Digital OOH getting bigger in Dubai

Digital billboards are getting bigger and occupying the most prominent of consumer hotspots, reports Gulf News. The Meraas-owned Citywalk retail precinct is already awash with giant screens — featuring everything from Rolls-Royce cars to Zaha Hadid home accessories.

Shura Advertising recently installed a 207 square metre screen near The Dubai Mall metro, and which, given the high-volume traffic, will expose those travelling that stretch — either pedestrian or in a car — to 5-6 minutes of messages.

Yasmeen Siddiqui, Chairperson of Shura Advertising, was quoted saying: “Currently, two of the city’s biggest screens are located at Citywalk, at 397 square metres and 246 square metres. Our Dubai Mall screen comes third with 207 square metres.”

“How long marketers run individual digital outdoor campaigns is entirely dependent on their budget spend plans,” said Siddiqui. “But as an advertising category, it is one of the fastest growing platforms in the city and commanding a top dollar for the prime locations. The majority of these are tactical campaigns, to establish a brand name among the intended audience. Not, surprisingly, it’s the visuals that do much of the talking.” The screens incorporate the latest in mesh technologies to ensure they can resist extreme weather patterns.

With their ad budgets cut down drastically, more marketers could see the virtue of committing to high visibility, high impact outdoor campaigns, states the report.