A Kiwi contingent from the IAB New Zealand Programmatic DOOH Working Group recently attended the IAB Australia & OMA Powering DOOH event in Sydney, where they heard technical and practical content as well as high-level and strategic planning sessions around Programmatic OOH in Australia. IAB New Zealand Programmatic DOOH Working Group Chair Richard Pook and Vice Chair Sandra Scott share their perspectives on the conference.
The Powering DOOH event in Sydney attended by over 300 industry experts was in part a recognition of just how far our industry has come in recent years. It was also a welcome reminder for the sizable Kiwi contingent in attendance that New Zealand, like Australia, is a progressive market.
New Zealand is one of the most heavily digitised out of home markets in the world; 75% of ad spend is digital with programmatic DOOH at over 15% of outdoor revenue and still growing quickly. It’s also a highly saturated ad market ,which means lots of inventory, media suppliers and ad agencies in the mix. This drives intense competition and as such innovation thrives; New Zealand has built some excellent ad solutions, dynamic creative products, demand and supply side technology as a result. So, with all that aside, what did the conference tell us about where the market is headed next?
Dynamic DOOH is becoming the norm
What was once too hard for most clients is now table stakes. Advertisers expect smart, flexible messaging, and agencies are adapting creative dynamically to suit DOOH environments and creating a sense of place - an experience, a moment in time, to connect and to celebrate. This is a good thing for the industry; it will attract more creative thinking and drive greater impact for brands.
Measurement must catch up
To unlock scale, DOOH needs to be measured with the same rigour as other digital channels. Australia is in the process of launching their highly anticipated Move 2.0 platform and in New Zealand, a new measurement system is set to replace Calibre. These unified frameworks will give marketers the confidence to invest more heavily. In the meantime, agencies and brands alike are focused on outcomes-based measurement, with proven and well-publicised results.
The way we buy DOOH campaigns is evolving
As share of time and audience buying becomes more pervasive, there’ll be more liquidity and more certainty in the marketplace. Non-guaranteed delivery will very soon become a non-issue, so knowing that campaigns will always deliver in full will drive programmatic growth. Clients are also experimenting more with omnichannel. Adoption will accelerate as measurement converges and with it the nirvana of deduplicated reach and frequency across all media channels a few steps closer.
Case studies and client testimonials are the best advertisement.
Using simple language and focusing on the outcomes for brands will help get more traction. This case study from Mountain Culture is an excellent example of how focusing on what matters can smash sales out of the park - Mountain Culture's outdoor campaign delivered 60 per cent plus sales uplift across key retailers.
Pricing clarity will fuel growth.
Agility and audience targeting come at a premium, but clear frameworks on cost vs benefit are needed to balance efficiency with value to keep the market growing. Unified measurement should be a catalyst to get us much closer to this goal.
A bright future for Programmatic DOOH
Automated, frictionless, platform-based buying is the future of the ad industry, and DOOH will be no exception. With better measurement, more pricing clarity, net new advertiser demand and more focus on the outcomes and impact DOOH can have for clients, Programmatic DOOH will be well positioned to realise its full potential.
Thank you to the team at IAB Australia for hosting us and thank you to the following members of the IAB New Zealand Programmatic DOOH Working Group for developing this resource:
Richard Pook, IAB New Zealand Programmatic DOOH Working Group Chair and Co-Founder, Youdooh
Sandra Scott, IAB New Zealand Programmatic DOOH Working Group Vice Chair and Sales & Partnerships Director NZ Vistar Media
For further information or to become an IAB New Zealand Member, please get in touch.