Product News | October 11, 2021

Four lessons from digital that will inform DOOH’s programmatic transition

programmatic digital out-of-home

Digital advertising has come a long way since Wired Magazine offshoot HotWired and AT&T launched the first banner ad in 1994, in part thanks to its shift to programmatic. By 2019, more than 83 percent of US digital display ad transactions are expected to occur programmatically, but digital-out-of-home (DOOH) is just beginning to embrace programmatic. As it begins to take hold, DOOH stands to gain a lot by looking at the evolution of programmatic online and mobile advertising over the last decade. Here are four key takeaways:

1. Relevance matters

Programmatic is often conflated with the goals and practices of online direct marketers (conversion optimized bidding, tight audience targeting and retargeting) because they used these. However, the elements of a programmatic stack (DSPs, DMPs and SSPs) can be used to chase many contexts and it turns out that there are many contexts that matter to audiences (and thus to advertisers) just as much or more than what websites we visited yesterday. Local weather conditions, traffic on the freeway, the score of the football game, train schedules, movie times, our proximity to a store and other signals all influence our days enormously and can be targeted with programmatic tools. Many of these signals are place-based and DOOH inventory is a great way to deliver relevant messages based on these signals at scale. 

2. Experience is everything

programmatic digital out-of-home

Time and again the audience experience has been shown to influence buying decisions and brand loyalty. The original programmatic model offered up new data that enabled online and mobile advertisers to create more memorable experiences. Pedigree’s Found campaign from a few years ago, which included a community-driven app for posting and finding lost animals, is a great example. DOOH publishers can take advantage of this programmatic model to similarly use real-time access to traffic, weather and other pertinent data to trigger on-the spot creative decisions. Media buyers can also transact on that information to bring consumers more meaningful experiences in the moment. Because programmatic DOOH is accessible via digital ad platforms it also opens the door for DOOH to become more tightly integrated into the campaign planning process early on, making omni-channel experiences with creative mobile and online tie-ins more feasible.

3. Physical context drives purchase decisions

programmatic digital out-of-home

Google and Instagram, among other major advertising platforms have shown that reaching people on the move leads to increased purchases. For instance, Google found that 76% of people who search for a product or service on their smartphones nearby visit a business within a day and 28% of those searches drive purchases. Online and mobile advertising took advantage of geo-location technology early-on in its programmatic transition to support ad buys based on location. By nature DOOH already allows advertisers to communicate with people in malls, on the way to the game or near a restaurant, but can take advantage of programmatic technology to not only make transactions based on physical context that much easier, but also deliver campaigns based on omnichannel strategies, which have been shown to drive increased store visits.

4. Reach is key

As Cheers patrons and disciples of Byron Sharp know very well, it’s good when everyone knows your name. Brands like Tide, Chevy, Coca Cola and Nike have succeeded in this respect; however, achieving this level of familiarity has historically been challenging for brands that needed to reach a large number of people in their target market to benefit in the long run. The onset of programmatic made it much easier for brands to reach target audiences across online and mobile channels and at scale. DOOH can follow suit as the programmatic transition will likely drive more digitization of traditional street furniture and OOH billboards, and in turn, create opportunity to reach new audiences. Couple that with the advertising effectiveness of DOOH, which outpaces other mediums, and the ability to easily buy and sell ads with greater relevancy and physical context, and programmatic DOOH will be a powerful tool for expanding audience reach. 

Programmatic revolutionized online and mobile advertising and is expected to do the same for DOOH. As DOOH marches toward programmatic, it’s clear that some of the key fundamentals uncovered through online and mobile’s transition could inform DOOH’s approach – from the importance of relevancy to expanding audience reach.

Are you ready to get started with programmatic digital out-of-home? See what Broadsign Reach can do for you!

Product News | October 11, 2021

What’s new in the Broadsign Platform: Sophisticated targeting, creative management and UI improvements

Spring has finally sprung, which means fresh air, greenery, and, most importantly, fresh updates to the Broadsign Platform. This season, we are bringing you sophisticated targeting tools, streamlined creative management, and major UI improvements to make the campaign planning and management process for directly-sold campaigns as seamless as possible for campaign planners. 

