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A Comprehensive Guide to DOOH Advertising

The mode of advertising has changed a lot in the last few years. Evolving from the newspaper to TV, radio, billboards, and today’s digital platforms Facebook, and Google. The way and mode all the businesses have chosen to reach their target market and be more personal, has quite evolved.
Though digital marketing and advertisements have their advantages, they can help you reach many people at a time. But they can be blocked or skipped. Nowadays people use ad blindness, fatigue, and even some tools to block ads on their devices.
That is why the next best option available is DOOH advertising. As a business owner, you should be aware of the ongoing hurdles.
Now, you may have a doubt, what exactly is this term, DOOH advertising? And how can it help you grow your retail business?
Relax, that is what you will know about in this blog. So, tighten your seat and attention, and read the blog till the end to know everything.

What is Digital-Out-Of-Home Advertising?

It is a simple yet brilliant idea for effective advertising. Digital-Out-of-Home marketing also known as DOOH marketing is nothing but a type of digital advertising that reaches your customers when they are outside their homes. It can be anywhere, whether it's a public space, in transit, or in specific commercial locations.
You may be thinking of billboards, or some static posters on the most exclusive walls. Sorry, but you are wrong. DOOH marketing is not one of these. It uses digital technology, and ongoing trends for more personalized and engaging content to serve your audience. DOOH marketing uses a lot of different formats to convey your message, including a digital billboard, screens in elevators, and displays in shopping malls.
If you want your business to boom, touch everyone’s conscious mind, and turn them into potential customers. Then, Digital-Out-Of-Home is what you need.
With DOOH marketing you can display your brand images, interactive content, and timeless updates about your brand. This makes DOOH a more engaging type of advertisement.

Facts about DOOH Advertising

  • The total ad spend in DOOH is about US$105.50M in 2024.
  • DOOH has witnessed a 17% growth in revenue in 2024.
  • DOOH increases trust by 13% in 2024.
  • The DOOH industry will reach a total valuation of US$218 Million by 2029.
  • 55% of gen-z respond to DOOH. 52% of them engage with the brand on their smart device.

Types of DOOH Advertisements

Digital billboards and advertisements

These are large size high-resolution digital screens with dynamic ad content. They are placed in high-traffic areas of the cities.

Transit & bus shelter advertisement

Transit ads are ads on vehicles. These ads use bus shelters, vehicles, and buses to install digital screens. They target commuters, pedestrians, and travelers.

Street furniture advertisement

Street furniture ads are ads on furniture. These advertisements use urban furniture like benches and kiosks to mount screens for local advertising opportunities. These ads target local residents, impacting a niche audience.

OOH Video network advertisement

As the name suggests, OOH video network ads are video content ads. OOH video network ads use interconnected screens in public places and deliver engaging video content to all the passerby audience.

ATM TV advertisement

ATM ads are advertisements that you see on ATM screens or space. They mostly use ATM displays, targeting users while they wait for transactions.

Virtual reality advertisement

Virtual Reality ads use modern VR/AR technology to show ads in a virtual world. These ads use immersive experiences to the audience and engage users in a unique way.

3-D display advertisement

As the name suggests, these ads use 3-D display to immersive advertisements. These are eye-catching advertisements that feel popping out of the digital screen.

QR code advertisement

QR technology has changed the way consumers used to connect with ads. These small icons on the advertisements allow the viewers to connect with the brand directly. They can lead the viewers to the website, landing page, extra content, discounts, or promotions. Notably, they have become a bridge between physical & digital marketing.

What is the difference between DOOH and OOH?

Let’s be clearer about the abbreviations:

  • DOOH - Digital-Out-of-Home.
  • OHH - Out-Of-Home.

DOOH and OOH are different in technology, formats, and presentation mediums. However, both of them have one thing in common. That is their aim of capturing the attention of people and converting them into your potential customers. However, their approach, capabilities, and effectiveness in reaching audiences in public is different from one another.
Let’s dive deeper into their differences.

Display nature

DOOH or Digital-Out-Of-Home, uses the power of digital billboards, electronic displays, and other digital formats to reach maximum audience. Its dynamic nature and real-time updates, engaging content, and visuals make users gaze at it for a longer period. DOOH marketing is best for attracting every eye passing by.
On the other hand, OOH or Out-Of-Home advertising uses traditional billboards, posters, and signboards to attract customers. These are physical displays that are non-dynamic and do not change until someone does.

Content flexibility and interactivity

If we are to talk about content flexibility, there is no doubt who is the winner, of course, it is Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) marketing. DOOH’s content flexibility is a lot more than you expect. This feature or benefit allows you to change your message, and advertising content throughout the day.  DOOH uses different formats, which can help you engage with your audiences via touchscreens, augmented reality, or mobile device integration.
On the other hand, OOH uses limited and static texts and images, which makes no room for you to interact with your audiences and change content.

Targeting and personalization

DOOH targets your audience based on many factors: time, location, and your audience's demographics. Though it is limited, it still offers much better customization options than traditional OOH marketing.
Whereas, OOH targets customers based on their location, and they offer very little personalization. Most of the time, people may not bother looking at Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertisements.

