The recent uptick in the accessibility of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) represents something of a new frontier for many marketers. Outdoor ads have long been the territory of traditional advertising, but now that DOOH has become more available programmatically, it’s introduced the great outdoors to many more digital marketers.
Because programmatic DOOH is relatively new to the digital marketing scene, there are a lot of questions as to how, where, and why it works. Digital marketers are used to accountable results, and DOOH’s real impact has historically been difficult to track (unless you’re working with GroundTruth to attribute foot traffic to DOOH ads, of course).
Though DOOH can perform powerfully as a standalone channel, we think about it as a part of a full marketing funnel strategy. And there are few channels as effective at driving meaningful top-of-funnel awareness as programmatic DOOH.
Digital Out-of-Home Takes Your Digital Ads Full-Funnel
Digital advertising has always performed well for mid- and bottom-funnel. Want to get that final push that converts a customer? Precision targeting across channels like Desktop and Mobile are the way to go. With the relatively recent introduction of CTV and Digital Audio to the world of platform-based programmatic advertising, digital advertising climbed higher in the funnel, driving more awareness and opening up even more people to the messaging that ultimately transforms them into customers.
But the top of the funnel? Driving awareness through maximized impressions in critical areas? Programmatic advertising has still been competing with traditional channels, like analog out-of-home advertising and high-profile local media placements. That’s where Digital Out-of-Home is flipping the script:
Programmatic DOOH is opening up digital ads to real-world top-of-funnel advertising, expanding programmatic campaigns to potential customers from the top down. Historically, DOOH has been subject to many of the same restrictions of traditional OOH, lacking the flexibility and metric visibility needed to make informed decisions and adapt campaigns in real-time. Today, DOOH is combining the sheer impressions of traditional outdoor advertising with the precision and flexibility of programmatic.
The Value of Digital Out-of-Home
Like all outdoor ads, DOOH excels at increasing brand awareness through affordable impressions in key areas. Where DOOH excels well above its traditional counterpart is flexibility and improved targeting.
When you place a traditional OOH ad, it holds the same position for a set amount of time. We’ve all seen the flaky, sun-bleached bus bench ads. Foot traffic patterns ebb and flow every day, but the ad obviously stays in the same place. Programmatic DOOH ads don’t have this problem. They can be scheduled to only run during specific times of day to capitalize on foot traffic patterns and placed according to nearby attractions or venues. The flexibility offered by programmatic DOOH is a massive leap from both traditional OOH and even non-programmatic DOOH.
Programmatic DOOH ads boast improved targeting by allowing marketers to reach specific areas of interest. Rather than selecting from a list of predetermined locations to run your ad (though you can do that, too!), DOOH allows you to run ads that target anywhere from the state level down to specific neighborhoods or retail areas. This improved targeting ensures that your ads are seen across multiple locations in the areas that matter most to your campaign. In fact, household CPG brand, belVita, achieved some incredible results when they used DOOH ads to target high-value areas in their National Coffee Day campaign.
Ready for More?
Digital Out-of-Home is poised to change the world of digital advertising. To learn more about this fast-growing channel, reach out to GroundTruth today.
Ready to get started? Create your GroundTruth Ads Manager account today, and start exploring our platform (no minimum spend required). And, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.