IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem, has today released its ‘Programmatic Out Of Home (OOH) Advertising Guide’ which examines the strengths and opportunities around digital out of home across Europe, sharing best practices and considerations around measurement and creativity for campaign success. 

Out of Home (OOH) is almost as old as civilisation itself. From the moment there were goods to sell, vendors have relied on posters, engravings and symbols to attract peoples’ attention as they go about their day. Today’s static posters and billboards are being replaced by dynamic digital frames hosted on a range of formats including billboards, street furniture, busses and trains, shopping malls and more. These frames leverage programmatic automation to serve multiple ads to multiple audiences at multiple times throughout the day. And marketers have more control than ever to select, in real-time, the perfect location, screen size and moment to reach their target audiences.

Even in times of lockdowns and curfews due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DOOH plays an important role for brands to demonstrate awareness and sensitivity to the situation at large. Programmatic buying of DOOH allows brands and agencies to control their spend, respond instantly to lockdowns – whether regional or national – and focus on times of the day that get more reach. It’s for these reasons that since March 2020, programmatic DOOH vendors have reported new first-time buyers to their platforms.

Commenting on the resilience of the DOOH industry, Helen Mussard, marketing & industry strategy director, IAB Europe said “In what started as a tough year for the DOOH industry, IAB Europe’s newly released Attitudes to Programmatic Advertising 2020 report shows that almost a third of agencies believe that DOOH will be the key growth area for programmatic investment in 2021. The aim of this guide is to therefore encourage those new buyers to continue their investment in DOOH, while encouraging others to test this new innovative and interactive channel. We are proud to raise the profile of DOOH and support companies who are spearheading the next generation of interactive ads.”

In collaboration with IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee, the guide was written by DOOH experts from Awarain, Nielsen, OMD, Displayce, IAB France and IAB Turkey. Commenting on the importance of the Guide, Pierre Gauthier, vice-chair, IAB Europe Programmatic Trading Committee, IAB Europe board member and executive committee member, IAB France, said “Before the global pandemic, which brought a series of internal lock downs, DOOH programmatic in Europe was seeing high levels of growth across the value chain. With restrictions being lifted and movement increasing once again, SSP/DSP buying is in the midst of an uptick that looks set to continue. The market is young, but growing fast. It’s therefore the perfect time for buyers to read IAB Europe’s new guide to take stock and understand how DOOH can enhance their media plans.”

Commenting on the release of the guide, Alp Ayhan, founder and CEO, Awarion and vice chair IAB Turkey Programmatic Taskforce, said “The adoption of programmatic DOOH targeting and buying is increasing by the day and I think this guide is packed with great tips for all stakeholders. Digital marketers in particular are very keen to display their campaigns in the physical realm, using the technology that’s available to them, so this guide comes at a perfect time.”

The Programmatic Out Of Home (OOH) Advertising Guide can be downloaded from IAB Europe’s website here. 

For information on the guide please contact, Helen Mussard (mussard@iabeurope.eu).