Where are we at with programmatic DOOH?

By Remi Roques, GM, Broadsign APAC

Last month, I was invited to speak at a panel discussion about programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising at the Woo Asia Forum 2021. Here is a wrap-up of what we discussed and my perspective on what the market needs to know. 

What is programmatic DOOH anyway? 

At Broadsign, we understand that programmatic DOOH (or pDOOH) is still relatively new to the market, and we need to simplify its meaning before we can properly explain our own unique selling propositions. 

We usually sum it up this way: Programmatic digital out-of-home is the automated buying of digital inventory using the internet. Media owners can sell their inventory based on real-time bidding or can guarantee buyers a pre-set price. They can also choose to sell specific spaces programmatically, including premium, unsold, filler, or non-guaranteed bonus slots. 

Just like e-Commerce revolutionised the retail market, programmatic is revolutionising the OOH space. Essentially, programmatic buying is DOOH made easy. It’s fast, flexible, convenient, and transparent for media agencies, media owners, and advertisers. 

How do we consolidate the number of technology solutions available in the market? 

While many people may think that the growth of technology in OOH is contributing to further market fragmentation and lack of inventory consolidation, it’s actually the opposite. pDOOH helps consolidate inventory onto a single platform.

At Broadsign, we encourage connections between the different programmatic platforms in an open ecosystem. We integrated our DSP, Campsite, with several SSPs, whereas more than 35 DSPs are connected to our SSP, Broadsign Reach. 

Will pDOOH ever make it into the mainstream? 

The education piece is the first challenge in growing pDOOH. We still see many media owners who are hesitant to expose their inventory to programmatic technology. Likewise, many agencies don’t understand how pDOOH works and how it comes with online programmatic buying. 

Broadsign has invested time, effort, and resources in educating the market with our dedicated programmatic university and training website. This includes online video tutorials and articles published on our blog – all of the right information you will need to get your started. 

Despite this, programmatic is growing exponentially in DOOH, at a rate of 400% per year for Broadsign since we started, and it’s only continuing to accelerate. Just as we saw with the online space, this rapid growth is testament to the real value that programmatic brings to the sector. 

Can we develop a common currency for OOH and pDOOH? 

Impression and currency definitions vary between both national organisations and between state actors. Our industry’s chosen currency needs to be comparable with other advertising channels, relevant to the OOH industry, and also needs to be easily measurable.

At Broadsign, we recognise that we are software vendors, and we will never try to impose a specific currency on the market. We support each individual media owner taking full control of their chosen currency when using our software, bringing their impression multipliers and uploading them to our platforms. 

Where will growth come from over the next five years? 

Programmatic has grown at an unmatched rate throughout the world. We have seen some media owners dedicate their entire loop to pDOOH buying. Programmatic revenue is expected to reach $90bn by 2025 (which really isn’t that far away!). 

In many parts of the world, industry has been slow to adopt this new technology, and are still hesitant to upgrade their inventory onto the supply-side platform. We believe further education about the benefits of programmatic will continue to resolve this issue. 

Put simply, the growth is there – but it is uneven across the region and players. Media owners in developed nations are more likely to join the programmatic train, because of available audience data and software technologies.

Broadsign is equipped and ready to help media owners and advertisers join our programmatic platforms globally, and will make it as easy, transparent, and efficient as we can. 

What is the scope for creativity in pDOOH? 

Basically, it’s endless! Advertisers can select creative messaging based on location, time of day, and many more audience metrics. We all know that creative designed with its environment and context in mind is much more impactful than a standard, generic ad spread over an entire region. 

Broadsign’s Campsite introduces tools that give advertisers the ability to deliver content according to the right creative, at the right location, and at the right time. 

What one piece of advice would you like to share? 

My parting words would be: OOH is a powerful advertising medium in all its forms. In the mobility space, opportunities are multiplying now that brands can follow their audiences wherever they go. When you add in the programmatic capabilities, you have a campaign that’s capable of delivering all of that in real-time, in an instantaneous, multi-touch point. 

At Broadsign, we have empowered some of the most amazing consumer connections that happen in a heartbeat – like advertisers interacting with commuters by tapping into their mobile phones as they pass by a fixed screen.

Through the combination of OOH and mobile online advertisers, DOOH is becoming more engaging, and DOOH campaigns are some of the most successful in the world.