Product News | October 11, 2021

Introducing our intelligent cloud-based ad server: Broadsign Air

When we envision the future of out-of-home, we envision an industry free to deliver amazing content in all sorts of contexts. We envision a space that allows for boundless creativity, and the ability for just about any OOH business to access powerful tools that save them time and maximize the value of their inventory.

To get to that place a little sooner, we created Broadsign Air, an intelligent cloud-based ad server that brings all the power of the Broadsign Control CMS to non-Broadsign players. With Broadsign Air, players running Android, or other architectures previously unsupported by our platform, can be added to networks alongside Broadsign Players.

If you want to build a network with a great deal of hardware flexibility but don’t want to sacrifice on software features, now’s your chance. Broadsign Air can help you make it happen.

How Broadsign Air Works

Broadsign Air is basically the ad-serving capabilities of Broadsign Control, just uncoupled from the Broadsign player software used by PC players to handle incoming media.

With Air, when content is uploaded to the Control CMS, the content also gets uploaded into an Amazon Web Services S3 repository. The URL indicating the location of the piece of content within the repo is then sent by Broadsign Air to your third-party player of choice.

Upon receipt of the URL, your Air-connected player will need to download the associated media file and then render the content for the display.

Note: Broadsign Air alone will not be capable of playing media on your network. You must connect Broadsign Air to separate software that can play the content it serves.

What does all of this mean?

For day-to-day use, using Broadsign Air will be basically the same as using Broadsign Control normally. Users will log in to the Broadsign Control administrator tool and be able to enjoy all the great features it has to offer. That means automated scheduling and delivery, industry-leading security, and a virtually unlimited ability to scale your business while maintaining a streamlined workflow.

You will be able to use players connected through Broadsign Air both on their own or as part of a larger network that includes full Broadsign Players, giving you increased flexibility and choice when building out your network.

And, finally, you can also make full use of the Broadsign Direct sales solution, and will be able to connect any players running on Broadsign Air to the Broadsign Reach supply-side programmatic platform.

The main complication is just that it takes some time and development resources to establish the connection between Broadsign Air and your player of choice.

What do I need to use Broadsign Air?

Because Broadsign Air does not make use of the native connection between the Control Administrator tool and the Control Player, you will need to do some development work to establish the connection between the Broadsign Air ad server and your players of choice.

We will provide REST API endpoints for your team to connect your client application. This will allow your client to send POST requests. Your developer or team of developers therefore will need to know how to work with Postman, CURL, or some other development environment suitable for working with a REST API to make the connection.

Note that this project can be complex, and so it is not the kind of thing that can be handed off to the average intern. A dedicated, experienced developer, either in-house or outsourced, can likely achieve the required connection with a couple of months of work (assuming you already have a player ready/selected).

Limitations of Broadsign Air

Broadsign Air was built to deliver everything you know and love about Broadsign’s intelligent scheduling and ad serving capabilities to a wider array of players. There are, however, a few important details to keep in mind when selecting this software to power your content scheduling.

Broadsign Air does not handle playback

We’ve mentioned this above, but it’s a point worth repeating: Broadsign Air allows you to connect the Broadsign Control scheduling and ad-serving capabilities to a non-Broadsign player. It will not provide content playback, incident reports, or network monitoring for your network. It will only generate content playlists based on campaign conditions and creatives, and then make media available for download by your third-party player accordingly.

Note: Proof-of-play functionality powered by Broadsign Air is supported. It is up to your third-party player to report successful playback back to Broadsign Air so that it can be included in proof-of-play reports.

Broadsign Air must be used with Control as the CMS

Broadsign Air is not a totally standalone product. Rather, it requires that you adopt Broadsign Control as your CMS and use it to schedule content to Air-connected displays. Without the use of Broadsign Control as the CMS, Broadsign Air will not function.

Currently incompatible with Broadsign Publish

At launch, Broadsign Air will not support custom HTML5 content managed through our local messaging service, Broadsign Publish.

Got questions? We’ve got answers

If you want to learn more about what Broadsign Air can do for you, please reach out to your Broadsign rep or request a free demo to see what it’s all about!

Product News | October 11, 2021

How the Broadsign Platform enables ad delivery rates of up to 99% for Orb

At a time when consumer attention is in short supply, out-of-home (OOH) remains an effective medium to attract and retain consumer attention. This is demonstrated in Kantar’s 2023 Media Reactions study, which found that in-person media channels were preferred by consumers, with OOH and digital OOH (DOOH) ranking among the top five favoured channels.

