The Digital Out-of-Home Marketing is Growing

When most people think about the Out-of-Home advertising market, static billboards are the first thing that comes to mind.

According to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, they’ve been around since the 1800s. Not everyone living in this day and age grew up with social media, cell phones, or even computers, but outdoor billboards have always been there. Despite being an advertising staple for many generations, the billboard has evolved and the digital out-of-home market was born.

What is Digital Out-of-Home?

The digital out-of-home market (DOOH) includes any dynamic media that is served outside of the home, such as digital billboards & signage, kiosk monitors, and independently accessible screens. You probably drove by, walked past, and interacted with multiple DOOH advertisements today, whether you realized it or not. Placements for this type of advertising are usually purchased through DOOH networks and programmatic platforms.

Why DOOH?

DOOH offers an opportunity to reach a large audience with a dynamic message, something that other advertising channels still struggle with. One of the challenges with the plethora of digital ads being served on TV and mobile screens is that these adverts are competing with each other for users’ attention, not just within the platform, but across multiple screens at once.

With DOOH, you’re reaching potential customers in places where they might be stuck seeing your ads, such as in rush-hour traffic or walking through the grocery store. Creating interactive (where possible) and creative displays furthers the chance that someone is going to retain the message being served. DOOH also has an advantage when it comes to frequency, as people are more likely to retain a piece of information when it’s served repeatedly.

Outdoor is the Only Traditional Media Category to Show Growth

According to a global NAR forecast, outdoor advertising was the only traditional media category that demonstrated growth in 2018. This was due in large part to the growth that’s being seen across sectors for DOOH, with the technology industry playing a big part in growth metrics. According to WARC, digital out-of-home “is expected to grow 10.1% each year between 2018 and 2021”.

If these trends continue, digital out-of-home will eventually overtake traditional out-of-home for the majority share of global OOHad spend.

Smart Marketers Are Integrating DOOH with Online Marketing Channels

Smart marketers know that each advertising channel plays into the overall marketing mix and that using integrated online and offline efforts can lead to higher brand awareness and program success. The key to integrating these tactics is the ability to use location-based data.

Contextual billboards and displays can be customized to real-time data, making the content relevant to consumers at the moment that they’re being exposed to the advertisement. Mobile-location data can allow retailers to target customers who were exposed to a digital display in-store with advertisements on their mobile phones at the same time or after they’ve left.

The digital out-of-home advertising market has experienced significant growth in the past decade, as can be seen by the increase in spend and investment in creating new capabilities for these out-of-home displays. As investment increases, it’s likely that the ads will get more personalized, more creative, and the market more competitive.