This is undoubtedly the last article you, DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home advertising) enthusiasts, wish to read right now. Yet another person weighs in on the programmatic DOOH Ferris wheel of highs (“eureka!”) and lows (“back to the drawing board”).
Will my observations lead to instant adoption of a new process that changes the habitual buying and selling routines of DOOH media owners and brands? No. Can my musings provoke businesses to dedicate the technical and business development resources required to tailor platforms existing in the digital sphere to the unique requirements of DOOH? A girl can dream.
Stephanie Gutnik
Following Rick Robinson’s article “The Four Epochs of OOH: A Dress Rehearsal for Programmatic?”, cohorts struggled with the realistic idea that we still have a ways to go before determining where programmatic processes fit in the DOOH ecosystem.
Industry elite sit at conferences across the world, where, like children in the backseat of a car on a road trip, they grip the microphone during programmatic sessions and ask the panelists, “are we there yet”?
Programmatic DOOH is starting to feel like a desert mirage; each time a new platform is announced, those intending to use it dig in and find… vapour.
Hitting the gas doesn’t help. Instead, we must recognize there is simply more road to cover before we arrive at a true oasis. This road is one of many lanes: technology needs to accommodate DOOH’s differences from digital (online advertising), such as the requirements of caching media assets before playback, and multi-layering – to deal with data that, unlike online ads, has no cookie.
Moreover, buyers and sellers must be educated about the benefits of DOOH, to build demand for programmatic buying.
The above implies we must be patient. Pah. I am not a patient person by nature and would never expect those who stand to benefit from programmatic DOOH’s efficiencies and new revenue opportunities to be complaisant either. But, contrary to the way New Year’s resolutions lead to expensive gym memberships used for three weeks and then abandoned, we must remain dedicated to our goal to see results. These might not be showing as fast as we anticipated but we’re getting there.
In 2013, I distinctively remember a programmatic panel at the DPAA “Video Everywhere” Summit that encouraged attendees to dispose of fears caused by digital’s race to the bottom (falling ad rates). It was one of the first times the industry was speaking about the subject. DOOH media owners wary of the results of online ad bidding did not want to see CPMs falling in their own sector.
Turns out we are in the position to learn from the mistakes of other media that were automated long before DOOH.
Unlike online advertising space, DOOH inventory is limited to a fixed number of displays. We can safely use real-time bidding (RTB) to access new budgets and markets by setting floor CPMs and controlling bidding so premium inventory is processed properly before entering private and open marketplaces, if desired. By following best practices and shaping new processes to incorporate DOOH’s distinctive traits, the best interests of publishers, brands and their agencies can be satisfied.
Following the DPAA event, programmatic discussion became both flashy and frazzled. Everyone had a solution and everyone wanted a slice of the pie. Such frenzy did nobody any favours. Instead, we became more confused than ever regarding terms and standards that are not tangible and attractive enough to implement by all parties involved.
As this year’s DPAA Summit approaches, my hope is that our industry collectively keeps the faith by ignoring products and claims sounding too good to be true. An executive at a London-based client put it best with a hand wave, “automatic, programmatic and the rest of the lyrics to ‘Greased Lightening’”.
Programmatic is not a problem. It is not a promise. It is a process.
Working for a leading ad tech platform in DOOH, I am excited by the progress that occurs from taking the time to liaise with all players and the technical development that ensues from dedicating resources to doing the right thing. This means being honest about the current state of programmatic DOOH development and avoiding quick/inexpensive shortcuts that do not resolve fundamental roadblocks. To successfully enable programmatic DOOH, taking the long road means taking the high road.
Stephanie Gutnik is Director of Marketing and Business Development at BroadSign. She oversees the company’s global communication channels, event attendance, marketing strategy and partnerships. Stephanie was previously employed at News Marketing Canada, a division of News Corporation. Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and is completing a MBA at Edinburgh Business School.