Australian advertising agencies have embraced programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) with almost one quarter (1/4) of agencies trading DOOH inventory programmatically for the first time in 2020 and 10% of agencies are increasing their programmatic investment in an otherwise depressed OOH market, according to a study by IAB Australia.
The study, Attitudes to Programmatic DOOH Report, surveyed 183 media buyers and advertisers in the Australian market conducted in May 2021.
The study reports that agencies cited flexible buying options, operational efficiency, and enhanced data targeting options as the key drivers for their interest in pDOOH, but also noted that self-reported cross channel planning potential as critical.
This study stresses that this bodes well for the OOH industry seeking to tap into revenue opportunities from cross digital campaigns.
“This insight provides clear guidance from media buyers and advertisers on areas where they would like further education and support from the industry to help with their investment, measurement, and assessment of programmatic DOOH activity,” explains IAB CEO Gai Le Roy.
Roy forecasts that “the programmatic DOOH market will boom through 2021 and 2022, embracing the benefits of programmatic while also retaining the long-standing agency approach to developing fit for purpose OOH creative for different environments and placements.”
“There has been plenty of chatter regarding the willingness of brands and agencies to embrace the programmatic buying of DOOH and the findings of the report confirm this,” says IAB DOOH Working Group chair and Broadsign sales director Ben Allman.
“The report pinpoints exactly where industry effort is required to maximise investment in the space. Overwhelmingly, brands and agencies are telling us that there is still a lack of understanding when it comes to pDOOH. The Working Group is committed to improving education and we have a number of exciting resources and initiatives which will launch later this year,” adds Allman.
The IAB Australia DOOH Working Group says they will shortly release a DOOH buyer’s guide to the market with an agency roadshow and training program to follow.
The Attitudes to Programmatic DOOH Report also found that while the key focus areas for OOH and DOOH industry development revolve around measurement and tracking, agencies and advertisers want to gain a better understanding of the pDOOH offering and mechanics.
The report also found the following:
The sector will see greater creative experimentation in FY22 and beyond as advertisers start to expand their creative suite beyond static executions with a range of agencies intending to use other formats for the first time (HTML 40%, video 37% and dynamic creative 36%).
Agencies are still identifying where pDOOH fits internally in their planning. 37% of the agencies are using the same team to place and buy OOH and pDOOH and almost half of pDOOH decision marketers plan and buy independently other media.
The Attitudes to Programmatic DOOH Report, IAB says, was launched to help the industry understand the current use of pDOOH, the needs of the market as well as opportunities and barriers for advertisers, agencies, media owners and technology companies. This report will be run annually and play a similar role to the IAB Australia Audio State of the Nation Report.
