Navigating OOH in a post-COVID ad landscape

by marika_gabriel | 2 October 2024 10:00 am

The out-of-home (OOH) advertising sector continues to evolve. Barry Frey, president and CEO of DPAA Global, explores these innovations and discusses the future of OOH advertising.   

By Marika Gabriel

As the aftereffects of the COVID pandemic recede in the out-of-home (OOH) industry, the landscape of advertising continues to evolve. The sector has seen transformative shifts, including large-scale digitization and the growth of several emerging technologies.

Many of these themes were analyzed at the 7th Annual DPAA Canada Summit, titled “The Digital Future of OOH,” held at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto in June. The summit saw around 400 attendees, representing brands, agencies, press, OOH media networks, research agencies, and others. Using case studies and growth stories, speakers shared tips on raising brand awareness and purchasing intent, and how to capture consumer attention.

Sign Media Canada spoke with Barry Frey, president and CEO of DPAA Global, a trade marketing association, to get his insights into these developments and the innovations shaping the industry. Frey discusses the challenges, opportunities, and future trends advertisers are gearing up for in the ever-growing world of OOH.

Sign Media Canada (SMC): What recent consumer behaviour shifts have most impacted OOH advertising strategies?

Barry Frey (BF): COVID certainly was a challenging time, yet the majority of our members have now well surpassed pre-COVID business levels. In this hybrid work-from-home, work-from-office environment, we are now seeing many of our members are reaching consumers closer to home in addition to metro areas.

SMC: What are the key innovations shaping OOH advertising?

BF: As our mission is to promote the digitization and innovation of OOH, we encourage growth across a wide spectrum. Of course, the proliferation of screens is occurring. Additive to that is addressable advertising and dynamic ad insertion/creative optimization, powerful programmatic capabilities, new data sources, attribution, and some exciting opportunities occurring with Quick Response (QR), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and 3D. In fact, we will soon be seeing some very exciting QR type of technologies without the QR code!

SMC: What are the primary challenges in implementing digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaigns, and how are they being addressed?

BF: As we offer an array of very powerful advertising strategies and tactics delivering ad video attributes, we are starting to see share shift from digital, TV, and other video media budget categories. Educating brands and agencies is the ongoing challenge, “it’s not your parent’s out-of-home,” is key here. Brands are looking for new consumer touchpoints, and OOH, specifically DOOH, can provide that. Digital screens, processes, dayparting, changing creative by temperature and news, and new types of measurement and return on investment (ROI) are all areas DPAA continuously talks about to brands and agencies.

SMC: How has the sector adapted to use real-time data and audience targeting with the rise of programmatic DOOH advertising?

BF: The understanding of dayparts, weather, audiences, environments, and geographies with other data added to dynamic ads along with programmatic use has enabled advertising which delivers addressability, limits waste circulation, and increases value and outcomes.

SMC: How does DOOH advertising fit into the broader advertising ecosystem?

BF: Now that we are delivering myriad digital and video capabilities, we have been able to attract ad budget heretofore going to other media. We also have been able to enhance our medium along with others such as social media, where the combination equals more than the sum of the parts.

SMC: What trends do you predict will shape the future of OOH advertising, and how should advertisers prepare?

BF: With increased use of digital, video, programmatic capabilities, and increased scale due to organic growth and consolidation, DOOH will not only continue to drive the OOH sector but will deliver values and opportunities previously delivered by other media. Advertisers should engage with all media and tech elements of the industry through networking events to get ahead of the curve on knowledge and capabilities as they prepare larger investments in this fast growing medium.

SMC: Is there anything else you would like to add?

BF: DPAA continues to grow, connect members, brands, and agencies in every continent (except for Antarctica) and helps build the innovation and digitization of the industry—which directly helps deliver growth for the industry and outcomes for brands. These groups convene regularly at the DPAA Canada (this past June) and Global (October 15) summits, the quarterly Women’s Empowerment webinars, monthly research, retail & tech online events, quarterly London Breakfast with Ad Leaders series, and member town halls.

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/navigating-ooh-in-a-post-covid-ad-landscape/

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