Programmatic is becoming the standard of digital media buying, combining the automation of precise decision making through Artificial Intelligence with real-time buying across a multitude of channels. Media can be bought based on audience signals, behaviours, interests, context and device, allowing marketeers to be more efficient with their advertising spend and to maximise ROI for brands.

With advances in buying media, the online landscape is becoming more and more competitive, forcing advertisers to seek new and innovative mediums to attract and retain audiences. One channel that’s becoming increasingly popular is out-of-home (OOH) – advertising that reaches consumers while they’re out, like billboards. This allows advertisers to expand their digital footprint to deliver truly cross-channel, integrated experiences beyond traditional web, mobile and connected TV. According to Vincent Létang, EVP, Global Market Intelligence at MAGNA, “OOH has been the only ‘traditional’ media category to show consistent growth in the last ten years”, and in a study by MAGNA Intelligence and Rapport, MAGNA predicts that “OOH advertising revenue will grow by 3% to 4% per year in the next five years to reach $33 billion by 2021”.

Nowadays, many OOH units are becoming digitised (digital out-of-home, DOOH), allowing advertisers to reach customers programmatically based on aggregate audience movements, location and time of day. With advances in technology making DOOH widely available, this allows for highly-targeted and automated buying strategies that connect the streets to digital environments.

The steady growth of innovation and monetisation across DOOH is said to continue, growing by 15% in 2018 to reach $5 billion, making it a key component for industry growth. With DOOH bridging the gap between on and offline media buying, here are some things we can look forward to:

• Increased investment – The key growth driver of DOOH will be infrastructure development – creating improved advertising space, especially in countries with elevated levels of development like Turkey, China and Brazil.

• DOOH to replace physical OOH revenue – Offline media, including radio and print, are expected to experience drops in advertising revenues, with DOOH technology providing greater precision and opportunity for connected brands in the modern world.

• Major cities becoming the home of DOOH – Urbanised markets will see the highest penetration, with London seeing DOOH advertising revenue account for 53.7% of total OOH advertising revenue by 2019, according to PwC.

• A focus on interactivity – Large UK retail brands like Burger King, are already experimenting with DOOH, tailoring specific offers to on-the-go consumers, which in turn has seen a significant rise of in-store footfall.