Cost impact

DOOH may have many advantages but needs a higher initial investment to install them. However, they incur potentially lower long-term costs due to their digital nature and ease of updating content.
For OOH marketing you will require less funds upfront, but the expenses will only increase over time. This is because of their costs of physical production and installation.

Measurability and sales analytics

Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) marketing has analytics capabilities. It offers you deep information about the customer's engagement, impressions, and interaction data. On the other hand, traditional Out-Of-Home (OOH) marketing provides no to negligible data on customer engagement and effectiveness.

Environmental impact of both

Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) marketing has analytics capabilities. It offers you deep information about the customer's engagement, impressions, and interaction data. On the other hand, traditional Out-Of-Home (OOH) marketing provides no to negligible data on customer engagement and effectiveness.

The benefits of Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) marketing

DOOH marketing encompasses the power of digital media outside your house and attracts your audience’s attention. DOOH advertising has its very own set of benefits, which makes it a popular and effective method that every advertiser wants to use.
Here is a list of benefits that Digital-Out-Of-Home advertising delivers:

1. Target advertising

DOOH marketing utilizes advanced technologies that help you target your audiences through brand advertisements. That is the reason DOOH marketing boards are placed in some high-traffic areas like highways, busy streets, malls, and airports. Such areas ensure your advertisements gain maximum visibility and reach diverse audiences.

2. High impact visibility

We just talked about where the DOOH boards should be placed. It is better for the brand if the ad is placed where everyone can see it easily and by greater audiences like a high-traffic area, busy street, or highway. However, it will only be visible to the nearby people.
These LED screens remain glowing, crystal clear, and fully visible, even under sunlight, or in a brightly lit place. It ensures the display remains visible and clear in different lighting conditions. Hence, enhancing the experience of people.

3. Dynamic content

The best thing about DOOH advertising is that it provides dynamic content. Unlike traditional billboards, DOOH advertising can display multiple contents one by one according to your business needs. You can change the message throughout the day, add real-time events, or display interactive content. This makes the ads more engaging and relevant for your audiences.

4. Measurable results

With the help of DOOH advertising solutions, you can now measure the impact of your campaign. With DOOH you can track impressions, engagement, and even conversion rates if integrated with mobile or online marketing strategies.

5. Flexibility and timeliness

DOOH advertising is quite flexible with its content. That is it can quickly change, or even update the content you want to show, which is not possible with the traditional billboards. It takes a lot of time and effort to change a billboard advertisement.

6. Cost-effectiveness

You may think that DOOH advertisement’s initial cost may be higher than you expect, higher than what you would pay for a traditional advertisement. However, the cost per impression is cheap due to your ad’s wider reach and longer lifespan. Additionally, there is no need for manual costs, thus cutting operational costs.

7. Extend reach

DOOH advertising helps you expand the reach of your campaign. DOOH is something beyond the internet, and television, it captures the attention of passers-by. With DOOH you can also interact through social media, touch screens, and QR codes. This encourages active participation among your audiences.

8. Brand building

DOOH is a great, and effective way for you to build your brand. It creates memorable experiences for your audiences via engaging, and creative content. Which hence enhances your brand recognition and loyalty among customers.

9. Eco-friendly options

Most of the DOOH platforms use energy-efficient technologies and materials. They use digital boards which are way more environmentally healthy than posters and signboards that use tons of paper, and plastic, and that too for a short period. If you want to change your advertisement you will have to print it on a brand new paper. Thus, contributing to more wastage of paper, and ink.

Challenges in DOOH Advertising

  • 53% of advertisers face difficulty in buying DOOH advertisers.
  • Different providers use different metrics to measure success.
  • DOOH comes with hardware challenges.
  • DOOH demands high initial costs.
  • Determining the number of viewers is difficult in DOOH ad campaigns.

Strategies for your DOOH advertising

1. Target content

Tailoring content as per your audience is the first and foremost thing you can do to grab attention. That means you have to understand their demographics, and interests, and create relevant and engaging content.
For example, use family-friendly advertisements near schools, and youth-centric ads near malls.

2. Interactive elements

You can add interactive features to your DOOH advertising like QR codes, touch screens, and augmented reality. These elements will help you engage with your audiences, and grab their attention. Hence, driving higher attention, and engagement, and creating memorable customer experiences.

3. Proper timing and content scheduling

Timing is everything. So, you need to schedule your ads according to peak audience time. Let’s say you have a coffee business, what will be the best time to advertise it? Morning! During the rush hours.

4. Collaboration and cross-promotion

Partner with other brands and businesses if you want your reach to boost. Create content that will benefit you and your partner, and leverage each other’s audience for a better impact on your campaign.

5. Consistent branding

Try maintaining consistent branding across all your DOOH advertisements. This will help you in building your brand recognition, and trust. Make sure your logo, color scheme, and messages speak about your brand identity.

Conclusion

DOOH advertising is a great and effective way to reach out to your audiences and engage with them in this digital era.  Its dynamic nature, plus the ability to target audiences of specific demographics, and measure results, makes it stand out.
In this blog we discussed what DOOH is, the difference between DOOH and OOH advertising, why DOOH is better, and what strategies you should follow.
Want a full-fledged DOOH advertising campaign for your brand? Contact Vigyapan Mart Now.

What do VMPL offer to you?

  • Custom strategies
  • Expert consultation
  • Professional team for creative & legal processes.