New research released by IAB Australia has revealed that more education and experience are needed to supercharge the usage of programmatic DOOH.
The study, which seeks to understand the state of play for all digital out-of-home media trading in Australia, found that 82% of agency respondents used digital OOH as a significant or regularly considered part of their advertising activity in 2024 (up from 69% in 2022). By contrast, 52% used programmatic DOOH as a significant or regularly considered part of their advertising activity, up slightly from 48% in 2022.
However, the satisfaction of those who have invested in programmatic DOOH is high. The percentage of agencies indicating that programmatic DOOH is a significant part of their activity has jumped from 9% to 15%.
“Although understanding of programmatic digital out-of-home advertising has improved since the last survey, there continues to be a need for market education and case studies to assist programmatic digital out-of-home advertising from being a larger proportion of advertising volume. With agencies showing increasing interest in programmatic DOOH to leverage the benefits of data and targeting and drive brand awareness campaigns, education for both agency planners and media owner sales teams will be key,” said Gai Le Roy, CEO of IAB Australia.
Reflecting the industry interest, more than 350 industry participants have enrolled in IAB Australia’s Foundations of Programmatic DOOH e-learning module, which was launched in November 2023.
Other key findings of the research include:
- Data and targeting remain the #1 driver for buying programmatic DOOH, with nearly all respondents saying it’s a factor for buying DOOH advertising programmatically and a major factor for 77% of respondents. Flexible buying is also a key driver for programmatic DOOH. All key drivers have increased over the last two years.
- 82% of agencies have used programmatic digital out-of-home advertising to increase brand awareness over the last year, while 55% of agencies also use it to increase purchase or action intent.
- Agencies and brands are using a combination of programmatic buying methods for DOOH. Over the last 2 years, private marketplaces have become the most common way to buy programmatic digital out-of-home advertising, taking over from open exchanges.
- The assessment of OOH advertising is focused on campaign delivery reporting (audience and impressions) and digital brand lift.
- There’s an opportunity for DOOH buyers to explore more holistic measurement tools that assess effectiveness in the context of other media channels (such as MMM and cross-screen brand lift), which are currently deemed less important for assessing digital OOH advertising compared to other digital advertising.
The ‘Attitudes to Digital Out-of-Home Advertising Industry Survey’ was carried out in March 2024, collecting responses from 286 advertising professionals from ad agencies or brands with influence on advertising decision-making and involvement with out-of-home advertising.
The information gathered helps the IAB DOOH Working Group with prioritisation for the development of industry standards, resources, and education. The survey was last conducted in July 2022.
