What is Digital Out of Home Advertising?

Billboards are one of the oldest advertising formats known to humankind. The first American “large format” billboard made its debut all the way back in 1835, spreading the word about a circus in New York City, and with the first leasing of a billboard in 1867, a cornerstone of the out of home advertising industry was born.

Of course, we’ve come a long way since those early billboards for “horse blankets and rheumatism pills,” and today, digital out of home advertising (or DOOH advertising) is a uniquely agile way to reach consumers.

So, how does digital out of home advertising differ from traditional out of home advertising, and should marketers be embracing it? Let’s dive in to find out!

What is Digital Out of Home Advertising?

Let’s start by defining the baseline of traditional out of home advertising, which is essentially any ad you might see (you guessed it!) outside of your home. Common examples include billboards, ads on public transit, signs at a sporting event, or banners at the airport.

Digital out of home advertising, meanwhile, expands upon this field by adding a digital element. So instead of, say, a static printed billboard along the side of the highway, you might have a giant screen displaying a rotating series of digital advertisements to passing drivers.

If you want to see just how much digital has changed the OOH landscape, just look at present day Times Square:

DOOH has also brought us innovative new ways of advertising, particularly using video. You know those little screens that keep you entertained in the back of a taxicab? Or playing above the pump at a gas station? Both prime examples of the way digital OOH advertising can help marketers reach captive audiences.

Why Is Digital Out of Home Advertising Important?

Let’s take a quick look at three major reasons why digital OOH is an important part of any marketer’s media mix:

Flexible Timing and Targeting

Unlike traditional out of home advertisements, digital OOH ads can rotate and change over the course of a week, day, hour, or even minute—all allowing advertisers to better target and reach specific audiences in specific areas at specific times. So if you wanted to, say, reach commuters heading home from the finance district at rush hour, digital OOH can empower you to do just that. And because DOOH technology supports programmatic advertising, marketers have even more control over the placement of their ads.

Not Home? Not a Problem.

In pre-pandemic times, consumers spent 70 percent of their waking hours outside their homes. As the world steadily gets back to normal, people are going to be anxious to return to the world outside those four walls, and digital out of home ads are an ideal way for advertisers to grab (and keep!) a customer’s attention when they’re out in public.

Interactive and Engaging

Some of the most innovative examples of digital OOH advertisements take advantage of modern technology to create dynamic, interactive campaigns that take audience engagement to the next level.

Here are a few great examples to get you inspired:

Ready to get your DOOH journey started? Click here to learn more about programmatic advertising.

Sources:
https://oaaa.org/AboutOOH/OOHBasics/HistoryofOOH.aspx
https://www.toolbox.com/marketing/programmatic-advertising/articles/what-is-digital-out-of-home-dooh/
https://oaaa.org/AboutOOH/OutofHomeAdvertising.aspx