Product News | October 11, 2021

How Oriental Sunrise pushes the envelope with giant digital displays

One of the best qualities of out-of-home media is its unmatched ability to catch attention. Large format billboards and digital displays draw the eye in a way that online and mobile advertising can’t, and offer an amazing canvas on which creative work can be shared with the world.

And that’s just in general. The largest displays take the concept even further, offering true spectacle for all to enjoy. Oriental Sunrise Media Group, which operates a network that includes one of these ultra-large screens, sees them as a special opportunity for connecting with large sections of the population through outdoor media.

sky-high dooh ambitions

Formed in 2011, Oriental Sunrise set its sights on becoming an influential player in the fast-expanding digital out-of-home space in China. Pursuing large-format displays, audience interactivity, and prominent public locations for its screens, Oriental Sunrise has succeeded in achieving high audience traffic near its screens and attracting top brands to display advertising on its network, including names like Audi, Lancôme, Dyson, and Samsung.

asia’s largest outdoor digital display

The jewel of Oriental Sunrise’s network is found in Chongqing, a city in China’s south. Its display there is an enormous two-sided, 3,788 square metre screen wrapped around the side of the Chongqing Guanyin Bridge Carnival Building. It’s about the size of nine basketball courts put together, and typically plays host to stunning video content delivered by its advertisers.

Its prominent location, facing Guanyinqiao Square, Jialing Park, and the entrance to an underground pedestrian passage, drives a fair bit of foot traffic by its screens every day, with about 500,000 pedestrians walking by daily. It also faces the city’s busiest main road, with about 350,000 vehicles passing by each day.

 

eyes forward to the future of dooh

As Oriental Sunrise focuses on building its network further, it continues to make premium real estate in bustling business sectors, as well as high levels of local visibility, key requirements for locations where it deploys new screens. Soon to come are new experiments to push the network with new kinds of integrations. This includes projects like synchronizing campaign playback with the performance of nearby fountains and LED lighting, connecting the screens to mobile devices, and other projects that increase the already considerable impact of the screens.

oriental sunrise media group & broadsign

Screens as prominent as Oriental Sunrise Media Group’s largest can’t afford to go down, and what’s more, they come with specific technical challenges that not every software platform is equipped to manage. Synchronizing media across the panels of the screen must be completed flawlessly every time in order to create truly stunning visuals. Meanwhile, integrating outside data feeds, as is required for complex campaigns involving synchronization with fountains and lighting, demands a platform that is able to reliably connect with those services.

To accomplish these tasks, Oriental Sunrise has adopted Broadsign. The Broadsign platform’s unmatched reliability and extensibility make it the perfect solution for managing huge displays and the exciting campaigns that run on them. The open nature of the platform, meanwhile, places practically no limits on the creativity of Oriental Sunrise and its advertisers, allowing the owners to focus on growing their network and delivering the innovative DOOH experience that will build their profile all across China. It’s an ideal pairing, and one likely to lead to exciting things for the Chinese DOOH market.

Ready to kick off your own large-scale DOOH project?
Contact us today to learn how Broadsign can help!

Product News | October 11, 2021

How to boost your back-to-school campaigns with OOH advertising

Back-to-school season isn’t just about new notebooks and sneakers—it’s one of the biggest retail moments of the year. In fact, next to Black Friday, it’s the second-busiest shopping event, with sales expected to reach $84.5 billion in 2025. It’s a key moment for brands to drive both in-store and online traffic.

According to the National Retail Federation, 67% of back-to-school shoppers had already started shopping by early July, up from 55% last year and the highest early start since the NRF began tracking it in 2018. The early start is partly driven by economic concerns: 51% of families say they’re shopping earlier this year to avoid potential price increases due to tariffs or inflation.

With shoppers active early but still open to influence, this season presents a key opportunity for advertisers to stay top of mind throughout the entire purchase journey. DOOH advertising helps brands do just that—reaching shoppers in real time with contextually relevant messages near retail locations, on transit routes, and in everyday environments where purchase decisions happen.

With families actively hunting for value and wrapping up their shopping lists, DOOH offers a smart, scalable way to connect with them. Here’s how to maximize your back-to-school campaigns this season.

Strategies for effective back-to-school OOH advertising

Targeted ad placements

Location matters—and when it comes to driving real-world action, proximity pays off. According to the OAAA, 30% of consumers have recently noticed OOH ads providing directions to a business. Of those, 51% visited the business, and 93% made a purchase, highlighting the power of timely, well-placed messaging to convert attention into action.

With 62% of back-to-school shoppers planning to visit two or more physical stores this season, strategic DOOH placements offer a direct way to influence purchase decisions in real time. By meeting consumers where they live, move, and shop—on commutes, in stores, and during everyday errands—advertisers can stay top of mind throughout the entire path to purchase.

  • Urban panels and transit stations reach students, teachers, and parents as they navigate city streets or commute to school and work—making them ideal for building awareness early in the shopping cycle.
  • In-mall screens and big-box retail placements reach consumers at the point of decision, when new clothes, school supplies, and electronics are already top of mind. These locations offer both high dwell time and strong purchase intent.
  • Grocery stores and pharmacies are high-frequency stops for families throughout the season. Placing DOOH ads in these environments helps reinforce messaging around snacks, lunch prep, personal care, and other everyday essentials.
  • Near college campuses, DOOH campaigns can engage students and educators gearing up for the semester, with messaging focused on dorm furnishings, laptops, and classroom supplies.
Tesco’s back-to-school campaign via Clear Channel UK.

Contextual, relevant messaging

Crafting timely and relevant messages for your OOH ads can significantly enhance their impact—especially as inflation continues to influence how households prioritize their spending. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly half of back-to-school shoppers are delaying purchases to wait for better deals, making context-aware messaging more valuable than ever.

DOOH ads tailored to contextual settings or time-specific discounts can help capture a shopper’s attention and inspire action—whether it’s a limited-time offer near a big-box store or a reminder to stock up on supplies during the afternoon commute. You can take that agility even further by incorporating dynamic creative, allowing your messaging to automatically adapt based on real-time conditions.

Thanks to continued advancements in programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH), triggering dynamic ads is easier than ever. Advertisers can activate creative based on factors like weather, traffic conditions, time of day, special offers, or even nearby events. In some cases, ads can even be triggered by inventory status, such as displaying promotional discounts when a store has an overstock of merchandise.

Timing is key—schedule ads during the moments your audience is most likely to engage, like morning and afternoon commute windows, weekend shopping rushes, or after-work errand hours, to ensure your message reaches consumers when it matters most.

H&M promotes the back-to-school season during commuting hours via JCDecaux.

Amplifying digital reach with OOH

OOH advertising is not just about physical presence; it can also drive digital engagement. According to data from The Harris Poll and OAAA, 74% of mobile device users reported taking action on their mobile devices following recent exposure to DOOH ads, with actions ranging from online searches about advertisers to direct visits to advertiser websites and social media platforms. 

Integrating QR codes or short URLs into OOH ads can encourage viewers to visit an online store or follow or engage with a brand on social media to access a promo code for B2S shopping. Social media contests or giveaways with a B2S theme promoted on OOH creative can further drive engagement and increase a brand’s following.

Interested in getting started with DOOH this back-to-school shopping season?

The back-to-school season is a prime time for brands to connect with consumers and boost sales. Incorporating OOH into your marketing strategy is a strategic way to reach parents, students, and teachers where they’re at, increasing brand awareness and prompting them to take action. 

Explore curated audiences in our Retail package here!