What is Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising
December 8, 2024
In Dubai and other cities in the UAE, we have seen a huge rise in digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising. It is anticipated that DOOH will make up two-third (67%) of the OOH advertising expenditure for the upcoming year 2025.
Why DOOH Advertising?
DOOH advertising is expanding rapidly. Gaining popularity due to its appeal and unique features that set it apart from advertising challenges.
DOOH provides benefits due to the technology utilized in online display advertising, such as precise targeting and improved traffic insights. One best thing about DOOH advertising is that it remains resistant to ad blocking software and users are unable to skip OOH ads.
But don’t forget the most important thing—to capture viewers’ attention, it requires a touch of creativity. This is something that seems to have decreased with the rise of display ads over time.
How Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Is Better Than Traditional Out-of-Home (OOH)
DOOH is somewhat similar to OOH advertising as both strive to engage wide audiences in public areas and attract attention through visually appealing messages and images to boost brand recognition and visibility.
In contrast to advertising methods, Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) is extremely versatile in its approach. It utilizes displays like LED screens, digital billboards, interactive screens, etc., to showcase advertisements that can be modified and customized instantly.
The places where these ads are shown, such as freeways in Dubai, gas stations, gyms and public transportation, are generally consistent and the way they are presented is completely unique.
DOOH advertising utilizes geo-fencing technology and data analysis alongside precise targeting to connect with the audience by delivering tailored content according to their location and the current time or weather conditions in their area.
This strategy proves valuable for marketers aiming to interact with consumers during a particular moment of the day when they are not using their phones.
Read also: How Rising Car Ownership in UAE is Shaping Outdoor Advertising in Dubai
Benefits of DOOH Advertising in Dubai, UAE
Digital ads can be a good investment for companies aiming to enhance brand visibility and connect with a wide range of people effectively.
Employing its adaptability and ability to make an impact while targeting audiences, outdoor advertising has the potential to assist companies in accomplishing their marketing objectives and boosting sales figures.
By adhering to the suggestions mentioned earlier and collaborating with Media World, businesses can create ads that capture viewers’ attention and deliver positive outcomes.
· High Reach and Engagement
Putting up signs can be quite costly for sure! That’s why those who own media tend to position their billboards and displays in busy locations such as roads, malls or bus stops to make sure they are seen by a lot of people.
· Bypass Online Ad Blockers
With the growing signs of digital exhaustion and the tendency to overlook online ads known as “banner blindness”, brands are exploring alternative ways to engage with their target audience.
And what’s the best way to do this? Digital Out of Home (DOOH) advertising channels.
These channels are hard to miss and cannot be easily skipped or blocked by ad blockers.
Recent trends show that consumers are now more open and responsive to outdoor advertising messages, particularly in bustling urban centers such as Dubai.
· Cost Effectiveness
There is a misconception that outdoor advertising is very expensive.
Thanks to the placement of screens in popular locations in Dubai such as Sheikh Zayed Road, JBR, or Downtown Dubai, DOOH advertising is very cost-effective.
The amount of engagement and conversion rate you get from outdoor advertising makes up for the cost!
· Engage & Influence Consumers Close to The Point-of-Sale
One major benefit of DOOH is that it can capture consumers attention at times when they are more likely to make a purchase. This is in contrast to when they are online and potentially multitasking with work or social activities like browsing media or chatting with friends.
Essentially, DOOH allows companies to connect with customers using displays as they are making purchasing decisions—whether at electric vehicle charging stations, transportation centers or roadside billboards —and also at the moment of purchase such as inside convenience stores, malls, supermarkets and other retail establishments.
· Innovative Designs
Compared to out-of-home (OOH) advertising that relies on materials such as vinyl or paper, digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising utilizes dynamic elements like videos and animations along with interactive features such as 3D visuals and QR codes to engage consumers’ interest.
· Deliver Compelling Advertising Experiences Through Context Not Cookies
As companies are now looking for future advertisement without cookies, they are more inclined towards DOOH ads. Based on recent studies, ad executives anticipate a 65% increase in DOOH ads investment in coming years.
One key factor contributing to this trend is that data tracking for DOOH audiences operates differently from tracking methods. This results in lower levels of data privacy concerns and potentially eliminating them altogether.
Unlike collecting and keeping sensitive personal information about individual customers, DOOH targeting relies on mobile location data. This creates a detailed but anonymous profile of how the target audience moves.
This approach allows for understanding consumer behavior patterns without needing to gather identifiers.
4 Key Trends Shaping DOOH Advertising
The advertising sector is growing quickly with the better use of data leading to interactive and personalized experiences for users.
The emerging trends underscore the growing significance of DOOH. They offer retailers chances to elevate their marketing tactics and engage with customers through creative approaches.
