How Programmatic Digital OOH Advertising Works: A Guide for Brands

Feb 6

Programmatic advertising, using software and automation to buy and sell digital ads, has long been used for television and online marketing channels. More recently, it’s become popular for advertisers to buy digital out-of-home advertising (OOH) using programmatic buying methods.

Using programmatic advertising, you can quickly buy inventory, set specific triggers or target specific audiences.

In this article, you will learn about Programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH). You will learn what it is, how it works, and how you can leverage data to improve your campaign’s performance.

What is Programmatic OOH Advertising?

Programmatic DOOH streamlines the buying and selling of digital out-of-home placements. It automates many manual processes and in the OOH buying and selling cycle, including the need for RFPs, negotiations between buyers and sellers, and manually inserting orders.

Similar to how other digital channels are bought, you can define and activate audience segments to support an omnichannel strategy seamlessly.

What can you do with pDOOH?

In the United States, only about 20% of inventory is digital, but that number is growing exponentially. Overseas there are more options. Though only some screens are sold programmatically, many of the top media suppliers in the industry are already using pDOOH.

One of the main benefits of pDOOH is the ability to automate buying based on specific audiences and conditions. You can set contextual triggers that have your ads play and adjust creatives in near real-time to address current events, such as a local sports team winning a game.

Though many contextual triggers are also available with regular DOOH, the main difference is how it is bought in the marketplace. Rather than buying specific units, you buy from a pool of units that meet your conditions and audience criteria, and then the ads will play so that you reach a predetermined CPM.

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How does Programmatic OOH Advertising Work?

Programmatic DOOH uses processes including Real-Time Bidding (RTB) and Automated Guaranteed (AG) to buy and place outdoor advertisers.

This helps buyers and sellers determine pricing, displays, and designated space. The way it is bought helps advertisers spend less time on manual tasks. It also lowers administrative costs. Automation reduces the potential for human error as well.

How do you Buy Programmatic OOH advertising?

Data Management Platforms (DMPs) help offer and sell ad space through real-time bidding networks. This involves two different platforms. Supply-side platforms (SSP) display available inventory. This inventory is sold in online auction rooms through Demand-Side Platforms (DSP).

There are a couple of bidding models used in pDOOH. The most common way is through Real-time Bidding (RTB) on open ad exchanges, which is when an ad slot is offered to a group of bidders in an auction room. They say how much they would pay for the ad slot and the highest bidder wins the slot, often within seconds. There are also a few other ways to bid on DOOH inventory:

Private Marketplaces (PMP): Buyers with preexisting relationships with the media owner are allowed first rights to inventory in a closed auction.

Preferred Deals: These involve one-on-one transactions based on cost per thousand (CPM and involve a pre-existing relationship with the supplier.

Programmatic Guarantees: This is when the supplier promises a fixed number of impressions to an advertiser for a specific price. This allows them access to inventory before others can bid on it.

Data Management Platforms: The DMPs collect and manage information with specific CPM goals using specific triggers. These triggers can include voice and visual

How can you use Data to Improve pDOOH Ad Performance?

Rather than one vanity placement, we recommend using multiple OOH formats to supplement your other marketing efforts as part of an omnichannel marketing strategy. Studies show that using OOH in conjunction with a digital campaign amplifies overall campaign performance. When using pDOOH especially, you can leverage data to improve your campaign performance in a few key ways:

Real-Time Contextual advertising: Programmatic DOOH can be set to run with specific triggers using live data. You can set your ads to run based on weather, traffic levels, time of day, and even current events to make ads more relevant than ever to your target audience. For example, a beverage brand could run different drink specials depending on the weather.

Detailed Measurement and Attribution: Contrary to popular belief, there are many ways to conduct measurement and attribution studies to prove ROI on your OOH campaign. Though not limited to pDOOH ads, attribution models with near real-time measurement tools are becoming increasingly common. This leads to a clearer understanding of how your OOH advertising dollars are contributing to your overall sales and conversions.

Personalization of OOH Ads: As interactive billboards and displays become more common, consumers can engage directly with ads and even receive personalized content. AI will play an important role in the evolution of OOH towards individualized mobile extensions. However, it is currently possible to do mobile retargeting based on geofencing and targeting those in the vicinity of your OOH units.

Pros and Cons of pDOOH

Programmatic DOOH can make the buying and selling of OOH easier, but it is not always the right solution. Working with an OOH agency can help you determine what formats will be best to reach your campaign goals. Here are some of the pros and cons of pDOOH to help you make your decision:

Pros of Programmatic DOOH

Create a cohesive omnichannel brand experience.
Set the conditions for buying media so that placements are bought automatically.
Achieve maximum reach within a market. pDOOH allows you to scale campaigns within a matter of hours to align your budget and audiences and gain new impressions quickly.
Benefit from flexible contract terms and campaign flexibility. You can change elements of your campaign quickly, including pausing or cancelling campaigns, changing conditions, creatives or audiences.
Buy ads dynamically based on contextual conditions to deliver customized and relevant messaging and creatives.

Cons of Programmatic DOOH

Finite inventory: When you buy pDOOH you are buying a pool of locations. You won’t know when and where your ad will show up specifically. Also, though you will know the exact location and impressions when you plan, the ads likely won’t be placed evenly between selected areas and screens. You will also likely not receive proof of performance photos.
If you want a specific Share of Voice (SOV) then you should consider buying direct.
pDOOH involves some extra costs not associated with traditional DOOH. It often has a slightly higher CPM because you will also pay tech fees and commissions to the SSPs, DSPs, and third-party data providers.

Get Started with Programmatic OOH Advertising with PJX Media

PJX Media is an OOH advertising agency that has helped many brands and advertising agencies to bring pDOOH campaigns to life. We can help you better understand the process so that you know where your budget is going and what different options will have on your campaign’s ROI. We know where and how your audience moves through a market, what inventory is in those markets, and have the tools to assess your campaign’s performance. Contac t us to get started.