acronym DOOH, all I can think about is this:
Sorry–anyway:
Digital Out-of-Home advertising is an evolving segment of the advertising industry that uses digital billboards to engage audiences outside their homes. DOOH combines the scale of traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising with the precision and flexibility of digital campaigns.
DOOH ads come in a wide range of formats, from digital billboards and transit ads to interactive kiosks and digital signage networks in malls, airports, and other public spaces.
The average consumer spends 75% of their time on the go outside of the home, so buying this format is a unique opportunity to serve an unskippable, eye-catching, and unforgettable advertising experience.
How did DOOH begin?
Early forms of OOH advertising, such as billboards and transit posters, are the first forms of advertising, have been prevalent for over a century. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, digital screens began to replace static billboards.
The initial phase of DOOH was characterized by simple digital billboards that displayed static digital images.
As technology advanced, these evolved into sophisticated platforms capable of displaying dynamic content, including videos, animations, and real-time data integration.
What are the standard formats of DOOH ads?
- Large Format: Elevated, billboard-esque, found on highways, roads, industrial, and commercial areas.
- Spectaculars: Live in high traffic, pedestrian areas like Las Vegas and Times Square, very high impact. Oftentimes showing videos.
- Venue Based and Public Spaces: At eye level in pedestrian areas like malls, doctors, airports, and other commercial spaces.
What are the benefits of DOOH ads?
DOOH ads are proven to drive more engagement than static billboards. A study from 2020 by Nielson showed that people who see directions from a DOOH ad are more likely to visit that business, and 80% will make a purchase at that business.
Additionally, “nearly two-thirds of DOOH viewers have engaged in at least one measured action after seeing a digital billboard,” according to this study.
These statistics can exciting for advertisers—here’s why it is able to make such a splash:
Enhanced engagement
DOOH advertising captures attention in a way traditional OOH cannot, thanks to vivid displays and personalized content—and the fact that they are unskippable. Using motion and interactive elements makes DOOH ads even more effective.
Your team can be hyper-creative for these ads, since there are so many eyes on them, and making an impact is crucial.
Flexibility and real-time updates
One of the standout advantages of DOOH is the ability to update content in real-time. Advertisers can adjust their messaging based on time of day, weather conditions, or current events, making their ads more relevant and timely. This proves incredibly scalable, as you can change your creative based on performance, without the need for a reprint.
Targeted reach
DOOH advertising allows for more targeted campaigns than its traditional counterpart. By analyzing data on pedestrian and vehicle traffic patterns, advertisers can place their ads in locations where they are most likely to reach their desired audience.
Not only can they reach their target audience and understand the audience around them, but ads can be served that are tailored to that audience’s interests.
Delivering ads via context rather than cookies means DOOH ads are future-resistant, and unlock possibilities for hyper-specific targeting.
Eco-friendly
Digital screens eliminate the need for paper and vinyl used in traditional billboards, which makes DOOH a more environmentally-friendly option. The LED technology used in digital screens is energy-efficient, further reducing the environmental impact.
Analytics and reporting
The digital part of digital out-of-home means that you can measure your campaign’s success in detail, as well as gain more granular insights on your audience. You can also optimize your campaign throughout its duration for better results.
How do I measure the performance of my DOOH ads?
Impressions
Technologies such as mobile location data and facial recognition software help estimate the number of people exposed to DOOH ads. These impressions can be broken down by demographics, providing insights into the audience reached. Users cannot block an OOH advertisement, and the size ensures that your brand is fully seen.
Engagement
Billboards with interactive elements can be tracked to measure engagement. Metrics such as the number of interactions, duration of engagement, and user actions provide valuable data on how effectively the ad is engaging viewers.
Conversions
Integrating DOOH campaigns with digital marketing efforts allows advertisers to track conversions more directly. For example, QR codes on these ads can link to online platforms, where user actions and conversions can be tracked.
Brand lift studies
Surveys and studies conducted before and after campaigns can measure changes in brand awareness, perception, and intent to purchase, providing insights into the campaign’s impact on brand metrics.
How can I buy DOOH?
You can buy inventory via a DSP, which uses real-time bidding, tapping into billions of data points to find the perfect buyer for your advertisement, at the perfect moment.
Setting up a campaign is relatively easy. Choose your location, audience, flight dates, and a few more pieces of information, and then the algorithmically driven platform runs an automatic auction to determine the best viewer for your ads at that moment.
Usually, DOOH ads run for 10-20 seconds, so the DSP can use mobile or location data to determine the best audience for that time period, based on your campaign goals.
Pricing of DOOH ads
Pricing is generally based on:
- Impressions: the number of people who have/will see your ad
- Share of voice: a measure of the market your brand owns compared to your competitors
- Location: how competitive the location of the billboard is.
Why buy programmatic?
The data-driven nature of programmatic advertising makes buying DOOH a perfect fit. Using a DSP, you’re able to set up highly specific parameters, including:
- Audience targeting options: Using mobile data, you can reach customers in the right context.
- Retargeting: Using a DSP, you can geofence an area, read device IDs, and retarget your customers across their screens.
- Geofencing and location data: DOOH provides the perfect use of geofencing, where you can target people in a specific geographic area.
- Flexible flighting: Scheduling your campaign to run at certain times can save you money and also reach people when they are most likely to convert.
- In-depth analytics: You can not only see in-depth results after the campaign, but optimize during the campaign, using smart suggestions given by the DSP.
Our proprietary platform, ORION, allows you to run multiple campaigns through multiple DSPs with no minimum spend, using the unique benefits of each DSP to get the best results. The team at Version2 combines industry expertise with best in class technology to achieve unprecedented results. Reach out to our team to learn more about how ORION can help you reach your goals, and to see if using Digital Out Of Home advertising is right for your business.
