With the automation of DOOH has come the advent of data-driven campaigns and reporting in outdoor advertising. While the first digital OOH campaigns were (and to some extent still are) booked or broadcast in linear format, the demand for comparable currency in DOOH with other media was rapidly driven by the introduction of pDOOH.

Not only is the currency for automated action impressions, the innovation in pDOOH is primarily in data-driven targeting and the measurement thereof. This makes it possible to set certain parameters or conditions (triggers) for a campaign or inventory and thus access them from a potential of a variety of data sources. Only when the selected conditions are met will the spot be displayed on the screen.

Traditionally, OOH has been and still is used as an advertising channel for brand advertising, as the use of posters can be strategically placed in geographically relevant locations to attract attention. Due to the large number of contacts, reach can be built up quickly and thus the awareness of brands and products can be increased.

With the upswing of DOOH in recent years and in particular the multiple uses of data, the demand for specific targeting has increased. In Switzerland, the AM4DOOH study (Audience Measurement for Digital OOH) was published by SPR+ in 2019 on the basis of static OOH frequency data.

The data, which is currently available as currency, is integrated in the Swiss OOH planning tool SPR+. They show how the contact quality of a DOOH site compares to a classic poster site. The basis is the performance values of SPR+, whereby average daily frequencies at street segments and a plausible route allocation to all people in Switzerland were calculated on the basis of different data sources to determine how many people pass an advertising space on average. 

Clear Channel has taken these values as a basis for performance-based pricing and introduced them as early as 2021. This is because it is not the position itself that is relevant for customers, but the possible contacts with the broadcast subject and the associated advertising impact.

COVID is not the only reason for the demand for more precise and dynamic data for DOOH. Various companies have been trying for years to develop a suitable solution to offer customers the possibility of efficient targeting. The question is not only about the number of people and when they are where and in what quantity, but also about their intention and other socio-demographic data and behaviour patterns. In addition to the situational targeting possibilities (data triggers), there is often talk about precise targeting of specific target groups.

Targeting

Today’s programmatic DOOH technology allows for a data-driven approach to target customised igranular and behavioural audiences. It also increases flexibility and control, as advertising is not limited to predefined locations, but DOOH screens can be activated wherever a significant number of the chosen target group is likely to be, based on anonymised data and movement patterns.

That is the theory. In practice, the whole thing still looks a little different, especially in Switzerland. Data protection (GDPR) is a big issue and currently does not allow the possibilities to access near-real-time user data with extended information on socio-demographics, interests etc.

Currently, target group segments are therefore created (in pDOOH) when specific industries / companies geofence their locations (POP, POI, POS) where the decision makers of these companies are likely to be. This is done by advertisers and marketers alike. Using historical mobile location data, DOOH locations can be activated when a concentration of mobile devices is detected in the designated geofencing areas, allowing marketers to reach their target audience with relevant and timely messages. That is the theory. In practice, the whole thing still looks a little different, especially in Switzerland. Data protection (GDPR) is a big issue and currently does not allow the possibilities to access near-real-time user data with extended information on socio-demographics, interests etc.

With Clear Channel you have the possibility to book products according to geofencing and target groups by combining different screens.There are 6 packages with different geofencing and 5 packages with different target groups to choose from. The presence on our digital advertising spaces increases brand awareness and brand image. Locations at neuralgic points in the immediate vicinityt of sales areas generate leads and new sales. With DOOH, a variety of creative advertising formats are possible. With pDOOH, these can be controlled even more efficiently.

DOOH is and remains a one-to-many medium

It must be clear to everyone that DOOH remains a one-to-many medium, despite all existing and future broadcasting and control options. No spot has only one viewer, a 1:1 control as with online is not possible and does not exist. Nevertheless, the target group-relevant address by means of data application and the corresponding technology increases the possibilities that outdoor advertising offers the customer. DOOH can be used efficiently together with OOH, but also in combination with other media such as TV and especially online.

The requirement for the timeliness of data for DOOH and pDOOH

With the introduction of the mobility index by Google, Apple, Intervista and others, the demand for up-to-date data in pricing and reporting has also arrived in the outdoor advertising sector. The amount of data involved is almost unimaginable for most people. Big data is finding its way into outdoor advertising. The marketers are all challenged not only to obtain the data, interpret it and apply it predictively, but also to adapt their systems and technologies to it.

But customers are also in demand. The demand for up-to-date data, especially as a performance transparency and guarantee, goes hand in hand with dynamic pricing, which we have only known from the airline and hotel industry up to now. Machine learning must be used here in order to provide customers with the expected contacts and thus campaign performance not only afterwards, but also in advance. This raises the question of whether the market is ready for dynamic pricing, not only in terms of the number of contacts in the desired target groups, but also in terms of supply and demand within these target groups.

This discussion will arise at the latest when the first marketers add additional data to the previous standard currency SPR+ and give their customers even more transparency in performance.