Programmed to prosper: how pDOOH helps brands adapt to a changing world

Fast and flexible, with real-time optimisation, programmatic DOOH tech offers a variety of solutions to meet changing consumer needs, writes ANDREW GOLDEN

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that as marketers, we must be adaptable to change. Market fluctuations, changing consumer behaviour, and a global pandemic have all wreaked havoc on many long-standing pillars of our marketing strategies.

For advertisers constantly on the hunt for the most effective strategies to reach consumers, programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) advertising offers powerful capabilities that provide brands with flexible ways to approach campaigns based on their needs.

Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar store looking to increase foot traffic, a distilled spirit company aiming to boost awareness and intent among your target demographic, or a tech company wanting to gain more app subscriptions, pDOOH advertising can help you adapt your programs on the fly to better resonate with your target audience, drive higher awareness, and increase conversions.

Here’s how you can leverage pDOOH to remain flexible in the face of changing market conditions, consumer trends and more.

Launch campaigns in minutes, not weeks

Traditional OOH billboards require massive amounts of input from crossfunctional teams – from those building and printing the creative, to the folks in charge of actually installing the new banner. Then, once a design is approved, it can take up to two to three weeks for the new vinyl billboard to be installed.

Programmatic DOOH technology changes this. It allows you to upload assets electronically and launch, optimise or pause campaigns in just minutes –making changes seamlessly as consumer behaviour, demand and situational contexts evolve.

Adjust Messaging Based On Changing Conditions

Static OOH ads are usually geared toward a general audience, only allow one specific creative to run at a time and don’t take into account circumstances that may impact on consumer behaviour.

For example, an ad for a cool, refreshing iced coffee may work well during a heat wave – but what happens when the weather changes? That same ad would likely fall flat in a summer rainstorm.

Programmatic DOOH campaigns allow your brand to be nimble and run different versions of your messaging based on location, time of day, demographics, movement patterns, behaviours, venue types, weather, and other factors.

This enables you to tailor your messaging to reach potential buyers at the exact right time to drive maximum impact and influence their purchasing decisions. What’s more, you can leverage dynamic creative to swap out the content of your ads based on real-time information, to display a much more enticing offer as conditions change.

shift media doLLars to high-performing tactics

Because digital screens are everywhere, programmatic DOOH advertising offers an incredibly variety of inventory across any given geographic area. This means you can shift your media dollars to target specific audiences in areas that are most likely to resonate with your messaging. Furthermore, you have the ability to pivot your spend to high-performing or new venue types to maximise the effectiveness of your creative.

For example, let’s say you launch a DOOH campaign for your brand’s newest workout shorts. You want to make a large splash in the market, so you run ads on large highway billboards, gym screens, bus shelters, etc. Halfway through the campaign you notice that your bus shelters are underperforming, while the gym TV ads are resonating incredibly well. No problem, you can use your pDOOH platform to selectively move budget from one venue type and purchase more share of voice on another (perhaps even expand your reach to different areas).

Finally, because pDOOH gives you the ability to control activation and pacing within your campaigns, you can respond to changing trends, tastes and buying habits in near real-time. Whether that means shifting budget to different locations, adding new venue types, or choosing to quickly pause or reactivate a campaign, programmatic DOOH has you covered.

In a constantly changing world, the ability to adapt can mean the difference between the success or failure of any ad campaign. Programmatic DOOH allows you to activate campaigns quickly, adjust messaging and change locations to match shifting consumer behaviour – all without any long-term or fixed commitments.

This story is republished with the permission of Vistar Media