Why does this matter? While the activation process for digital out-of-home (DOOH) may only require a couple of minutes, the campaign planning and management process often requires much more time. Discovering available and relevant inventory, collecting data to prove the medium’s effectiveness in meeting campaign goals, and managing campaign creatives are all time-consuming tasks.

The new spring updates introduce a new level of automation that not only reduces the time and complexities of getting DOOH campaigns out the door but also helps make out-of-home (OOH) a competitive and attractive medium for buyers. Let’s dive in!

Sophisticated targeting tools that find the best inventory 

Granular targeting shouldn’t be exclusive to programmatic. That’s why last year, we introduced targeting tools for directly sold campaigns executed through the Broadsign Platform, giving campaign planners the same flexibility and comprehensive targeting capabilities as online and programmatic media buyers. 

The targeting tools included the ability to filter your inventory by location and key points of interest (POIs), enabling campaign planners to find the most relevant inventory for each campaign at the click of a button. An intuitive map view was also introduced, allowing you to better visualize your inventory with quick filtering options by area, support for bulk location uploads, and setting radius parameters. 

This year, we’re introducing two powerful targeting upgrades for directly sold campaigns: demographics and criteria targeting. With demographics targeting, you can filter inventory by attributes like age, gender, or occupation to find the screens that will maximize campaign impact. We’ve also enhanced criteria targeting, giving you more granular control over inclusion and exclusion rules. For example, when building a proposal for an alcohol brand, you can now quickly exclude screens that don’t allow alcohol ads from your inventory search in just a few clicks. 

These new additions to the Broadsign Platform not only reduce the manual work required for inventory discovery but also give your team the opportunity to be a more strategic partner to buyers. We’re also excited to share that these enhanced targeting capabilities are now available to Broadsign customers worldwide! 

Simplified creative management and centralized campaign planning

Media owners juggle multiple campaigns and creatives at the same time, and without the right tools, the creative management process can become complex and stressful for your teams. Last year, we released our in-platform creative management tools, which allowed you to create, edit, manage, and assign campaign creatives with ease. On top of that, we also made it possible for you to push your campaigns live through the Broadsign Platform, eliminating the need to go through Broadsign’s desktop tools. 

In this latest update to the Broadsign Platform, we’re introducing creative scheduling. You’ll now be able to apply multiple scheduling options to your creatives, making it easier than ever to deliver the right message at the right time. You can also target your content by time of day or event, making it easier than ever to adapt your messaging to dayparts or changing campaign goals. Finally, you can update your creatives in real-time, allowing you to plan and deliver up to 55% of your campaigns in one unified workflow directly in-platform. 

Additional management tools for an improved user experience

Along with comprehensive creative management and targeting tools for directly-sold campaigns, additional tools and UI enhancements have been added to improve the usability and user experience of the Broadsign Platform:

Inventory package accessibility

Access inventory packages effortlessly through the platform’s updated navigation bar, enhancing efficiency and ease of use.

Centralized settings management

Administrators can now adjust and manage all necessary settings for digital and static inventory, user management, and more directly within the platform’s web-based UI through a centralized hub for control and configuration.

Campaign monitoring enhancements

With the newly implemented progress indicator, real-time monitoring of campaign pacing is now possible, giving immediate insight into campaign performance. This allows for quick adjustments to be made, as needed, to meet campaign goals effectively.

Search functionality and filters

An improved search mechanism, complemented by additional filters like campaign, client or contract names, enables quicker and more accurate campaign retrieval, saving time and improving workflow.

Line item list

You can now access a list of all line items directly through the navigation bar. Operations teams now have a more precise and comprehensive view of all bookings made on your network.

Dashboard customization

Tailor the platform’s dashboard to meet individual needs, ensuring that the most relevant and important information is always front and center.

Interested in testing out these new features? Book a demo today