Programmatic buying

Until recently, OOH has had a very lengthy and complex buying process. For example, if a brand wanted to buy five different billboards, it would have to reach out to each individual board owner and purchase them separately with a long paper trail of RFPs and insertion orders. Today, OOH is available with a robust, scalable programmatic model:

1. The buyer searches the inventory by audience and/or locations via an online platform.

2. The online platform displays available options and pricing/audience reach with complete transparency.

3. The buyer sets a target budget and uploads creative files.

4. Advertisements flow to the screens as soon as they are approved.

5. The buyer is invoiced for the advertisements that are delivered.

Data analytics

Savvy advertisers demand clear and actionable campaign reporting. Today, the technology can provide real-time access to performance figures such as the number of ad plays and impressions delivered at specific display locations, as well as which audiences were reached based on the mobile devices that passed by the screens. 

In addition to these technological advances, other core ingredients now available with OOH are contributing to its exponential growth.

Scale of reach

On an average, people spend approximately 70 per cent of their waking hours out of the house. So what better way to reach them than on digital screens in the real world? One can notice digital displays almost everywhere as they move around throughout the day. 

Brand safety

With OOH screens, there are no bots, click fraud, or ‘below-the-fold’ viewability issues. OOH offers a large canvas to communicate a message that cannot be skipped.

Self-service buying

Today, convenience and automation are the new norm. A touchless programmatic-buying process allows for last-minute campaigns on a Friday afternoon as well as their 24-7 creation and editability. 

Even though OOH was late in adapting to these technological advances, it is quickly catching up. More brands are shifting their focus and budget from traditional media to OOH as this advertising medium is engaging, 100 per cent viewable, fraud free, and an effective addition to any media mix. With the ability to launch smarter campaigns using audience data, programmatic buying, and analytics, advertisers are guaranteed to see better results.

Luba Giglia is the marketing director at Adomni, a digital out-of-home (DOOH) purchasing platform, for the past 1.5 years and has developed an appreciation for the technology available in the out-of-home (OOH) industry. She can be reached via email at lgiglia@adomni.com.