Welcome, media owners and screen owners in the dynamic Out-of-Home Advertising and Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) space! In this article, we aim to shed light on the vast potential of data and its role in enhancing outdoor advertising campaigns.
We believe almost everyone reading this article is somewhat familiar with the hype surrounding the industry. The double digit growth of programmatic over the past few years. And the post-covid rapid development of this technology in our industry. So there is no need to go there in this article. Let’s keep the focus on what we believe is the new challenge of the industry, which is high-quality data.
Data has, in some way, always been around. And it’s been a focal part of conversations and conferences over the past 5 years. Yet, we still seem to be debating about the lack of measurement and the need to fully embrace data and audience based transactions.
Almost every media owner we know of is in some way exploring different sources of data. Trying to adapt these to their reality and trying to make sense of what’s happening around their locations. Some with more success than others, and some with more resources than others.
We will explore three main sources of data that can be harnessed to measure the effectiveness of outdoor campaigns. Also improve audience targeting, and leverage programmatic strategies, both open and direct. Despite what many people believe, these sources are not mutually exclusive. They can, and even must be combined, understanding their power and limitations. Just to gather the right data points at the right time. And power an industry that is still in the early days of what we think will be a wave of growth over the next few years.
Optic Sensor-Based Quantitative Measurement - Unveiling the True Exposure
Let’s start with the type of data we at AdMobilize know more of, which is Computer vision. Or even camera data as most people say. In the world of OOH advertising, camera based data is the most effective way to quantify real-time exposure to an outdoor ad.
With the aid of advanced camera technology and computer vision. Media owners can accurately count the number of people who pass by an advertising location at any given time. Not only around the area but actual exposure to a screen or static location. And can do so with an 85-90% accuracy, in real time and in a complete anonymous and private manner. Of course it comes with its limitations. As most media owners know, it is very difficult to place a camera and powerful computing devices on each location as it can be a cost and logistical nightmare. But its accuracy and precision makes this data hard to beat and it can serve as the cornerstone for gauging campaign reach and ensuring accurate measurement.
Tracking Foot Traffic and Beyond - Telecommunications and WiFi Signals
Beyond camera sensors. Other technologies like telecommunications and WiFi signals emitted by mobile phones offer additional methods to count foot traffic in a particular area. While this approach may not provide precise exposure data, as not every phone is “visible” to these sensors. Not everyone is carrying a phone (I know, most people do) and most people detected can be very far from the actual exposure zone of an ad location. Although this technology excels in delivering valuable information on the frequency of visits and identifying repeat visitors at a physical location. This data allows media owners to understand the behavior patterns of their audience, thereby optimizing campaign targeting strategies. Combined with camera based data, it can provide a highly accurate, real-time and private Traffic / Exposure / frequency ratio analysis.
Unveiling Customer Personas and Interests - Mobile Data and the Power of Qualitative Data
Mobile data, particularly derived from Software Development Kits (SDKs) integrated into various apps, presents a rich source of qualitative metrics. Luckily for Out-of-Home Advertising, the online industry has already paved our way into this source of data and is something that can be found vastly in the market globally. Depending on the market and the data processor, roughly between 15% to 30% of mobile devices are somewhat being tracked (anonymously and privately we might add) in most countries. That is incredible coverage, that might not be helpful to count impressions, but is significant enough for audience building and targeting.
By leveraging user-permitted and anonymized mobile data, media owners gain access to valuable insights such as household income, demographic details, intent of purchase, online interests, and customer personas. This data empowers media owners to craft highly targeted and personalized campaigns, catering to specific niches that brands are seeking to engage.
We have seen the rise of DSPs becoming excellent tools to use the power of this data to create targeted campaigns to specific personas and create dynamic campaigns that deliver incredible results. Although we still see a weak link in the supply chain. While mobile data is being harnessed for targeting, it is being completely ignored for reporting post-campaign. This means that despite it being used for creating the campaign, the impressions multiplier which was paid for still comes from more traditional sources of measurement, which are more speculative, linear, and non-real-time.
The Power of Data Fusion in Programmatic Out-of-Home Advertising
Data fusion maximizes potential. Combining sensor, WiFi signals, and mobile data enables comprehensive audience measurement for advertising networks.
Camera data proxies exposure, facilitating accurate reach and Impressions Multipliers. Telecommunications and WiFi act as visit frequency proxies, providing deeper audience insights. Mobile data offers qualitative metrics for targeted campaigns.
All data is digital, allowing near real-time delivery and automatic multipliers integration into SSPs and ad servers/CMSs. Media owners execute intelligent campaigns through programmatic bidding and direct strategies.
Embracing data unlocks advertising network potential, delivering unparalleled results and attracting new clients to the world of Out-of-Home Advertising
We at AdMobilize help hundreds of media owners around the world with our patented Computer Vision technology and our data infrastructure to bring everything under one roof and power all their data needs to grow their revenue. Request a Demo today if you want to know more about embracing data-driven insights in a new era of precision and effectiveness for OOH!