Looking at Group M’s This Year Next Year: 2023 Ireland End-of-Year Forecast, the preference for OOH is particularly noticeable in Irelan, with the medium seeing an average growth rate of 16.65% over the last four years. This growth can be primarily attributed to the introduction of new technology in DOOH, which has provided advertisers with new creative possibilities and added flexibility on how OOH is bought by advertisers and delivered to audiences.

In fact, when looking at the share of static and digital OOH spending in the region, static consistently outpaced digital up until 2023, when shares for both mediums were split evenly. As of 2024, DOOH spend in Ireland exceeded traditional and will continue to do so in the next four years. As DOOH’s presence continues to grow in the region, Irish media owners have an opportunity to enhance their DOOH presence and capabilities.

One Irish media owner who’s already benefiting from the added value of DOOH is Orb. Running a fully digital network of 100 screens, Orb has become a preferred network for both global and local brands due to its flexible buying options and accurate ad delivery rates – made possible by the Broadsign Platform.

Why Orb’s network speaks to advertisers

There is no shortage of demand for Orb’s screens. Its premium locations, creative campaign capabilities and comprehensive campaign reports are why advertisers choose Orb’s network. Orb’s carefully curated selection of screens can be found in bars, restaurants, premium shops and shopping malls found in busy city centres and suburban spots.

Orb’s network attracts both large and local brands from a wide range of verticals. In the entertainment vertical, you’ll often see ads from Disney, Universal, Paramount and Warner Brothers. Well-known car brands, like Toyota and Kia, as well as alcohol brands under the parent companies of Diageo and IDL Irish Distillers, are also frequent advertisers.

Moreover, in a market where static OOH still has a large presence, Orb is providing advertisers with new dynamic creative optimization (DCO) opportunities made possible by DOOH. For instance, displaying a countdown clock on sports ads for upcoming football or rugby matches or dynamically triggering content based on the location and audience demographics to deliver ads at the right time to the right audience.

Last but not least, advertisers appreciate Orb’s comprehensive reporting. By pulling data from a third-party technology provider for footfall and audience data and Broadsign’s Proof-of-Performance (PoP) report, advertisers are given a comprehensive overview of campaign performance and effectiveness.

How the Broadsign Platform powers Orb’s flexibility

Prior to Broadsign, Orb had tested other platforms to run their network on, but none of them provided Orb with the flexibility they wanted when it came to how inventory was sold and how campaigns were delivered. After careful evaluation, Orb adopted the Broadsign Platform as it not only provided them with new ways of selling, but also dynamic creative capabilities, and comprehensive network monitoring and management.

Flexible buying options that meet diverse needs and maximize ad delivery

While DOOH continues to gain popularity in the region, perspectives in the Irish market vary on the preferred level of flexibility from the medium. Some media owners want to maintain controlled delivery through fixed, frequency campaigns, while others are open to experimenting with flexible, goal-based campaigns. It was essential for Orb to have a solution that allowed them to address the needs of both.

“Our market is divided into two schools of thought; clients who want to keep frequency-based campaigns and another group who have fully embraced flexible campaigns”, says Agnieszka Mendrychowska, Chief Operating Officer at Orb. “The way that the Broadsign Platform is designed allows us to cater to the entire market, as we can select the amount of flexibility we want for each campaign.”

With the Broadsign Platform, Orb has access to frequency-based, goal-based, and data-triggered campaigns. One way Orb is introducing flexible selling to more traditional clients is through play goal campaigns. This allows the client to define how many times they want the ad to play within a given time frame, and Broadsign ensures that the goal is not only met but optimally distributed across all selected screens throughout the campaign’s duration.

Moreover, flexible campaigns benefit from dynamic rebalancing, which leverages Broadsign’s optimization engine to modify the pace at which a campaign is delivered to ensure that campaign objectives are always met. Through Broadsign’s PoP reports, Orb has shown ad delivery rates of up to 99% on flexible campaigns and 95% on frequency campaigns. Having access to this data has not only allowed Orb to reassure its traditional buyers of the effectiveness of flexible campaigns but also helped them attract new customers.

“We’ve been told by clients that what makes our network stand out from others is its reliability when it comes to ad delivery, and that’s thanks to Broadsign.”
Agnieszka Mendrychowska, Chief Operating Officer at Orb

Network and campaign management; the way they want it

Additional benefits Orb has seen with the Broadsign Platform include full visibility into network health and inventory availability. With live digital screen management, Orb can check the status of their network every day, allowing them to resolve issues as quickly as they arise. Moreover, when a more complex issue comes up, they appreciate the support provided by Broadsign’s service team as well as the extensive training guides made available to them online.