Let’s discuss 4 new trends shaping DOOH campaigns:
Trend 1: Sustainability Advertising
In recent years, many companies have prioritized sustainability. A recent study showed an increase in advertisements centered around sustainability across a range of industries.
While in the past, such ads were mainly seen in sectors like energy and transportation. Nowadays, there is a growing trend among businesses to integrate sustainability methods into their advertising efforts across sectors.
Trend 2: Increased Interactivity and Personalization
The growth of interactive and customized digital out-of-home (DOOH) experience is a trend reshaping the advertising sector.
Retailers are using cutting-edge technologies like touchscreens and gesture-based controls along with content management systems and video analytics to develop immersive and personalized DOOH advertising campaigns.
These engaging elements don’t just attract the interest of consumers. They also collect data and provide customized messages that connect with the intended audience.
As customers demand personalized encounters, this pattern is expected to grow in coming years.
Advertisers in Dubai who adopt these advancements can develop influential campaigns that enhance consumer involvement and loyalty.
Trend 3: AR and VR integration
The advertising industry is constantly undergoing transformation with the rise of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).
Brands can now advertise in unimaginable ways—from offering virtual tours of cars or houses to creating interactive product displays and gamified experiences that enhance consumer engagement and connections.
With the increasing ease of incorporating VR and AR technologies into their operations, more and more companies are expected to utilize them in their advertising campaigns.
Trend 4: Retail Media—A Haven for Shoppers
Brands are increasingly visible in stores where people shop than solely appearing on television or online platforms nowadays.
The rise of media offers brands a chance to engage with customers in innovative manners.
With an amount of DOOH, inventory brands have the option to showcase ads on digital displays and screens situated in and around retail locations providing shoppers with an interactive experience.
Measuring your DOOH Campaign
Using DOOH as a platform for advertising campaigns is highly effective as you can measure the success of a campaign easily.
– When it comes to DOOH advertising, impressions are crucial as they represent the number of times an ad is displayed along with the expenditure per hour required to achieve those impressions.
– Market and venue categories offer information on the places and types of screens where the ad is displayed.
– Data expenses refer to the costs involved in obtaining data for targeting audiences.
– Monitoring revenue flow during the campaign to track expenses incurred.
– Details regarding the individuals or entities owning the media and the specific venues.
What’s the Future of DOOH?
The existing setups are only scratching the surface of what can be achieved with DOOH in the days to come.
Providers of out-of-home advertising will strive to outdo each other, aiming to provide targeting and seamless omni-channel features, all driven by advancements in technology.
FAQs
Is digital out-of-home advertising effective?
Out-of-home advertising provides a good return-on-investment (ROI) as compared to other forms of media and is a budget-friendly option for reaching customers while prompting them to act effectively.
What does “out-of-home” mean in advertising?
Outdoor advertising is also known as out-of-home advertising (OOH). It refers to any material encountered outside the household environment and excludes advertisements seen via phones or other personal gadgets.
Media World offers various outdoor advertising formats such as billboards, digital screens and hoardings.
What is OTT in marketing?
OTT refers to “over the top”. When it comes to technology OTT (services or platforms) provides content through internet connected devices. In mobile marketing, discussions often focus on OTT in relation to video content.
How successful is digital advertising?
Digital advertisements have the potential to boost brand recognition by up to 80%. It is estimated that 90 out of every 100 internet users come across a Google Ad while browsing online leading to an increase in consumer searches for brand related keywords by a margin of 155%.
Why choose out-of-home advertising?
When you display your brand in locations where people interact daily like roads or buildings, it gains credibility that resonates with consumers.
This explains why 40 percent of individuals express confidence in this form of promotion compared to media like TV and newspapers. Their frequent exposure to the same ads in common locations also boosts brand recognition.
How Media World Can Boost Your DOOH Campaigns
According to recent reports, 76 percent of consumers have taken actions like dining out at a restaurant or shopping at a store after encountering a DOOH advertisement.
This suggests that DOOH serves as a great platform for enhancing brand recognition and motivating customers to make purchases.
Well, in advertising, trust holds significant value in buying decisions. Given the multitude of screens saturating the market landscape, pinpointing the ideal spot for advertising your brand can be challenging.
This is where Media World steps in—we guarantee your brand presence on billboards, hoardings and unipoles in busiest locations of the UAE.
At Media World, we prioritize 3 components:
1- The focus is on maintaining cleanliness and ensuring the safety of the brand in a busy setting with a target audience in mind.
2- The screen has a user-friendly design and is positioned in easily seen spots.
3- Signals to verify the credibility of information by ensuring that it contains impression data and accurate operational specifics.
Contact us to explore innovative outdoor media solutions designed to align with your business objectives. Partner with us and let your brand steal the spotlight!