Product News | October 11, 2021

How LUMO digital is building a DOOH business that stands out

Shows an example of a digital billboard operated by LUMO Digital

A lot of people see billboards in their day-to-day life, but just seeing a billboard isn’t anything special. The magic happens when billboards become an experience.

That’s what New Zealand’s LUMO Digital is after. And with large format billboards in high-impact locations, innovative approaches to marketing, and an ambitious plan to drive a big shift in the way we think about outdoor advertising, the company is doing all the right things to fulfill its mission.

Born at happy hour

LUMO found its beginnings in 2016, in a time when many more brands and business owners were beginning to understand the exciting possibilities presented by a good DOOH network.

It was in the midst of that excitement that LUMO’s founders gathered together and, over drinks, conceived of the idea for their business. The vision: A new OOH business focused entirely on large-format digital billboards, one that would use smart technology to set a new standard for transparency and accountability in the industry.

Just months later, the business opened its doors, and LUMO was on its way, concentrating its efforts, at first, into building a presence in the critical Auckland market. It set out with a focus not on competing with top players in the region, but rather in delivering interesting new features that would set the brand apart. Today, thanks to those unique offerings, it has itself become one of the area’s dominant media brands.

Shows a digital billboard operated by LUMO Digital, standing high above a road in New Zealand
LUMO’s unique approach to DOOH has helped it become a significant media player in New Zealand

A fresh approach to DOOH

In its attempt to rethink the way a DOOH business should operate, LUMO has come up with a number of unique flourishes that enhance the presentation and value of its inventory. All displays, for instance, are captured in drone footage, rather than the standard of static photography. It’s more dynamic, and it’s also more informative to potential buyers looking to assess a screen and location.

The displays are live-streamed for buyers, so that they can check in whenever they like and ensure that campaign requirements are being met. They are also connected to real-time audience analytics services to help ensure buyers get an accurate picture of who they are reaching and how campaigns are progressing against goals.

And all of it comes alongside a solid foundation of top-quality hardware and premium locations that help customer content really shine. The result is that LUMO’s network feels like the promise of DOOH fulfilled: a premium media offering that can really wow an audience.

Next up: More cool campaigns, more displays, and programmatic

It’s no surprise that LUMO’s network has attracted great content from high-profile customers. In the midst of the global COVID pandemic, it became home to dynamic campaigns that delivered a bit of lightness, fun, and support to audiences across New Zealand. One notable example pulled social media data to tie into a Burger King competition where the winner would receive free food and other prizes for a year. The content updated live to represent the current results, arranging contestants by results from highest to lowest.

Shows a dynamic campaign for Burger King that displayed across New Zealand.
This dynamic Burger King campaign is a great example of the kind of work LUMO Digital attracts

Alongside Pitchblack Partners, a creative agency, the brand also developed its own campaign, “Up and Running.” The goal was to provide as many small and medium-sized businesses as possible with assistance creating a DOOH campaign and then delivering the campaign across LUMO’s network. The result: Hundreds of businesses were helped, more than 1,500 ads were displayed, and LUMO was able to provide some valuable assistance to a community in need.

An example of LUMO Digital's "Up and Running" campaign helping SMBs
LUMO’s “Up and Running” campaign was a great help to small and medium-sized businesses

Looking ahead, LUMO hopes to continue to deliver this kind of valuable and compelling content across an even larger network. Where today LUMO has a network of 24 large-format displays, it hopes to increase that count to as many as 40 by the end of 2021.

New investments in real-time audience analytics, as well as the introduction of programmatic transactions, are also in the cards for the near term. The goal, as ever, is to help more buyers deliver relevant advertising to their desired audience, and to ensure that the process remains as transparent and effective as possible.

LUMO and Broadsign

It takes time to come up with and execute on big ideas, but the day to day work involved in running a high-flying DOOH operation can make finding that time a challenge.

It’s for that reason that LUMO went looking for a platform that could help streamline its network and content management, as well as the detailed reporting that is so central to the business’ identity. It found its solution in a combination of the Ayuda platform and the Broadsign Reach programmatic SSP.

Shows a programmatic ad displayed by LUMO Digital via Broadsign Reach
LUMO Digital’s network benefits from greater efficiency through the Ayuda Platform and the Broadsign Reach SSP

With Ayuda, LUMO has an integrated platform for managing all its OOH assets, as well as a streamlined solution for scheduling media across its network. This represents a substantial benefit in its own right, but it’s through the integration with Broadsign Reach that the business will gain the biggest advantage.

Transacting programmatically via Reach will allow LUMO to automate delivery of content to the best screens, at the best times, to fulfill the buyer’s needs. Near-live reporting through Reach, meanwhile, will help LUMO ensure that it is delivering on its obligations, as well as continually improve on its pricing and deal priorities to the mutual benefit of LUMO and its customers.

For LUMO, it’s an exciting prospect to be able to offer access to its premium inventory to customers in near-real time. It allows for on-demand purchasability whenever a campaign can deliver the best results, as well as the option for buyers to optimize their campaigns on the fly. These are the kinds of capabilities that are sure to help LUMO fulfill its goal of making its network as high-impact and high-value as possible.

See how Broadsign’s products can help your OOH business shine

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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