In today’s predominantly digital advertising ecosystem, digital out of home (DOOH) enables brands to bring an ‘in real life’ element to their advertising campaigns. Our latest research shows that personalization, comprehensive omnichannel measurement, and collaboration are the top three tactics needed to deliver the best results in programmatic DOOH.
Investment in programmatic advertising on high-quality DOOH screens, backed by data, brings brands flexibility to target audiences at the relevant moment and in the right mindset, focusing investment where and when it has most impact.
As the largest DOOH media owner in the UK, JCDecaux aims to make programmatic DOOH easy to access for brands and agencies of all shapes and sizes. To pinpoint the factors that result in exceptional programmatic DOOH campaigns we conducted a two-week online discussion forum, in collaboration with research partner, MTM, bringing together 25 participants from various DSPs and agencies for an asynchronous group discussion.
Our Ultimate Guide to Success in Programmatic DOOH outlines seven key factors that, when followed, result in best-in-class campaigns. In this piece, I focus in on why prioritizing comprehensive measurement, enhancing personalization through dynamic creative optimisation (DCO), and collaboration and communication are key.
This is a trend that is really starting to take hold in programmatic DOOH. Implementing tools to track both short- and long-term performance metrics ensures fair measurement and helps ensure future investment in the channel. As programmatic DOOH expert Alex Grieves put it during the research: “A key factor in our success, particularly this year, has been consistently adding measurement into as many plans as possible. Measurement provides factual evidence, demonstrating how programmatic DOOH contributes to increased brand metrics, sales uplift, and more.”
Based on our experience, we recommend following three steps to ensure measurement of programmatic DOOH is best in class.
2. Use consistent, appropriate metrics across all channels
3. Partner with specialists to ensure alignment with the right benchmarks.
One of the things I loved about this research project was getting to hear the behind-the-scenes details directly from experts such as Amanda Robertson, account director at Numodo, who described her experience and success with omnichannel activation and measurement for Magners. She said: “We used a multi-channel approach – retargeting those exposed to programmatic DOOH with mobile banners – to drive sign-ups for Magner’s Secret Orchard concerts. Using telco and till data enabled us to target with precision on the most relevant DOOH sites. We quantified success by measuring both ticket sales, as well as brand lift. The campaign resulted in all four events being sold out and 41% of exposed consumers said they were likely to purchase Magners in the future.”
For me, this concept is perfectly illustrated by Scoota’s campaign for The Ivy Collection which was designed to drive increased footfall into a number of key restaurants using intelligent creative to maximize contextual relevance across programmatic DOOH activations. Here’s how they did it.
The creative strategy was split into three parts:
2. QR codes to encourage direct action
3. Highlight typical walking time from the ad to the local restaurant to increase relevance
In total, over 40 creative variations were delivered promoting five restaurants using a combination of DCOand standard activation. The campaign was delivered fully programmatically through Scoota as a single point of activation across multiple environments, media owners, and suppliers. And the results were outstanding: 144% uplift in restaurant visitors for exposed consumers v non-exposed. A true testament to the power of precision targeting and DCO.
One of the most heartwarming things to come from the research was a real sense of community among those that work in programmatic DOOH. It’s clear to see that successful campaigns require close collaboration with brands and creative agencies to align campaign strategies with brand objectives and creative execution. Furthermore, regular updates on progress, optimizations, and outcomes ensure transparency and client satisfaction.
Best practice advice from respondents: partner with activation teams, DSPs, and media owners to troubleshoot issues and maintain performance alignment, and keep clients informed about campaign pacing and any troubleshooting efforts. During the research Michael Thomson, head of digital, Scotland at EssenceMediacom said: “It’s key we empower the creative agency with all the available targets/triggers, get their take. They have great imagination. Beyond that, I have found a pragmatic approach works best. First, we look at the data that is available - what insights does that data highligh as the "winnable" areas for us to focus on. Next, we look at the audience: for example, we can look at interests or likes and target accordingly reaching them near places that match their interests. Or we can use context to speak directly to different audiences in different ways - tapping into their environment to dynamically adjust copy based on time, weather, day of week, etc.”
The final piece of our seven key factors for success in programmatic DOOH is our research participants’ advice for getting programmatic DOOH on media plans, and then keeping it there. Here are a few of my favourite quotes:
“Some advertisers might hesitate to include programmatic DOOH in their media plans because they’re unfamiliar with how it works or uncertain about its value. Concerns often center around perceived lack of control, measurement issues, or the idea that it doesn’t, or can’t, reach their audience. Generally, the solution to alleviate objections is to educate advertisers on how programmatic DOOH combines scale of traditional OOH with the precision of digital, but that’s all talk until you can show them the proof - in other words it’s important to highlight success and produce case studies. The ideal scenario is to secure a small test budget from a larger pot, run the campaign and show them tangible real-world results,” Paddy Shepherd, senior partner, Open Partners
“The easiest way to handle objections is by showing results, we measure around about 80% of our campaigns and ultimately are very accountable. This gives advertisers confidence that what we’re selling is not a pipe dream or some pretty pictures but something that will drive tangible ROI,” Mark Burton, business director, Skyrise
“The use case needs to match the task for programmatic DOOH and we need to demonstrate the value beyond traditional OOH, which is still front-of-mind. I have found that people often aren’t able to articulate the clear benefits and get stuck on comparing cost. We focus on proof-points around impact, and the ability to serve creative relevant to the context; cost efficiencies, and how data increases precision of the ad spend; transformation, and the role business data can play in smarter activation.” Michael Thomson, head of Ddgital, Scotland, EssenceMediacom
To find out more about how programmatic DOOH can help you reach your campaign goals, visit our Programmatic Intelligence Hub or discover all Seven Key Factors for Success in Programmatic DOOH here.