Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
DPAA, the global trade marketing association, driving the growth and digitisation of out-of-home (OOH) media and its growing role in the Omnichannel mix, announced this week the findings from its first study of UK brands’ perceptions of the growing industry.
The ‘DPAA UK Omnichannel Decision Makers Study‘ sponsored by DPAA member Alight Media and conducted by research firm Advertising Perceptions, zeroes in on the opportunities for brands that are taking advantage of, or plan to invest in, DOOH – an area that according to GroupM, makes up two thirds of total OOH revenue, which grew approximately 7.7% in 2024 to £1.4 billion. The full study and whitepaper are available exclusively as a members-only benefit for those who are part of the global organisation.
Among the key findings are:
- 95% of omnichannel advertisers plan to maintain or increase DOOH spend in the next 12 months, with increases driven by bigger budgets, strong performance, expanded and better-quality inventory, and improved measurement; in fact, 93% believe that integrating DOOH with other channels improved ROI.
- 88% believe DOOH has become less siloed and an integrated part of cross-channel strategies, with 78% managing omnichannel video campaigns by an integrated or hybrid video group (including TV, mobile, online, DOOH).
- 68% of omnichannel advertisers launched a new DOOH campaign in the past 12 months, while 81% plan to recommend DOOH in the next year.
- 83% of brands believe digital screens can offer upper funnel marketing value in retail stores.
- Advertisers project that programmatic will continue to be a bigger part of DOOH, with allocation of DOOH spending on programmatic rising from 26% in 2024 to 41% in 2026.
- The top five reasons that brands include DOOH in media plans include to complement a digital plan (43%), the ability to geo-target (41%), the connections made with consumers on the path to purchase (39%), contextually relevant targeting (32%), brand safety and the lack of commercial skipping (tie-31%).
“It has become clear that omnichannel planning and buying is the future of DOOH advertising, as silo walls come down, budgets come from overall digital ad budgets, and data and automation place DOOH on a more even playing field alongside its digital peers,” said DPAA President and CEO Barry Frey. “What’s more, by doubling down on data-driven capabilities for all parts of a DOOH campaign lifecycle, UK brands are seeing greater efficiencies and ROI, increasing relevance along the customer journey, which when including retail media networks, can now include both the path to purchase and point of purchase.”
Additional findings include what the most commonly-used real-time triggers are for dynamic creative, key trends impacting perceptions of DOOH, how brands are using data to inform planning, and the value of continued education of DOOH capabilities and best practices.
“Out-of-home is still the only advertising platform that reaches nearly the entire UK population, and the advancements in digital innovations means brands now can now marry unrivalled reach with creative and targeting flexibilities,” remarked Alight Media CEO Matthew Dearden. “This study shines a light on what is driving this growth so we can better understand our customers, benefits they see from using DOOH and where can we work with them to fully maximise the platform success.”
Insights were collected in November 2024 by the DPAA, in partnership with Advertiser Perceptions, which surveyed 75 UK brand marketers involved in omni-digital advertising decision-making. To qualify for the study, marketers had to be spending a minimum of £500K GBP on advertising annually.
Mike Brennan, CEO of CP Media (shown to the right here) told us “We’re growing well organically so we are very discerning about acquisitions. The companies that we buy have to fit our marketplace but equally importantly they have to fit our ethos, be high quality and have good reputations. Keegan Ford have these qualities, hence why this acquisition is an absolutely ideal fit”.
With no humans residing permanently in Antarctica (scientists and expedition staff live there seasonally at research stations, with populations varying between 1,000 and 5,000 during the summer months) the association can be forgiven for not worrying about the Great White South but perhaps you’d be surprised with the association’s current interest in Greenland.
“Kinney Drugs has been a trusted healthcare partner and market leader for more than a century in the communities that we serve, providing valuable health resources in our pharmacies,” said John Marraffa, Jr., President. “Installing Mesmerize digital displays in our pharmacy locations will enable us to communicate more effectively with our pharmacy customers and provide a valuable messaging platform to share service and pharmacy messaging to help create better health outcomes for our valued customers.”
Malik Roumane, President of MCDecaux said, “We are pleased to announce our entry in the programmatic DOOH market in Japan, which has rapidly expanded and is a major growth factor of the OOH industry in Japan. We start with KIX/ITAMI, which are two top airports in the west area of Japan. With the two airports, advertisers can reach the highest number of inbound travellers from Asian countries as well as domestic travellers both for business and leisure. Tailor-made communication with data makes it possible to broadcast the right message at the right time, and contribute to the best return on advertising investment. With Street Furniture to join in the programmatic inventory, advertisers will see opportunities to leverage the nationwide pDOOH network in Japan soon.”
Working with research company Kantar, QMS found that the Games Network drove significant brand lifts among exposed audiences, including sponsorship awareness (+8.5 points), affinity (+5.9 points), brand difference (+7.6 points), consideration (+7.6 points), and desired brand perceptions (+6.7 points) when compared to those who were not exposed.
QMS Chief Strategy Officer, Christian Zavecz, told us “By pushing the boundaries of DOOH with the Games Network, we have proved its multi-dimensional power as a major media channel, setting a new global standard for real-time, audience-driven engagement. Beyond our own dynamic content, our partners fully embraced the real-time creative opportunities of DOOH to further connect with audiences. Working closely with each client and their creative agencies, we collaborated with our partners to evolve their messaging to capitalise on this heightened moment and align with key events throughout the Games. And the results of the network speak for themselves. Kantar’s research showed strong lifts in key brand KPIs crucial for brands in driving a competitive edge, while the Neuro-Insight studies clearly demonstrate the power of our Games Network and dynamic content in driving impact”.
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