Creating Art in the DOOH space

Globally, the future of OOH is sketched in the digital OOH media formats. Enhancing the reach of DOOH then appears to be the logical step to take for the industry. Understanding that digitalizing branding solutions can be a huge leap for the OOH industry into the future.

Striving towards ensuring that the digital experiences meet the real, physical world, is UK based Grand Visual. Having taken to creating an out of the world digital experience on the outdoor for the audiences, the company is defining the digital explosion that will ensue in the industry.

Their work comes as a precursor to the future acceptance of the digital medium across the globe. While the market for digital medium currently is higher in the developed nations, they also find that developing markets like India are gradually coming in tune with the new trend, as investments in the DOOH segment increase.

Grand Visual is built on the potential for DOOH in the out of home industry. With such huge scope for this digital media, it is essential to tap the right markets in order to truly exploit its potential. Efficient market mapping and seamless execution can bring in a revolutionary change in the outdoor industry. 

An increased number of brands are embracing the dynamic capabilities of DOOH that enable relevant and contextual messages to be delivered to consumers, says Neil Morris, Founder of Grand Visual. This is the key trend we see as more traditional OOH sites become digital, it becomes the'new normal' for messages displayed on these digital sites to be 100% contextual, relevant and useful to the audience.

The synergy between brand needs and branding solutions, coated by a captivating innovation can do wonders in the outdoor. Add to this the charming representation of the digital medium and there emerges an output that will no doubt enhance the outdoor experience.

Neil mentions that the key to all of their campaigns is keeping the story at the heart of what we do. Technology and using it in new ways, or'being innovative' is secondary to telling a great story. Novel experiences are important for campaign engagement, awareness and virality. However, novelty doesn't necessarily come from an innovative technology angle, it could be something'old hat' that does something unique.

There have been incessant efforts to make the world technologically advanced. New innovations are stemming up constantly. Digital Out-of-home transformed from being backlit LED boards to interactive media with live information shooting out of the screens. Audiences don't just get to visually enjoy the digital medium, but they also get to participate in the brand activities by means of digital touchscreens and the like.

Innovation in Digital Out of Home means pushing the boundaries and utilising methods and tech that hasn't been used before. What was seen as innovation a few years ago, in terms of using dynamic updates and contextualisation for Digital OOH, is now more commonplace. The creative challenge is to deliver that engaging experience, in an elegant and user friendly way believes Neil.

Real time information projection on the digital medium is one of the tech smart applications in the DOOH space. Grand Visual has known to increasingly use this as part of their campaigns. OpenLoop is their campaign management tool that enables live, dynamic, and reactive digital OOH campaigns to run on multiple networks and formats.

"When we launched it in 2010 it was at a time when'dynamic' and'contextual' were not words that were associated with OOH and linear campaigns were 100% of all DOOH bookings. Through OpenLoop, the industry was able to deliver far more sophisticated campaigns, across multiple formats and media owners.

Whilst real-time features heavily in the work that we do, according to Posterscope research, these types of campaigns still account for less than 5% of all Digital Out of Home campaigns in the UK”, says Neil.

Progress in the digital front has been very measured. The industry seems sceptical to take upon challenges that will form history in DOOH. While most media owners are engaging in developing the tried and tested media formats, there are also a few in the mix that are bringing digital into the mix to ensure that the OOH industry is not technologically handicapped.

Executing a digital campaign is unlike the conventional execution process. The teams that work towards it and the operations involved require distinctive sets of teams and brains that come together to deliver a finished product.

Grand Visual has dedicated project teams, which are comprised of motion graphics, software developers and account managers. Neil points out that, "Over the last few years, we have seen a switch as more campaigns we produce are shifting towards dynamic and interactive deliverables, we have had to employ an increasing number of developers to work across our various projects. With increased investment in digital infrastructure this is a trend that will continue.”

The potential of the DOOH industry was laid bare through a number of campaigns executed by Grand Visual. The campaign for Nike which was the first live Digital OOH campaign to run across 9 different networks with copy updated live based on England's progress during the 2010 world cup.

Lynx Angel Ambush featured members of the public alongside virtual angels which seemed to fall from the sky and interact with them. The viewers saw themselves standing next to angels on the digital screen.

Google Outside was a dynamic and live data driven campaign for which over 1200 sites had tailored dynamic content updated through the day based on Google Search and by the time of day, location and weather.

According to Neil, "One the campaigns we are proudest of is the Missing People appeal, along with the Outdoor Media Centre and Media Owner. This campaign is a great example how dynamic & timely content really makes a difference. To date, the campaign has helped reunite over 50% of the 500 missing people featured in the DOOH campaign with their loved ones.”

Based on client's requirements, varied technologies including an Augmented Reality experience, projection mapping, use of Raspberry Pi or mobile game or interaction is used. Grand Visual is truly mapping the trajectory for advancement in the DOOH space. It has directed the out of home industry towards a trend which can be the much needed reform to ensure that a bigger share of the pie is grabbed by industry.

Continuing developments show a solid future being built for DOOH. Neil stated that, "We currently developing a suite of platforms that will work into the planning, dynamic delivery and reporting for DOOH campaigns. The platforms will work across media owners, and will provide greater clarity and simplification of the process in the growing and increasingly complex landscape of DOOH”