Rise of global ‘smart cities’ will increase digital OOH uptake

Alfi – which, to be clear, does have a vested interest in pushing the digital-out-of-home agenda – says an increase in digital spaces in smart cities translates to more opportunities for marketers to connect with potential customers, boosting brand validation and conversions. Ability to shift strategy mid-campaign “DOOH advertising provides that bridge, creating myriad possibilities for brands who now exert much more control over marketing campaigns than before. With real-time impressions generated from actual consumers, ads can now be even more flexible, giving agencies, marketers and brands the ability to adapt and shift strategy mid-campaign,” Alfi says. One of the obvious benefits of DOOH is that marketing teams can easily adapt their messaging according to time of day, rapidly emerging trends, highly localised circumstances, and short-term special offers. Traditional billboards, of course, may take days or weeks to be adjusted to shifting circumstances. And what of changing consumer mobility trends resulting from Covid-19, with less people travelling into cities or along major routes to and from work? How does this effect DOOH? While there was an impact during the initial 2020 series of global lockdowns, it seems that digital out-of-home is making a comeback. According to the business news website Marketwatch, the global DOOH advertising market is slated to grow from $4.3-billion in 2020 to $5.6-billion in 2026, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. WARC, the marketing information website, seems to agree. It predicts that OOH, in general, will be the second-fastest-growing medium in 2021, with ad spend increasing more than 20%.