January, the first month of 2024, already flew by, and we have an exciting box full of information to open already! For a start, as 2024 will be a big year for politics in the US, we’ll take a look at tackling the specific and sensitive challenge of political Out-of-Home for advertisers. We also ran into a neatly packaged guide to programmatic Digital Out-of-Home you’ll find immensely useful. We’ll also go over some industry predictions for the year ahead, as well as exciting stats revealing untapped potential of the in-store shopping experience. Let’s get started!
A guide to Programmatic DOOH
DOOH Academy recently published a guide by Jeff Gunderman which summarizes the most important information about delivering programmatic ads through digital signage. Programmatic advertising has largely been present in online ads for some time and is continuing to rise up in the world of Out-of-Home.
The information provided in this guide is useful for improving one’s understanding of programmatic DOOH. This particularly applies to publishers, buyers, technology departments, ad tech providers, and, of course, advertisers. As this element of outdoor advertising is growing, it will progressively engrain itself in our industry. So it’s important to stay on top of it!
“Out-of-home is becoming the broadcast medium of choice”
“As linear TV continues its decline, OOH is becoming the broadcast medium of choice for many advertisers and agencies,” said Tom Goddard, head of the World Out-of-Home Organization, in his New Year’s message. He also noted that the times ahead are challenging for all media, primarily due to competition and increases in technology costs.
However, despite their nature, Goddard noted that the Out-of-Home sector has handled them quite well. He particularly noted three-dimensional layouts which provide new opportunities for visuals. “There is now virtually nothing we can’t do with increasingly three-dimensional screens,” he added. Read more in the full article highlighting his views on the industry and expectations for the year ahead.
Best practices for political Out-of-Home advertising
With elections coming up in the US, the Out-of-Home industry will meet many requests for advertising from this field. Given the sensitivity of the topic, outdoor advertisers sometimes struggle with how to handle it when specific situations arise. For instance, in the past advertisers were seen refusing to put up ads for political parties they don’t support, as well as getting backlash for supporting a side which isn’t favored locally. Of course, it’s always up to the individual advertiser to figure out what is the appropriate course of action. However, a recent Billboard Insider post provided useful guidelines.
For a start, some general practices include charging the normal rate for advertising, without any special discounts. It’s also important to offer the same rates to all competing candidates without differentiation. Most importantly, there is no requirement to accept political Out-of-Home ads, and the willingness to do so lies entirely with the individual operator.
Only 9% are satisfied with the in-store shopping experience!
According to a recent study titled “Revolutionize retail with AI everywhere: Customers won’t wait,” only 9% of consumers are satisfied with their in-store shopping experience. Meanwhile, this number is 14% for e-commerce. As research indicates, there is a large gap between what consumers want and what retailers are providing. Furthermore, 80% of consumers surveyed expressed an interest in using AI technology for various aspects of their shopping journey.
While it’s important to keep track of consumer expectations, inflation and prices are still the main reason why 62% of consumers switched stores or brands. Consumers also noted that they want more variety of products, additional information, as well as faster checkouts. Lastly, it’s important to note that 65% of consumers surveyed are supplementing their in-store experience by using mobile apps. This means there is a growing trend toward a digital in-store experience.
Trends and expectations in 2024
This month on the OnSign TV blog, we focused on topics which might be useful at the year’s beginning. Firstly, we talked a bit about upcoming trends and what we expect to see in the months ahead. It’s important to stay on top of trends and see which are applicable to your own case, lest you miss some good opportunities. We also discussed the decorative potential of digital signage as a way to visually implement something new and fresh in your business!
Cover image by Joshua Woods.
