This new Q&A series highlights a key topic in digital advertising and discusses the work that will be carried out by the relative council or working group in 2023.
Today we chat DOOH advertising with the IAB Australia DOOH Working Group chair Ben Allman, Head of Sales ANZ, Broadsign.
Let's talk DOOH. What do you think makes DOOH and pDOOH so effective for marketers and why?
I could go on all day about what makes DOOH such an effective medium but I’m conscious of word count. Fundamentally, OOH/DOOH continues to grow at an impressive rate for good reason; with audiences becoming increasingly fragmented across most mediums, it stands as the last true mass medium, enabling brands to reach large swathes of the population in an efficient and engaging manner via incredibly impactful creative canvases.
Where Programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) comes into the picture is through its ability to compliment and amplify many of DOOH’s existing strengths, by enabling the medium to be bought and sold in a more flexible, targeted and efficient manner.
What do you think are the missed opportunities in DOOH and Programmatic DOOH currently?
For a medium as big and bold as DOOH, the old adage ‘creative is king’ (along with it's more contemporary cousin, ‘creative is king but context is everything’) rings truer than ever.
We’ve seen some brilliant uses of both creative and context in DOOH over the years, however campaigns such as these remain the exception, not the rule. A campaign that is planned, bought and executed using the best people, insights and tools money can buy is only going to be as good as the creative allows it to be. It’s important not to lose sight of the ultimate objective here, which is to grab people’s attention; and the best way of doing that is through compelling and contextually relevant creative and campaigns.
If brands are unsure about using DOOH or pDOOH, where should they start? What is a good first opportunity?
Before getting started, it’s crucial to ensure that the inherent strengths of DOOH/pDOOH are aligned with the sort of role you expect the medium to play in helping to achieve your campaign objectives.
From there, speak with your partners, whether they’re an agency, media owner or tech vendor, who’ll be able to recommend a suitable approach based on what you’re looking to achieve.
Finally, in order to test in a robust fashion, it’s important to ensure that your budget is robust enough to drive a meaningful outcome.
Very rarely do we see brands using DOOH/pDOOH for the first time and not coming back for more, which has to count for something!
What is the DOOH Working Group working on that will be exciting in 2023?
Plenty! Starting with next week’s 'Powering DOOH' event, which is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the IAB and Outdoor Media Association (OMA) and will be invaluable for those looking to better understand the pDOOH space from both a technical and strategic perspective.
We’re also in the process of planning for a number of initiatives and resources, all of which are aimed at demystifying DOOH and its various intricacies, shining a light on best practices and ultimately, building confidence in the medium, which we’re incredibly excited about.
I look forward to seeing those of you who’ve registered for ‘Powering DOOH’ at next week’s event. For those of you who haven’t, what are you waiting for?!
For more information on the Powering DOOH event, click here.