The path to continued success in the programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) space is clear – more education and standardization with less fragmentation pave the road to long-term success. IAB has completed a comprehensive analysis of the US and Canadian programmatic digital out of home markets.
pDOOH has quickly become a leading revenue driver for overall OOH advertising as programmatic buying accounts for 40% of all revenue netting an estimated $4 billion in 2018. To continue to thrive, pDOOH needs a fully realized series of processes to address the lack of programmatic education denoted in the PwC research.
The adoption of digital out-of-home inventory continues to climb as more ad units become available in more markets. Rapid growth is great for the bottom line but it has also created its own share of challenges as professional expertise is developed in an organic environment through on the job experience rather than a determined set of documented and industry recognized standards.
This IAB research comes at a crucial time in our industry, authenticating many conversations industry stakeholders have had in the boardroom and behind the scenes. To continue growth, the pDOOH industry needs to not only focus on education, but technical consolidations to address fragmentation, and the development and compliance of basic standards that will generate continued success. We are at a point in the life cycle of pDOOH where we need to pave the Wild-Wild West mentality with digital billboards and interactive LED engagements dedicated to the future of this business.
How do we use these insights to succeed?
- Buy-side evangelism is a necessity to promote the value of pDOOH to strategic decision makers within ad agencies and brands.
- Digital buyers need to acknowledge the consumer- who is transfixed with smartphone images and messaging, and also expects the same experiences in their offline (or outdoor) life.
pDOOH creates the opportunity to increase advertising opportunities with its real-time customizations. Buyers needs to see pDOOH as the gateway to interactive consumer engagement that is on par with the smartphone.
From an agency perspective, we are looking to simplify and make the process of activating pDOOH as seamless as possible, with the supply being fragmented by screen types, locales, environment and city regulation, we strive to activate the most relevant screen in conjunction with every other channel we are covering. We are retargeting on mobile devices, combining audio and pDOOH capabilities to drive efficiency and performance.
Outcome based measurement and strategy that is applied to our campaigns guarantee delivery on goals and not just reach.
IAB’s in-depth research makes it clear that there is more work to do within the pDOOH industry. As you may be aware, five leading media trade organizations (DSF-Digital Signage Federation, DPAA-Digital Place-Based Advertising Association, IAB-Interactive Advertising Bureau, GeoPath and OAAA-Out of Home-Advertising Association of America) released DOOH Best Practices earlier this year. Now armed with this research, these groups need to consider tackling the issues laid out here in order to shepherd continuous growth in the evolution of pDOOH.
You can download the full US & Canada report here.
