The Rise of DOOH: What media buyers should know about the rapidly evolving channel

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, including programmatic, is on the rise, but some areas are still unfamiliar territory for many media buyers. We're here to shed light on common misunderstandings and share some helpful information to keep in mind while navigating DOOH.

Table of Contents

1. Where We’re at: The Digital Age
2. The (Relatively) New Kid on the Ad Block
3. Expect Changes and Prepare to Adapt
4. Welcome to the Omnichannel World
5. Looking Ahead: DOOH at its Full Potential

Chapter 1 - Where We’re At: The Digital Age

When people visit New York City for the first time, what's one of the iconic places they want to see? That’s right: Times Square, a section of Manhattan with huge, flashing advertisements. Since the early 1900s brands advertised in this lively hub to draw the attention of people going about their daily routines.

Time Square’s evolution from its first electric signs in 1904 to massive LED powered displays today is a reflection of out-of-home’s (OOH) strong foothold in the advertising industry and its transformation with technology.

When media buyers think about OOH today, they are considering an expanding menu of shapes, sizes, locations, and capabilities. The channel's origins are in traditional OOH advertising, which includes static billboards, posters, street signs, or displays found outside your home. However, with the growth of digital online advertising, the measurability and flexibility of digital out-of-home (DOOH) have become increasingly appealing.

DOOH is basically the tech-enhanced version of OOH. Instead of printed displays, it includes digital, dynamic screens that are found in public spaces such as shopping malls, airports, and grocery stores. These displays fit into two types of categories:

1. Large Format

Public areas with visibility from a combination of street-level traffic and passing pedestrians (example: Times Square).

2. Place-Based

Specific locations such as grocery stores, airports, shopping malls, retail stores, taxis, and gyms. Consumers head to these places with a specific intention, which opens opportunities for contextually relevant ad creative.

Marketers are tasked with building effective omnichannel strategies that break through the barrage of media today’s consumers face. In order to compete, a brand must have a deep understanding of their customer’s purchase journey and the flexibility to adapt if this changes.

DOOH is drawing attention among the extensive list of marketing channels because it combines both the power of digital marketing technology (targeting, analytics, and creative flexibility) with the impact of reaching consumers in a unique environment through an unusual format when, arguably, they may be less distracted by other screens.

Research from Nielsen and OAAA has emerged that points to DOOH’s ability to engage viewers and encourage action. The study reported that 70% of DOOH viewers subsequently visited the advertised business. We suspect studies like this and the reasons noted above have contributed to the growth of DOOH ad spend, which is expected to be $3.84B by 2023 (according to eMarketer).