You know it already, don’t you? You’ve seen how Digital OOH marketing is becoming larger than life and if you still think that its growth and evolution is going to halt any time soon, you’re in for a shock. Seems like everyone who wants to make it big in the market and create an unforgettable impact on their consumers will have to take DOOH advertising seriously.

We are seeing an increasing number of brands building an affinity for Digital OOH advertising over several other mediums of advertising and also the traditional OOH which is everyone’s personal favourite. We are fast exploring how creative and innovative modern technology has made us over the years. This particular industry has been projected to show a CAGR of a 20-25%.

The Google Maps Case Study – A Sneak Peek

If we look for appropriate examples of DOOH advertising and education the most interesting seems to be the campaign carried on by Google.

Google Maps made its way to large LED screens in front of people and started showcasing live traffic updates. People did not have to use their phones, but looked at the digital billboard ahead. They were greeted by the familiar red, green, blue, green and yellow lines directing them to the shortest routes leading them rather quickly to their destinations. This was the #LookBeforeYouLeave campaign by Google Maps. The company won a Gold Abby for ‘Best use of technology in digital and mobile’ for this.

The commuters were able to use the real-time information displayed on these LEDs and easily plan their routes. Not just this but the integrated media campaign carried on by Google Maps which included OOH, online videos, social media linking, Radio and TV resulted in increased feature awareness of about 8-10% and increased the daily active user base of Google Maps in India by 40%.

Digital OOH Advertising – The Growth Experts Talk About

Today, experts are estimating the entire Digital Out-of-Home or DOOH industry to witness a boom much sooner than we think. The digital aspect of it today makes up for approximately 3-5% of the overall OOH spending in India. This stands well over a staggering Rs 3,000 crore mark and if we go by the Pitch Madison Advertising Report (PMAR) for 2018, this is just the start. Industry gurus are estimating DOOH to grow by 20-25% in the coming 5 years.

This means that the overall DOOH market will grow at about 10% every year in India. According to reports by the PMAR and the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA), the digital aspect of out of home advertising is expected to grow at double the pace than the overall OOH industry average.

Understanding The Massive Growth Opportunity

Digital OOH advertising companies in India have fought with and won over several challenges. Up until a few years ago we didn’t have the right technology or the right ideas to put to work. We didn’t have government permissions to install any kind of digital screens or similar furniture in public places. This restricted their use to controlled environments such as restaurants and cafés and airports or malls and multiplexes. This implied a slower rate of infrastructure growth.

According to a report by the FICCI EY Media & Entertainment, India is on the road to witness a lot of changes and developments in the field of Digital OOH. In fact, the digital aspect of it will be a primary growth driver for OOH advertising industry in India. By the year 2020 the value of this industry is expected to touch Rs 4,300 crore!

Primary Growth Factors that Favour DOOH

  • We are becoming more welcoming and accepting of Digital OOH advertising companies in India. Our government regulations have begun to adapt and now they are capable of accommodating DOOH. We are seeing the change we have always expected to see and now our existing static boards are ready to be converted into digitally-served static boards. Then they will be converted into interactive video displays. They will then be able to connect seamlessly with hand-held screens and other portable devices.
  • The messages will keep on revolving and switching and this will make for a hugely contemporary advertising environment. This is expected to change the face of the whole city and really put India on the map and under a different light from what we are used to seeing it and take brand marketing to the next level.
  • According to a study, when OOH is used in combination with mobile phones, the chances of the customer willingly hitting on websites increase by a whopping 180%. This is all due to the integration of when digital/ mobile phone advertising with OOH displays. Thus, the report also suggests marketers to spend at least 20% of their digital advertising budget on OOH. This will help them energise customer response and enhance brand engagement further.
  • With advancements in pixels and screen technology, new and better looking displays come out every year and the number is expected to grow phenomenally. The way we are witnessing lifestyle upgrades in various sections of the society, we are also seeing a lot of spending power coming in the hands of the consumer.
  • Our DOOH ad campaigns are reaching state-of-the-art airports, high tech malls, multiplexes and numerous theme parks as well. We also see them in parking lots and hotels, and so many other locations.
  • These can even be connected to our smartphones and also our social media channels. They make hyper targeting and extreme personalization possible and mainly revolve around creating impact, and delivering innovation and meaningful content.
  • Factors like facial recognition software, geo-targeting, virtual reality and augmented reality (AR) are effective in ensuring continuous engagement levels. When marketers moved into interactive formats through advanced DOOH activities they already knew that they would be welcoming more data and increased engagement with these immersive experiences. This has resulted in the creation of invaluable data collection points for several brands.

Some other factors are also at play here and they are:

  • Increase in the number of airports
  • Rise in the number of travellers
  • Many upcoming retail spaces
  • Advancement in technology
  • Increased penetration of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies
  • Highly targeted ad campaigns
  • Easy integration with social media and mobile platforms
  • Accurate measurability of digital OOH

Final Thoughts

Haven’t we said and experienced enough? This is the future of advertising and it is going to get brighter just like the very LEDs we are going to see on the corner of the street. Digital out of home advertising has everything going in its favour. Soon we will see the very infrastructure of our cities depending on these interactive kiosks and digital signages around which several developments and advances are going to sprout up.