Full transparency into their inventory availability has simplified their campaign proposal and booking process. When building proposals, Orb leverages the filter and criteria search function to easily find screens that best meet advertisers’ campaign objectives. When booking flexible campaigns, like play goal ones, Orb can see the estimated number of plays they can reach depending on the screens they’ve selected, allowing them to adjust as needed and provide an accurate proposal.

Finally, the ability to manage and separate content as they need is another advantage

of the Broadsign Platform. For instance, being able to define a percentage split of how content should be rotated within a single campaign. More importantly, leveraging Broadsign’s competitive separation feature allows them to run ads from competing brands on their network, as well as ensure that certain ads don’t play in specific locations. For example, not allowing alcohol ads to be shown on screens that are closer than 200m from a school playground.

Orb’s adoption of the Broadsign Platform has empowered them to meet the diverse needs of their market with flexibility and precision. By offering advertisers dynamic creative options, flexible buying options, and reliable ad delivery, Orb has solidified its reputation as a dependable media owner for the Irish market. Orb’s ability to quickly adapt and deliver tailored solutions through Broadsign ensures they remain well-positioned as DOOH continues to grow in popularity.

What’s next for Orb

Looking into the future, Orb plans to expand its network within Ireland – in cities like Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway – and Northern Ireland. The media owner is also looking to strengthen its programmatic DOOH offering, as the targeting and measurement capabilities made through that medium will unlock a new level of flexibility in how Orb sells its inventory.

Product News | October 11, 2021

How to measure ROI in OOH advertising: Methods and strategies for accurate attribution

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising has traditionally been considered challenging to measure, but that perception is shifting. Thanks to advancements in analytics and cross-channel tracking, OOH is now demonstrating its strength as a powerful driver of return on investment (ROI).

According to a recent study by Analytics Partners, reallocating even a small portion of your marketing budget to OOH can lead to impressive results. For example, increasing your OOH spend has been shown to boost ROI by up to 27% — especially when combined with other channels like digital and TV.

Ready to harness OOH’s full potential? Let’s explore the strategies and tools that make it easier than ever to measure its true impact and drive tangible results.

The attribution challenge: Why it’s crucial to prove OOH’s ROI

(D)OOH attribution links your out-of-home advertising efforts to measurable outcomes, like store visits, online purchases, or app downloads. It helps advertisers understand how OOH ads impact the customer journey and how they contribute to broader marketing goals.

Today, proving ROI is more important than ever. Recent research shows that 88% of marketing leaders are now responsible for revenue goals, so there’s growing pressure to justify their team’s ad spend with clear, actionable data tied directly to measurable business outcomes. Yet, only 25% of leaders report high visibility into ROI across channels.

Advancements in technology have transformed OOH into a measurable, performance-driven channel capable of delivering actionable insights and proving its impact on modern marketing strategies. The rise of digital OOH (DOOH) and programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) is also helping solve traditional measurement challenges, offering access to tools like geofencing, dynamic audience impression tracking, and real-time analytics.

How to accurately attribute results to OOH campaigns: 4 tried-and-true methods

Tracking the impact of your campaigns doesn’t have to be complicated. By using proven methods like brand lift studies, foot traffic attribution, and interactive elements, you can directly connect ad exposure to measurable outcomes. These strategies help you maximize the value of every campaign and confidently demonstrate ROI.

Collecting brand lift insights through surveys and direct feedback

Brand Lift Studies provide tangible evidence of how OOH influences brand perception and consumer behaviour, uncovering data on ad recall, brand awareness, purchase intent, and more. Insights from these studies can guide targeting strategies, creative design, and placement decisions for future campaign efforts.

Measurement partners play a critical role in this process. They identify survey zones based on the geo-locations of digital OOH screens and use GDPR-compliant methods to gather responses through in-app and mobile ads targeting consumers in these areas. The uplift is measured by comparing survey results from two groups: those who recall seeing the ad (exposed group) and those who don’t (control group). Both groups are matched for demographics like age and gender, ensuring accurate, actionable results. Using targeted surveys as part of a brand lift study gives you a clear picture of how your OOH campaigns resonate with audiences and drive results.

Combining OOH attribution with sales data

One of the most direct ways to measure the success of OOH campaigns is by connecting ad exposure to sales outcomes. Integrating sales data — whether from in-store purchases or online transactions — can help you understand how OOH influences customer buying decisions and contributes to your bottom line.

