Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home:: What you can (and can’t) do

To learn more about the power of DOOH, Timo Beuzekom from Schiphol Media spoke with experts Tobias van Amstel from Signkick, Michael van Kloosterhuis from Traffic Builders digital marketing and Wendy Pouw from industry association IAB Nederland.

New media buying system sets the industry on its ear

Programmatic is the revolutionary way in which Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) is purchased. Those digital screens you see everywhere these days? They can be used for a much shorter period of time, and much more specifically. Of course, you can still use a digital billboard on the motorway as a mass medium for an entire month. But you can also choose to only use it during traffic jams, when it rains or when the Dutch national team has won or lost an important match. And you can adjust your message for factors like these. In this way, you become a lot more relevant all at once.

Programmatic’s major pros

Studies show that people aren’t annoyed by screens in public places, as long as the content is relevant. In fact, DOOH is one of the few media that can pleasantly surprise a consumer. Advertisers can ensure that their message reaches the right target group at precisely the right time. And contact with screen operators isn’t necessary anymore. So you can go from great idea to (national or hyper-local) advertisement in just a few hours. And instead of reserving OOH advert space for months or quarters, you can now do it per hour or per day. So budgets can be deployed in a much more targeted way.  

2018 was the year that Digital Out-of-Home really matured. But programmatic is going to completely turn the medium upside-down in the coming decade. And you can get it all started for twenty or thirty euros. It’s super-simple and allows for infinite variations and specificities. It’s so addictive that you can keep endlessly puzzling and never get bored!
Michael Kloosterhuis, Display Advertising Consultant at Traffic Builders

Mass media vs. micro-medium

Programmatic is all about reducing waste. With data-driven analysis, geo-targeting and audience measurement tools, you can target your message to the fullest. So some claim it helps you never waste another advertising euro again. There’s some truth in that promise, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Several studies have shown that increasing relevance doesn’t solve everything. Do you want to work on your brand recognition or convey a specific emotion? Then it’s better to use mass media in the traditional way.

And it’s still important to reach people who don’t (yet) fit into your perfect persona picture. Because there is also growth potential outside the core audience. If you place every advert according to the relevance principle, you won’t reach a huge audience. Unless you have undying faith in word-of-mouth. Programmatic is therefore not the solution for everything, but does allow advertisers of all shapes and sizes to spread their message in the best-viewed places in the Netherlands. A few hundred euros is all it takes to reach the masses. Now, all you have to do is figure out how to stand out among the big boys.