Digital Out of Home formats are mainstream now and the use of programmatic is bringing outdoor advertising into the 21st century. ExchangeWire speak with Omi Ducat (pictured below), VP business & client development, wayve, about how outdoor automation can help access a new wealth of ad formats, mobile and DOOH amplification, and how real-time data can mean real-time messaging in OOH environments.

The stealthy replacement of traditional billboards and posters with digital displays has taken place – largely unheeded – over a number of years; but Digital Out of Home (DOOH) advertising has now reached a tipping point, with Clear Channel Outdoor announcing it will make more revenue from digital than traditional OOH formats this year.

The use of programmatic to automate ad delivery is increasing and – just as it revolutionised advertising on desktop, smartphone, and, tablet – it is primed to improve the efficiency and reach of DOOH campaigns. But, while automation will improve the accuracy of targeting and deliver ads to a much wider audience, it may mean creative quality suffers as advertisers allocate more of their budgets to media than multi-screen creative production.

So, how can advertisers use automation to their advantage without sacrificing creative quality?

Factor in display size and type

To provide a high-quality user experience, ads must be served in the best format for the size, shape, and context of the digital display. DOOH formats can vary from large, elevated high-impact screens located outside at busy road junctions, to smaller venue-based formats intended for pedestrians, often found within shopping centres, office blocks, train stations, and airports.

Fortunately, developments in technology now allow advertisers access to affordable platforms, which can automatically build multiple creatives for a wide range of screens and ratios. This frees them from the time-consuming task of constructing individual creative for each size and type of display and allows them to focus on innovation and creativity. A single ad design can be split into individual optimised assets that can be combined in the most effective way for each screen. These platforms can automatically detect hardware and deliver the most appropriate creative for that specific screen.

Use DOOH and mobile in unison

Mobile is the obvious tool for amplifying the power of DOOH, as it provides a link between the consumer and their visual surroundings. Designing creative cross-screen campaigns, using location data or beacon technology to link mobile devices with DOOH displays, provides a multiscreen experience that captures the viewer’s attention on multiple levels.

The current NHS Blood and Transplant DOOH campaign to highlight the importance of blood donation uses augmented reality to allow viewers to make a virtual blood donation via their smartphones, filling a blood bag pictured on a digital billboard and helping a sick patient return to health. Mobile and DOOH were also combined to great effect during last year’s launch of Jurassic World where commuters at Waterloo station could synch their mobile devices with large screens playing film trailers to hear the audio. By combining mobile and DOOH, advertisers can invite viewers to interact with their advertising story, thereby ensuring maximum engagement.

Create dynamic ads with real-time data

OOH advertising is all about creating an immediate experience for viewers, so it lends itself particularly well to real-time messaging. By leveraging data signals, such as location and weather, advertisers can ensure their creative has maximum relevance for the consumers that view it.

JetBlue took heed of this advice in designing its Time Square billboard ad which connected with Google Maps and its own active flight schedule to tell viewers how long it would take them to get to holiday destinations if they set off right away. Dove made a digital billboard in the same location ‘weather sensitive’ by linking with Forecast.io to determine the weather, and serving specific creative when rain was forecast. Closer to home The England and Wales Cricket Board have launched a DOOH campaign leveraging live sporting images and scores – as well as its own Twitter feed – to deliver real-time relevant advertising to town centres across the UK.

DOOH presents advertisers with a relatively affordable means of reaching viewers at scale with a high-impact ad format, but this shouldn’t come at the expense of creativity. By leveraging the latest technologies to ensure ad formats are appropriate for screen sizes and ratios, combining DOOH with mobile to allow user interaction, and creating dynamic ads based on real-time data, advertisers can make the most of the rise of DOOH – delivering inspired creative to capture the attention of its vast audience.