Rise of DOOH and How it Has Taken the Market by Storm

Mr. Charanjeet Arora, Co-Ceo Kinetic India,  explains how the trend of Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising and how the industry is also well-equipped to push the boundaries of advertising with DOOH’ creativity and customizations while also supporting this impact with insights to some data. 

Have you heard about the recent One Plus 5G smartphone launch campaign in London? Placed across six busy sites, it created a life-size buzz about the product, leading to a grand impact.

In spite of having been in the market for a while now, it is only in the last couple of years that the trend of Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising has taken the market by storm. Today, the industry is also well-equipped to push the boundaries of advertising with its creativity and customizations; while supporting the impact with accurate data. 

Industry experts have predicted that in the United States, approximately 4.5 billion dollars are expected to be spent on DOOH advertising by 2019. Whereas in India, as per the PMAR report, DOOH merely accounts for 3-5% of the OOH industry’s overall revenue.

Leveraging data accuracy

As technology progressed, traditional OOH witnessed an evolution. Years ago, one could only wonder what it would be like to have a picture speak to us. Today, that thought can be executed. One of the most significant developments in DOOH advertising is the ability to leverage geo-location data for attribution, specific targeting and measurement of the outreach.

As more companies see the potential visibility that DOOH campaigns can garner, tech giants and start-ups have also begun investing in this medium. In the future, its cross-channel and retargeting capabilities will expand as well. This will open even more opportunities for brands to connect with consumers in creative, engaging and non-intrusive ways.

The third dimension

Imagine a static billboard outside your home or on the road that you usually take to work. Now, imagine that same billboard coming alive – A moment when you can gain information in an interactive manner. Digital displays can be transmitted across multiple locations and their content, as well as creatives, can be changed from any remote location using digital technology. 

Equipped with an advanced mechanism to integrate the dimension of ‘touch and feel’, DOOH can record as well as display personalized content. Complimented with the ability to be altered in real-time and cross-linked with social media platforms, the interactive and dynamic creatives used for DOOH, help create a higher brand recall. This medium is therefore majorly being used for creating brand awareness; rather than driving sales.

Maximizing impact

As an advertising medium, DOOH offers advertisers the opportunity to reach broad audiences and execute high-impact campaigns. Unlike other types of digital advertising, there are no ad-blockers and no click frauds. The advancement in technology has allowed for multiple improvements, right from audience measurement to impression analytics.

By itself, DOOH creates responsiveness, but when combined with mobile, the impact only gets amplified. As a mobile avenue, it allows consumers to digitally engage and immediately connect with the brand. This is a great means to initiate measurable behaviors such as driving traction towards app downloads and showcasing a platform for user-generated content to take center-stage; which makes the brand a popular social leader.

More than the usual

When DOOH was first introduced, the prime locations for placements were airports, followed by malls and metro/railways. The trend of having a digitized billboard in a high traffic junction is now coming to light. Slowly, it has expanded to cinema theatres, hospitals, BEST stations, and even a few educational institutions.

Alongside the growing penetration of digital sites, the industry has also witnessed a growth in the value of DOOH spending, being driven by the higher cost-per-thousand. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, in 2018, 29% of the out-of-home revenue was represented by digital. And as stated by PricewaterhouseCoopers, DOOH is projected to overtake traditional outdoor ad spending by 2020. Our country is fond of innovations and our consumers are forever on the lookout for ‘out-of-the-box’ campaigns. With a diverse target audience, the prospect for DOOH is definitely high.