Building the case for a Data-by-Design approach in DOOH

Do you think creativity in DOOH needs a different approach, as against static OOH? What would it take?

I don’t think that DOOH needs a drastically different creative approach from static OOH. I do think that OOH as a whole needs to have a different approach when it comes to creativity. A lot of OOH campaigns are not designed for the media and so miss out on its unique advantages.

With regard to digital media specifically, I think your approach could change with digital media because digital media allows you to use contextual targeting. We recently launched programmatic DOOH at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru – and this allows you to tailor your messaging according to the audience you are targeting. Creativity can now be dynamic; it’s not just about an image or screen, but about the right message at the right time.

What are the key challenges in your observation when it comes to raising the creative standards of DOOH in India?

OOH provides perfect brand canvas to make audiences remember. Brands need to consider the advantages that OOH brings to the table in terms of widening the audience funnel. It is truly a mass media and so a lot of the time it is a great way to introduce the audience to the brand. This means your creatives need to be designed keeping this in mind – simple storytelling that focuses on core brand elements.

Moving away from simply adapting creatives to OOH sizes and designing them from an OOH first perspective is the way forward.

How do you think the various stakeholders can come together to define and raise the aesthetics standards when it comes to DOOH in India?

Our job is to bring a brand’s vision to life. We’re happy to advise and counsel where needed, but our first focus is on helping the brand tell the story they want to.

Having said that, there is no one size fits all approach here. The media you select will determine your approach when it comes to aesthetics. What works for a network of screens may not work for a single standalone iconic media.

We also have our inhouse creative optimization AI tool – Optix, which is offered to all brands that work with us. This helps brands optimize creatives for OOH by incorporating learnings from all across the world in terms of: Where is the hotspot for an audience? Where do someone’s eyes go first?

So, it’s a mix of a scientific and storytelling approach.

Any case study /example, Indian or global, that you can share, which brings out the creative possibilities of the medium in an innovative manner?

We spoke about programmatic digital OOH earlier. While it is still nascent in India, it’s a great starting point for a discussion on creative possibilities. Because it lets you marry creativity with contextual targeting. You can trigger ads based on the audience you want to target and also push content in real time. You could have e-commerce brands share offers in real time. You can target audiences basis the flights they are boarding. You can show local language creatives to specific audiences to improve relevance.

As Indian brands start adopting this ‘Data-by-Design’ approach, we will see DOOH move from being a display to a live, responsive part of the consumer journey.