Future of Digital Out of Home Advertising – Insights and Tips

Digital is the future of out of home advertising. Gone are the days when larger than life static advertising billboards were king. Nowadays, digital billboards steal the scene with their bright lights and flashy (flashing) graphics. Digital out of home advertising is here and now and it is destined to stay well into the near and distant future. With technology making everything easier (and possible) the future is bright for out of home advertising in the digital age. Below are some of the most recent developments in digital out of home advertising that are set to shape and influence its future:

• Hyper targeting has been very evident in many recent digital billboard campaigns. Spotify’s impressive "Thanks 2016, it’s been weird" ad campaign dug deep into the music streaming site’s cast user behavior databank in order to form the foundation and basis of their series o witty, irreverent slogans on their advertising billboards across Europe and America. This saw messages like "Dear person who played "Sorry" 42 times on V-Day, what did you do?" displayed and broadcast over their digital billboards. This kind of hyper targeting can be expected to be more widespread in digital out of home advertising schemes, especially in this day and age of more efficient individual and aggregate data mining.

• Intelligent data use—together with more effective integration of mobile data—is also making creative and highly personalized messaging possible. In a world where people and consumers expect data-specific and responsive content, digital out of home advertising allows for bigger and better ways of fulfilling this demand.

• Proximity marketing is also becoming a thing, as Bluetooth beacons are increasingly incorporated with current digital billboard technology. Through small boxes that can detect the presence of smartphones within range, relevant advertising can be sent to mobile apps so customers visiting retail outlets and business spaces are greeted with messaging to inform them about current in-store offers, limited discounts and promotions, or a new product range.

• Digital technology is expected to increase in inventory in the next couple of years. This will undoubtedly contribute to the surge in digital advertising billboards and the use of digital out of home advertising. As digital technology becomes even more ubiquitous, it will also become an even more vital component of the media and advertising landscape, thus opening up great new horizons for businesses of all types and sizes in terms of using digital out of home advertising to enhance business.

MediaLease Ooh has 30 years of experience in Ooh campaign liaising between the advertisers, their ad-agencies and the Ooh advertising industry.