Joining the dots in DOOH

Take digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising. This fast-moving market is one of the most exciting emerging media to watch in 2024. Why? Because as the medium has evolved, so too have its targetability and buying flexibility benefits, making it a must-have for today’s marketers, increasingly capturing eyeballs and generating action from consumers in effective and innovative ways.

It’s no wonder that players on the demand and supply side are jostling to grab their individual slices of the action. But, in doing so, they’re in danger of splintering the potential of DOOH martech to piecemeal.

Calling for more cohesion 

The big challenge for more than half (55%) of marketing leaders over the next 12 months is the ability to link marketing to business growth, finds The Drum and AAR research. That means that squeezing the most value from every investment is crucial, yet the majority say they’re not using their platforms to their full potential.

Has marketing got a cohesion problem? According to nearly half (46%) of marketers, digital, content and media strategies need to be more integrated and less silo-ed. Little wonder, then, that the majority (66%) know that an end-to-end approach is key for delivering martech success.

With more than 10 years’ experience in the adtech and martech space, Karan Singh, the newly-appointed general manager of Vistar Media, knows this all too well:

“CMOs are under more pressure than ever to prove their worth to CEOs. But there’s so much unfulfilled potential from today’s martech investments. Today’s need for cohesive customer experiences calls for a cohesive – yet specialist - approach across all channels and technologies. And that’s especially important when it comes to an evolving marketplace like DOOH.”

Joining up the DOOH opportunity 

With 45% of total OOH spend predicted to be digital by 2027, the dynamic, interactive, targeted and measurable nature of DOOH ads prompt 65% of consumers to search, post, or visit a brand. That’s no small outcome in today’s fickle, fragmented marketplace.

Programmatic buying is playing a massive part in the DOOH boom, with spend forecast to grow at an annual rate of 39%, to reach $4.7bn by 2028. This potential is thanks to the combination of driving awareness at scale and packing a creative punch, in a way which is highly measurable. Recent programmatic innovations include dynamic ads which adapt their images and messaging to the time and place. Meanwhile, consumers who have been exposed to a campaign can now be retargeted on mobile and other channels.

“Thanks to programmatic buying, DOOH is increasingly connected to the wider omnichannel mix,” says Singh. “Its audience insights serve more meaningful interactions that benefit brands and communities, at scale. And its immersive experiences bridge the physical and digital worlds to reach consumers in the moments that matter. In this sense, programmatic DOOH is the glue in today’s marketing ecosystem, providing the cohesion that marketers crave.

“And so, it makes sense to adopt an equally cohesive, specialist approach when it comes to choosing DOOH martech.”

An end-to-end approach

Currently, the DOOH marketplace is teeming with players who offer marketers a demand-side platform (DSP) which allows marketers to reach audiences. Or those who offer a supply-side platform (SSP), connecting media owners with the marketers wanting to buy their ad spaces. Then there are others selling digital signage software. With so much fragmentation, how do marketers deliver the holistic approach they know will get the best out of their martech investment?

Vistar Media is a DOOH player who thinks it has the answer. The company’s rebrand underlines its end-to-end proposition for a marketplace crying out for cohesion. It connects marketers, media owners and audiences at scale, offering an integrated DSP, a SSP and digital-signage software solution which enables more transparent, efficient, future-proofed DOOH investments which aren’t reliant on third-party cookies.

“Our end-to-end approach means that marketers have direct access to an extensive inventory, so they can target any audience, on any screen with more data-driven, personalized, creative, resulting in more ‘action-driving’ attention, but in a less intrusive way,” explains Singh. “At the same time, we offer media owners the technology they need to monetize their ad spaces more effectively and set their prices according to real-time demand.

“Meeting marketers’ need for end-to-end solutions throughout the whole marketing ecosystem can’t just be about a tech sell. Global knowledge on a local scale is also key to maximizing DOOH investments, so we also provide marketers and media owners with specialist consultancy and strategy support.”

The evolution of DOOH will continue to be one to watch throughout 2024. From data-driven creativity to increased targetability and measurability, its storytelling canvases will rewrite the story of advertising. Adopting a cohesive, end-to-end approach will help marketers own that story and futureproof their advertising performance this year and beyond.

To find out more about Vistar Media’s rebrand and how it is supporting advertisers to deliver a more cohesive programmatic DOOH buying experience, visit here.