Goldbach Round Table: Digital First in Outdoor Advertising

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With its technical possibilities in terms of targeting, but also in terms of digital advertising design and implementation, DOOH is on the triumphant march. The number of screens is growing unstoppably. Due to the ever-increasing availability of screens that can be booked programmatically, even smaller budgets can make big leaps thanks to efficient and creative use. Reason enough to offer the topic a platform with an event. Numerous practical examples underscored the efficiency, incomparable flexibility and creative possibilities in implementation. Marketing professional Marcela Atria led through the event.

As a host on this topical subject, no company is probably better suited than the screen marketer Goldbach Austria, which was an early adopter of digital-out-of-home advertising, now markets the widest-reach DOOH network with over 8,600 screens nationwide, and can be seen as an innovation leader and driver of technological possibilities. "We are very pleased that digital-out-of-home has now become a permanent fixture in the media mix. And internally at Goldbach, this discipline has also grown to become a relevant mainstay together with TV, mobile, online and advanced TV. It is important to us to make the most of the digital possibilities of the DOOH medium - in the meantime, more than 90% of our entire DOOH portfolio is already programmatically connected. The development of this area is unstoppable and the mere fact at what level and with what interest today's event is taking place reflects this: Outdoor advertising today is digital. Due to the growing number of screens, the associated high reach, the added value through the use of data and the creative possibilities, the time has come to think and plan "digital first" in outdoor advertising as well," host Josef Almer appeals to the advertising industry.

Austrian Post offers significant advertising channel with 41 screens and appeals: Challenge us, use the opportunities of digitalization!

In his presentation, Reinhard Scheitl, Head of Digital Advertising&Innovation at Austrian Post, introduced the company's Austria advertising display windows at 41 locations. In addition to a programmatic connection, time slot, geo and weather targeting enable flexible advertising of promotions and articles. Well-known customers such as Otto Group, dm, Decathlon, Fitinn, Thalia, and many more are already taking advantage of the possibilities. With these contemporary digital advertising channels, Swiss Post wants to make a contribution to the advertising market and use the space and infrastructure of its branches. Two years ago, Swiss Post started with this topic - in the meantime, the portfolio comprises 41 screens. So far, a new screen has been installed almost every two weeks, and further expansion is progressing gradually, with the quality of the locations taking precedence over quantity. At the heart of this is performance - this is made possible by high-performance components in the technology. "Technically, a lot is possible. Challenge us, give us cool campaigns, use the possibilities of targeting, for example through a variety of adapted moving image subjects depending on the situation," concludes the publisher's appeal.

Without good creation, the best data is less effective

In his presentation, Sven Ruppert of Goldbach subsidiary Splicky illustrated the fact that dynamic DOOH ads significantly increase recall. According to Ruppert, the fragmentation of the media landscape has contributed to the rapid development of DOOH. After all, everyone continues to move outside, and there are no adblockers in outdoor advertising either. Attention is about 60% higher compared to traditional billboards, he said.

"In a fragmenting advertising world, outdoor advertising offers an attractive option. DOOH is the clear driver of growth here. Not only are there more and more screens, but also higher-quality screens with higher connectivity," Ruppert said.

"Meanwhile, in many markets worldwide, more advertising is already traded programmatically than via classic IO business and the trend is clearly increasing," the expert emphasizes, referring to the different forms of data such as personal data (mobile use e.g. from partners with consent) and non-personal data (context such as time or geo-coordinates, mobility, event such as current sports results, data from advertisers such as merchandise management). Using the best practice example "miniXplore" of the Technical Museum Vienna, which was implemented in cooperation with Goldbach, Ruppert explained how an efficient campaign was carried out thanks to the adaptation of advertising intensity to ticket availability. For example, when the museum was busy, less or no advertising was shown. Appenzeller Seilbahnen adapted its campaign to combined weather forecasts at the advertising location and ski lift location, as well as to the playout locations. Burger King synchronized various data in its DOOH campaign, such as mobile data, days of the week, geo-context, times of day, and dynamically adjusted its campaign according to the success of individual screens. In doing so, it created its own fast food lover target group based on measurements.

"The right advertising at the right time. DOOH is particularly memorable when the dynamics of the medium are used and multiple subjects are employed. Personal data does not always have to be used. However, data must be activatable, scalable and up-to-date. They only develop their full effect within the framework of a meaningful concept and usually in combination," concludes Rupert.

DOOH is interactive, programmatic, dynamic, creative and multi-media

"At the end of the day, I have to ask myself who is watching this and what situation is the person in right now. Even without personal data, I already know a lot about the passerby, e.g. depending on the weather - is he cold? where is he - e.g. on his way to the train,.", says Diego Del Pozo of Tunnel23 at the outset as an explanation of the company's mission "People first, digital second".

He asks clients to think DOOH already in the creation and to deliver different subjects to exploit the possibilities.

The representative of the advertising agency with clients such as WWF, Allianz, Billa, Thalia and many more, used the example of Magenta to show how to make the best use of synergies among media channels and thus extend campaigns in DOOH by thinking about this medium from the outset in the creation. During the filming of the TV campaign, sideshots were also produced for DOOH, thus creating various spots with different addresses and offers. Video calls from station to station in all provincial capitals helped ÖBB to get 750 participants in 3 days. The special feature of this campaign: interactive, live video call, voucher code via voucher printer. Billa Bio used programmatic playout on over 100 screens throughout Austria. Numerous product and headline variations were played out according to weather and time of day. Wiener Linien used dynamic user-generated content in all Vienna subway stations. The campaign generated almost 5,000 lottery participants with photo uploads via mobile, 400 subjects and updates in real time. Interactivity was also the focus of the ÖBB Klimahelden DOOH campaign. Here, too, a lottery was used, but promoters on site and a cloud connection were also used.

Finally, the expert had three tips for digital take-off in outdoor advertising at the ready: He recommends thinking about DOOH right from the creation stage, as the creation of advertising media is often much more difficult afterwards. Knowing the possibilities and framework conditions (parameters, camera, programmatic playout,..) and looking for suitable technical solutions for creative ideas - not the other way around. His don`ts from years of experience: being afraid, suggesting to the client what doesn`t work and cave painting: "don`t do a print ad, make something out of the medium".

No getting around "digital first in outdoor advertising"

The keynotes were followed by a panel discussion. Topics included the paradigm shift in outdoor advertising and why digital first makes sense here, too. The development of Programmatic DOOH from an awareness medium to a performance medium and the

conception and creative implementation of campaigns. In addition to the speakers Reinhard Scheitl (Post), Sven Ruppert (Splicky) and Diego Del Pozo (Tunnel23), Jürgen Stecher (Matterkind) and Philipp Hengl (from marketer Goldbach Austria) also took part in the panel discussion as agency representatives.

The consensus was that digital continues to be a "perpetuum mobile" and that the journey of this media genre and the possibilities as an advertising medium are far from over. Jürgen Stecher of Matterkind also sees a big increase in budgets towards DOOH, but emphasizes that this medium also holds efficient opportunities for relatively low budgets due to its programmatic bookability.

"The time is therefore ripe to think and plan digital first in order to be able to use the reach medium of outdoor advertising even more efficiently and effectively," was the tenor of the panel and also of the organizer Goldbach Austria.