Why Programmatic OOH Will Gain Ground In The Post-Lockdown World

2020 has not been a good year for Out Of Home advertising. OOH sites saw a steep decline in footfall across APAC due to lockdowns and naturally, this affected media investment. 50% of media spends were pulled instantly across the APAC region.  

But with lockdowns now easing in parts of the region, consumers will hit the streets again slowly and steadily. After months of social isolation, they will step out into a whole new world with a lot clamouring for their attention. Traffic, retail, socializing, eating out you name it. In such times, capturing consumers mindshare will be key for brand marketers. After all these months of spending time indoors and engaging with nothing but their screens and their immediate family, consumers will look outside again. When they do, they should be able to find products and services, creatives and messaging that are tailor-made for them. This is where programmatic OOH will play a significant role.

DOOH V2020+, tailor made for the new normal

Programmatic, digital out-of-home advertising combined with 360-degree audience insights is a marriage made in heaven. One of the biggest challenges with traditional billboards is their static nature that takes weeks to change. Marketers have little control over ad exposures once a billboard is up. Programmatic DOOH addresses this challenge by delivering data-driven, audience-centric, dynamic creative optimization in near real time. From weather to sports event results, footfall patterns to hyper-personalized promotions, just about any significant event can trigger creative optimization on an ongoing basis, several times a day.

Thanks to the lockdowns, even the most traditional consumers discovered the benefits of shopping, banking, work from home among other errands that can be done online. Having discovered this convenience and efficiency, we can expect them to continue to do more on their screens while stepping out only in the pursuit of recreation and pleasure. For this new era of consumers, DOOH promises advanced omni-channel amplification, i.e. running coordinated out of home and digital campaigns. According to Nielsen, OOH is the most effective in driving online engagements like search and social. Brands need to be able to leverage consumersincreased omni-channel behaviours in order to capture their mindshare and share of wallet in the post-lockdown world. And DOOH presents this opportunity like never before.

All good things and none of the trade-offs

Even as programmatic OOH brings the vast potential of digital advertising such as hyper-targeting and contextualization, retargeting, interactive advertising, it also simultaneously removes the known barriers of digital. There are no ad blockers in DOOH. It can continue to exist unabated in a cookie-less world. Viewers cant skip DOOH ads. Brand safety is by and large ensured in DOOH because brands have more power and control on site selection. Most importantly, the billion-dollar organized crime that is ad fraud is yet to hamper DOOH in ways that it has affected online display advertising.

Programmatic DOOH also enables stronger measurement and attribution capabilities. With uncertainties around the global economy and business landscape, C-suite will question ad wastes and demand stronger marketing ROI. Insight-led OOH and other ad investments will naturally gain new ground in such times. Attributing store footfalls and even online purchases to omni-channel ad exposures will be the new normal and DOOH is equipped to deliver on these channel-agnostic measurement frameworks.

Are we equipped to make the most of programmatic OOH?

Factori sure is. In fact, just a few weeks ago, we launched our brand new offering ScreenIQ. By combining the power of O2O data solutions and audience and places insights, we are empowering brands with OOH media measurement, insights, and planning on a single platform.

The opportunities and solutions are both here for brands and marketers to make the most of programmatic, digital out of home. Are brands ready to make the most of them?