Programmatic digital out-of-home advertising (pDOOH) is expected to transform the industry.
pDOOH is the automation of buying and selling digital display advertising. Computer programs are used, and buyers can set certain campaign conditions. This includes the environments in which ads should play and the audience they want to reach. Advertisers can for example request conditions such as shopping malls in certain locations and target a certain age group as their audience.
pDOOH also involves real-time buying or bidding (RTB) which gives buyers the option of bidding on specific ad slots and buying them. The ad is then immediately delivered and can also immediately be tracked.
Two of the main benefits of pDOOH is better audience targeting and dynamic content. Targeting tactics are used to get ads delivered to certain people at a certain time. pDOOH is seen as a way to make DOOH more precise and powerful by using external data to trigger content. In addition to pDOOH’s highly targeted capabilities, it is also faster and more flexible with the ability to adapt quickly.
Key Challenges
An IAB study conducted by PwC UK found that three key challenges need to be overcome for pDOOH to realise its full potential.
Senior industry executives from companies and agencies were interviewed who according to the report all expressed their enthusiasm about the potential of pDOOH campaigns as a driver for innovation and growth by giving real value for advertisers.
Three key challenges were identified in making pDOOH a mainstream media buy – more education, reduced fragmentation, and more standardization.
Education was specifically highlighted as critical to the adoption of pDOOH. This includes the education of clients, agency planners, and buyers regarding what is possible with pDOOH
“Understanding the benefits of DOOH, how programmatic trading can bring value to clients, and how you can trade DOOH programmatically, were identified as three areas of focus,” according to the report.
The fragmentation of inventory and media owners was identified as another key challenge. This leads to a restricting of media spend. Different players are developing their technological solutions which are leading to further fragmentation.
The lack of standardization due to the use of different datasets and methodologies is also seen as a key inhibitor to pDOOH. According to the report, audience segments must be defined across all media types as well as the methodology behind the measurement.