Similarly, pairing OOH exposure data with e-commerce analytics can reveal spikes in online sales or conversions from specific geographic regions targeted by your campaign. This connection is especially valuable for measuring the effectiveness of location-based ads, like billboards near stores or transit ads in high-traffic areas. Integrating OOH attribution with sales data gives you a complete view of your campaign’s performance, helping you allocate budgets more effectively and focus on strategies that drive the greatest return.

Using geofencing and mobile data for foot traffic attribution

Geofencing has revolutionized how advertisers measure the impact of OOH campaigns on foot traffic, making it simple to track real-world results. By setting up a virtual boundary around your ad placement, you can use mobile data to see how many people are exposed to your ad and visit a specific location, like a nearby store or restaurant. For example, a restaurant with a billboard near a shopping mall can measure how many mall visitors stop by after seeing the ad.

Foot traffic attribution partners specialize in helping brands leverage geofencing and mobile data to measure campaign performance. These platforms analyze mobile location data to determine how exposure to OOH ads influences visits to specific locations. They also compare visitor patterns between exposed and non-exposed audiences to provide a clear picture of ad effectiveness. With tools like these, advertisers can gain actionable insights into customer behaviour, ensuring every OOH dollar is well spent.

Embracing marketing mix modelling (MMM) for cross-channel campaigns

When it comes to measuring the true impact of a brand’s outdoor advertising placements across various marketing channels, marketing mix modelling (MMM) is your secret weapon. MMM looks at the bigger picture, analyzing how different marketing channels — both online and offline — work together to drive results. For (D)OOH campaigns, it offers a way to capture the full value of your ads, even when there’s no direct click or digital trail to follow.

This is important because, while effective on its own, OOH has also been shown to supercharge the reach of your other advertising channels, with one study finding that OOH amplifies all major media by more than 90%. For example, a well-placed digital billboard might boost the performance of your paid search campaigns by increasing brand recall, which MMM can measure alongside your total marketing mix. MMM quantifies these synergies, helping you understand how OOH fits into your broader marketing mix and optimize your investments accordingly.

READ ALSO: Check out our Q&A with subject matter expert Ryan Pogy to find answers to some of the most common questions about measuring DOOH effectiveness

Leveraging technology to optimize (D)OOH ROI

By leveraging new tools that provide real-time data and integrating OOH campaigns with digital platforms, marketers can gain deeper insights and drive greater returns on investment. Here’s how these technological advancements are shaping the future of OOH advertising:

Real-time impression tracking

For digital and programmatic OOH campaigns, tools like the impression multiplier — a dynamic, DOOH-specific multiplication index that’s applied to each play on every individual screen — give advertisers a more accurate idea of how many impressions are delivered in a single ad play.

Depending on the network, the impression multiplier for a given DOOH screen is calculated by analyzing factors like:

Screen size and visibility: Larger, more prominent screens are likely to capture more attention and generate higher impressions.
Location and foot traffic: The number of people passing by the screen in a given timeframe, such as in busy urban areas or transit hubs.
Viewing angles: How easily the screen can be seen from different positions and distances.
Dwell time: The amount of time individuals spend within viewing range of the screen, such as in waiting areas or checkout lines.
Content duration and frequency: The length and repetition of ads, which influence the likelihood of being seen.
Time of day: Variations in audience size and engagement during different hours, such as rush hours or peak shopping times.
Environmental conditions: External factors like lighting or weather that may impact screen visibility and audience behavior.

This data provides accurate audience exposure metrics, giving you a reliable way to measure reach, which remains a cornerstone of OOH advertising’s effectiveness. Real-time data also allows you to adjust your campaigns on the fly, maximizing impact.

Interactivity and real-time environmental triggers

Interactive elements in DOOH campaigns go beyond capturing attention — they invite participation and create measurable links between ad exposure and consumer action. Incorporating dynamic QR codes, touchscreens, augmented reality (AR), or social media prompts into your DOOH creative make it easy to track engagement, from website visits and conversions to social shares and app interactions.

Pair these interactive tools with dynamic DOOH content that adapts to real-time factors like time of day, weather, or location, and advertisers can deliver highly relevant messages that resonate with their audience.

Want to see more (D)OOH attribution in action?

Explore our collection of case studies and industry-specific strategy guides to discover how top brands are using advanced attribution methods to maximize the impact of their (D)OOH campaigns.