Digital Out of Home changing the game with impact & flexibility

Out of home media has been one of the advertising channels most affected by COVID-19. During 2020, the OOH industry saw a 39 percent decrease in year-on year revenue. With most of Australia in and out of lockdown for the past 2 years, brands have been hesitant to invest in a form of media that is low flexibility, high commitment, and seeing severe decreases in reach and scale.

This is where digital out of home is beginning to take the stage. What if we could combine all of the benefits of highly viewable, large format and place based advertising with the fluidity of programmatic buying? pDOOH answers a long aching call for flexibility and measurement, previously unmatched by outdoor media. Digital out of home creates an environment for digital ads to be served, where users are unable to simply scroll past, delete, or click away from. On top of the contextual capabilities of place based media and scalable qualities of large format, DOOH is now assured to be high impact.

A study conducted by Outdoor Media Association (OMA) has highlighted the emotional impact digital out of home can have on audiences, increasing brand recall. The study found that advertising on digital signs delivers 63% more impact than ads run on classic OOH signs. The two-year long study by neuroscience research company Neuro-Insight used eye-tracking and brain-imaging technology to gain a glimpse into the neural responses of those exposed to OOH signs. If outdoor media can now be flexible, measurable, and impactful upon a customer’s emotional response and brand recall, there is no barrier left for advertisers’ creeping concerns.

With COVID-19’s impact lessening throughout the earlier months of 2021, advertising expenditure in the 12 months ending June 2021 saw a 24.2% increase from the previous year. Along with the aftermath of the initial wave of the pandemic, came a shift from the reluctancy of advertisers to invest in advertising, to now realising the importance of continuing to support customers throughout lockdowns.             

Brands need to be flexible. DOOH allows for the flexibility to invest in large format and place based advertising without the commitment of a traditional media buy. Buying programmatically allows advertisers more freedom over when and where they can connect with their customers, and continue to stay in touch with the user’s new lockdown reality and subsequent shifting perceptions of the brand.                                                                       

Is digital out of home the next step for your brand? Reach out to your ADMATICian for more information on planning for & activating DOOH.