DOOH and Retail Media: A Winning Combo for Modern Advertisers

Despite an ongoing rise in online shopping that’s not to be ignored, 86% of adults still prefer in-person retail. 71% of shoppers also report spending more while shopping in-store. Far from being dead in the water like many of us have been led to believe, this suggests that physical retail is rising like a phoenix from the ashes, and companies need to rise with it if they’re to stand any chance of staying on top.

Predominantly, brands need to find new ways to adapt in-store experiences to audiences that are used to the ease of modern life. DOOH and retail media are a winning combo that aims to do just that, ensuring interactive, exciting advertisements that are right where customers need them to be.

In this article, we consider: what exactly is DOOH, and why is it the next best thing for retail media that hits its mark?

What is DOOH?

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is, in many ways, the ideal solution for the modern marketer. Digital advertising screens that can display moving advertisements and incorporate elements like touch-screen gamification make it possible to enjoy digital benefits like easy connections and usable data within real-life settings.

DOOH effectively takes the benefits of traditional OOH, like increased product reach and brand recognition, and puts a digital spin on them. This adds value for consumers and businesses alike with more relevant, engaging advertisements that are also fully trackable from the back end.

DOOH and Retail Media: A Match Made in Heaven?

Retail media effectively refers to the concept of retailers using their infrastructures (e.g. their existing stores) to help advertisers reach shoppers. Traditionally, this might have taken the form of things like promotional banners to sit alongside products, or posters that, in all honesty, haven’t always caught shopper attention.

For understandable reasons, many professionals believe that DOOH and retail media could be a transformative match made in heaven thanks to benefits that include –

• Increased brand control over what digital screens are showing and when
• The ability to collect consumer data across all store points of sale
• Chance to create more eye-catching, engaging displays

These benefits and more could entirely change the in-person retail media landscape, making it more worthwhile than ever for brands to focus on in-store retail representation.

Dipping into the Benefits of DOOH Advertising

The power of DOOH is such that it’s set to make up 34% of all US out-of-home ad spend this year, meaning that, if companies aren’t thinking about DOOH right now, they probably should be.

But, what benefits does DOOH advertising actually stand to bring to retail media? In truth, there are many potential DOOH plus points, including –

• Affordable real-time campaigns: DOOH screens can display any advertisement of a company’s choosing, making this an affordable way to display real-time ad campaigns without needing to entirely overhaul old marketing. Instead, brands can launch a whole new campaign in any retail store across the country at the click of a button.
• Hyper-targeting: DOOH makes it possible to employ hyper-targeting that ensures ad relevance based on things like location or even time of day. This can significantly increase passing interest and add an element of personalization that modern consumers are sure to appreciate.
• Interactivity: DOOH screens can incorporate interactivity through touch screens and cameras. Techniques like fun camera backgrounds or gamification can encourage attention, and even social media shares.

DOOH vs OOH

An average of 90% of US travelers noticed an OOH ad of some kind in the past month. So, why fix something that, in a lot of ways, isn’t broken? Perhaps because, done right, DOOH could make OOH even better.

After all, DOOH doesn’t take a single thing away from OOH. The general premise of the two is the same. They even appear on the same bus stops, billboards, and shop aisle ends! Both DOOH and OOH also share benefits that include –

• Wide market reach
• Improved brand awareness and recognition
• Low cost per mile (CPM) and high return on investment (ROI)

DOOH simply elevates those benefits by adding a digital element to traditional OOH which could put power behind in-store retail media in a way that’s never been possible before.

Examples of DOOH In Action

Countless notable brands are already using DOOH and have enjoyed some pretty impressive returns as a result. The most iconic examples of DOOH in action so far have included –

Nike Air Max

Nike Air Max captured global audiences with a digital billboard located in Tokyo. This unmissable 3D billboard displayed a shoebox that revealed various Air Max designs and is a true testament to what’s possible with cutting-edge tech.

The NBA

The NBA celebrated its 75th-anniversary playoffs with DOOH screens that appeared across the US and displayed targeted local live countdown, scores, and even live Tweets from local fans. The NBA also strategically planned takeovers in prime areas like Times Square on key game days, and enjoyed an impressive 25% increase in tune-in intent as a result.

Acadia GMC

Acadia GMC put DOOH’s interactivity to full use in their advertising screens, which contained facial recognition software that used information like a viewer’s age and gender to display one of a possible 30 different ads.

Future DOOH Trends to Consider

DOOH is still relatively new, and it’s already moving at such a fast pace that we’ve gone from standard digital screens to facial recognition software. To launch their own iconic DOOH retail media campaigns, brands need to know what’s hot and incoming in this new digital landscape.

Top trends to bear in mind include –

• Programmatic buying: Programmatic technology uses algorithms to automate the buying and selling of DOOH ad spaces. This makes it easier for brands to deliver the right messages to the right audiences at the right times, and its importance is only set to grow as targeted ads become an industry standard.
• AI-driven personalization: Brands like Acadia GMC are already using AI personalization in their digital screens, but the rise of technologies like generative AI means that these elements are set to advance even further via automated data analysis, optimized digital screen selections, and adaptable real-time campaigns.
• Omnichannel campaigns: As DOOH gains momentum, the lines between marketing channels are becoming increasingly blurred. Moving forward, marketers should create seamless omnichannel campaigns that use the same ads across all channels, and make it easier to move from digital screens to mobile ads, and so on.

DOOH and Retail Media: Is it the Dream?

There’s no denying it – DOOH could be the answer to in-store retail media that hits the mark. With DOOH, brands can enjoy increased levels of control, adaptability, and analysis for retail media ads appearing across the country.

Affordable, iconic advertising doesn’t get much better than this. What’s more, even omnichannel DOOH couldn’t be simpler to manage than it will be when you contact ADvendio for a free demo of our high-quality, Salesforce-powered ad management software today.