Projected to surpass $185bn in revenue by 2030, the global sports betting market is heating up, alongside sportsbook demand for advertising. From connected TV (CTV) to mobile and out-of-home (OOH), brands can use a host of ad channels to reach their core audience. Yet, Ralf Ollig, VP product at Sportradar ad:s, has seen a surge in digital-out-of-home (DOOH) interest in recent months. He tells us why in our latest interview.
With sports betting on the rise worldwide and digital-out-of-home (DOOH) spend expected to surpass $50bn by 2030, more sportsbooks are tapping into this rapidly growing advertising channel to attract and engage bettors via standalone campaigns or as part of larger omnichannel marketing pushes. Leveraging real-time player, team, and game stats, and innovative marketing tools, technology companies like Sportradar are triggering more dynamic DOOH creatives that align with key moments in the lead-up to, during, and after games and events in the sporting calendar.
Ralf Ollig, VP product at Sportradar ad:s, recently sat down to chat with us about the trend. He explained why DOOH is gaining traction in the market and detailed best planning and measurement practices for sports betting brands. Ollig also hinted that using real-time sports data and omnichannel marketing technology to drive dynamic DOOH ad creative will soon expand beyond sportsbooks, opening new doors for sports sponsors and brands to engage with sports audiences. Check out the conversation highlights below.
Why is OOH an appealing ad channel for sports betting brands?
Ollig: Messaging overload is a huge challenge for sports betting brands because bettors are often targeted with a deluge of ads across online, mobile, and CTV platforms. This can make it difficult for them to break through the noise and capture their audience’s attention. DOOH, on the other hand, can grab the attention of your target audience at scale and in a non-intrusive way. This can be on your daily commute, or en route to sports venues and bars where many betting decisions are made. An OAAA and Harris Poll showed 73% of consumers view DOOH ads favorably.
DOOH also offers a more affordable option for brands who don’t want or have the budget to funnel all their ad spend into expensive event sponsorship or TV ads. Plus, consumers trust DOOH more than other media, and emerging dynamic creative capabilities are unlocking new opportunities to make DOOH ads timelier and more relevant. One in three (31%) consumers say they trust OOH advertising, with 49% going so far as to say OOH is more trustworthy than social media.
How are brands using the channel to their advantage?
Ollig: We’ve found the most successful DOOH ads align with key moments in the sports betting journey when fan interest is at its highest – like the subway ride to the game or arriving on-site at the venue, where many bets and sign-ups typically take place. DOOH creative that makes use of pre-game, current, and live odds or results and matchups during games also performs well.
Imagine your favorite team scored a touchdown and all the DOOH screens around the venue react to that score; that’s a cool use case. Or, if an athlete breaks a record, a sponsor can share this update with DOOH ads across Times Square. It’s getting easier to execute these kinds of activations in real-time, using sports moment data as a creative trigger.
We’ve been working to make more ‘sports moments’ addressable via Sportradar, from tentpole sporting events to more niche game highlights. This will make it easier to push out DOOH creative that incorporates real-time odds and match results for all these key moments, a feat nearly impossible to achieve manually. Collaborating with Broadsign, we’ve built data connections and template pre-approval into our proprietary marketing technology, which has been designed exclusively for sports and betting campaigns, so publishers don’t need to re-approve every creative change; the data can just flow into it.
Is mobile location data influencing planning for these campaigns? How?
Ollig: We’ve reached a point where brands can use technology like ours to tap into historical and real-time mobile location data to plan DOOH campaigns more efficiently and with greater confidence. They can use tools, like our purpose-built Demand-Side-Platform (DSP), to pinpoint the screens that can reach the right audience, in the right place and at the right time, as well as in locations where betting intent is strong.
Based on your experience, what are some best OOH advertising practices for the space?
Ollig: Think about the DOOH formats you want to use and tailor your creative accordingly. An EV charger display may require longer form creative designed to engage the driver while they wait for their car to charge, but a roadside billboard may just need simple, easy-to-read text and a memorable visual.
Consider the most appropriate timing for each venue type. DOOH inventory along popular commuting routes, for instance, may be best used to drive awareness pre-game. Ads placed on signage along transit paths to the venue, in and near the venue itself, and close to bars, would be more ideal for gameday ads with messaging geared toward inspiring bets.
Finally, use DCO (dynamic creative optimization) where possible. Take key moments from sports matches and tie them together with your brand message across channels. Then, determine the best ways to extend your message across DOOH, social, and mobile.
And this advice doesn’t just go for sports betting brands. Sporting event sponsors and brands serving the audiences who watch these events can also benefit from combining real-time sports data with OOH creative in similar ways to reach audiences, be it an apparel company, restaurant, automotive manufacturer, or consumer packaged goods brand. In fact, we’re already seeing a lot of interest from sports sponsors who want to make use of real-time data to trigger more dynamic OOH creative for fans and complement their larger omnichannel strategies.
Which events prove the biggest draw for sportsbook advertisers?
Ollig: Usually, it’s the big tournaments like the UEFA European Championship. We did our first DCO campaign for the Swiss sportsbook Swisslos for the event last year, and they essentially did a city-wide bus station takeover with DOOH ads running creative that featured the upcoming game schedule with results and odds based on our data.
Then, there are other calendared tentpole events like the start of the MLB, NHL, NBA, and NFL seasons, and NCAA March Madness in the US and Canada, and the Copa America in Latin America. However, there’s also value in using dynamic OOH creative for more pop-up type events for sports like golf and tennis, for which DOOH can drive more traffic. Whether planning for a big or smaller event, sports-specific technology like ours makes it easier to book full omnichannel campaigns holistically with mobile, CTV, and DOOH all targeting across the host city.
How do you measure OOH campaign success?
Ollig: Right now, we work a lot on brand lift and awareness studies and partnerships with external groups who can help measure footfall and the likes. We also see clients with the right technology tracking mobile data and mapping their screen locations to gather more insights.
Sudden spikes in sportsbook traffic and betting demand, and even search increases pertaining to the event, especially in areas where the screen ads were displayed, are also pretty telling when it comes to the effectiveness of a DOOH campaign. We showcase this via a dedicated heat map that allows clients to better measure their campaigns and understand their share of voice. Sometimes the client will handle measurement on their own; other times, we’ll team up with our ad tech partner to gather and present the data to them.
About Ralf Ollig
Ralf Ollig is a media and technology innovator redefining how brands engage sports fans around the world. As vice president of product at Sportradar, he leads the company’s global advertising platform — spanning programmatic, social, and search — and is focused on transforming live sports into data-rich, addressable media moments for brands.
With nearly two decades of experience across tech, media, and data, Ralf has co-founded a retail media-focused DSP and, during his time at Google, held strategic product and analyst roles at YouTube. A regular voice at global industry stages, Ralf brings sharp insights on where media, fandom, and advertising technology converge, showing how brands can seize the moment in sports to drive real-world outcomes.
