Mumbai: Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising, is a long-standing pillar of marketing, and has maintained its presence through attention-grabbing billboards and posters at various locations. Its versatility across formats and settings has allowed marketers to connect with audiences beyond conventional media. Recently, digitalization has transformed this landscape, infusing digital technology into physical spaces and creating a bridge between the offline and online worlds. Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising leverages digital displays, interactive interfaces, and data-driven insights for a new level of engagement and impact.

With its ability to deliver dynamic content, optimize creative messaging, provide real-time buying metrics, and accommodate various budget perspectives, DOOH has become an indispensable part of modern advertising strategies. The fusion of offline and online elements presents both opportunities and challenges in terms of measuring the impact and effectiveness of advertising efforts. According to industry projections by IMARC group released earlier this year, the DOOH market in India is expected to be about $3.2 billion by 2027 and that presents valuable opportunities to advertisers.

DOOH: Integrating Consumer Journeys for the New-Age Consumers

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of programmatic & omnichannel marketing and it has compelled marketers to be more creative in finding cost-effective ways to implement strategies that offer better ROI. One of the key benefits of programmatic DOOH for brands is the flexibility to deliver ads more efficiently and cost-effectively than traditional advertising methods.

Programmatic DOOH allows advertisers to automatically implement various targeting and creative options based on geography, weather, venue/screen types, or even time of day. This personalized approach helps to customize campaigns for the user and deliver the right messaging with higher accuracy. Not to mention that, with the right technology partner synchronization with other devices is possible, achieving true omnichannel strategies. By taking advantage of the impact of out-of-home screens and using dynamic content, programmatic DOOH is empowering advertisers to create engaging campaigns and connect deeper with their audiences, at the right stage of the customer journey.

This ensures that their ad spend is being used effectively and that they are getting the most value for their investment. In addition, with the integration of Mobile, CTV, and DOOH campaigns, marketers can provide a seamless and synchronized experience for consumers, enhancing brand engagement. DOOH campaigns have, thus, picked up as a missing piece of the puzzle to close the gap between online and offline worlds.

Making Outdoor Advertising More Measurable

In the past, brands have struggled to measure the effectiveness of OOH campaigns. Who saw the ad? Where has it been displayed? Is it a high traffic area? DOOH with its location data accuracy and tailored KPIs: ad plays, impression multipliers and actual impressions covers what was lacking in OOH.

However, in the realm of DOOH, measuring the impact goes beyond mere visibility. While reach remains a fundamental metric, programmatic DOOH is also able to make marketers understand high value impact such as interaction with the screens through QR code scanning, NFC tags or the most convenient option for the end user: synced campaigns on personal devices like the smartphone.

Let’s dive into a practical example: you are a retailer with a seasonal promotion across certain neighbourhoods that you are advertising with impactful DOOH ads. Imagine being able to serve a map to the mobile of the people that saw your DOOH ad and bring them to your store. Not just a map with directions, but one that is tailored to point the consumer to the closest store. And not only serve the ad, but measure the footfall to the store. It might sound like magic, but it is reality in 2023. How is that possible? The real-time data and geolocation sapience allows advertisers to synchronize campaigns across multiple channels to achieve holistic campaigns. Additionally, weather-based targeting and creative optimization allows to automatically adapt ads and campaigns to weather conditions, making the reach in real-time more effective.

Launching a DOOH strategy

DOOH is an interesting medium for both advertisers and consumers because of the nature of the screen - the screen is not owned and used by a person or group of people, unlike a mobile or CTV. The screen is in an outdoor setting like a street and what the advertisers can measure with DOOH advertising is dependent on other impression multipliers, ad plays, or bid offers.

By partnering with the right technology providers, DOOH can achieve so much more! To maximize the impact of DOOH campaigns, a smart retargeting strategy that syncs ad campaigns to take action on mobile can make a difference. Track conversions and attribute them to specific campaigns. For example, a campaign promoting an app that includes a DOOH ad that syncs with the mobile phones of the people around those screens and even the CTV within their household can track the number of app downloads or even purchases made by viewers who were exposed to the advertisement.

Embracing DOOH's Impact

The rise of DOOH, deeper integration with other channels, smarter data utilization, increased digitization, and a continued focus on media for good will collectively result in a creative re-set as digitally-minded brands seek to capitalize on untapped opportunities. In an era where consumers crave authentic and meaningful interactions, DOOH advertising stands as a powerful tool, and the ability to measure its impact ensures that brands can continually evolve and connect with their audiences at the right moment.  As DOOH continues to evolve and integrate with emerging technologies, like the synchronization with other screens, its potential to captivate audiences and deliver impactful advertising experiences will only grow.

The author of this article is mediasmart Affle VP Nikhil Kumar.