Just Out-of-Home

Why the Integration of Mobile and Web Were Simply Destined in Digital Out-of-Home

April 15, 2009

Setting up the Basis:

We live in a world of Screens these days. Whether it’s our computer screens at the office, or the 42″+ HD flat screens at our homes; screens/displays have become a routine part of our daily lives.

Digital Out-of-Home is based on the premise that networks, or locations provide such screens outside of the home or office, and therefore can reach viewers/consumers when they are out of these elements. Simple enough… But was has been the problem with DOOH in the past? One may say that it is the lack of Interactivity, or the difficulty to  Engage. One may also say that DOOH at times has a difficult time being Relevant; after all, demographical data are great and certainly helpful, but let’s be honest, just because a certain demographic is dominant at a network or location, that does not necessarily mean you are hitting everyone you want to, supposed to, or even, claim to.  

Let’s think about it this way. What makes Google’s Search engine and Adwords/AdSense so efficient and hard to deny as a buy? You type in a term (Interaction with a screen and keyboard), and the results instantly shows up on the screen (Engagement thru providing results the viewer seeks), then you click on the links/ads that are most likely to lead to the information you are seeking (Relevancy).

In DOOH, you do not “type in,” but rather, “walk in.” When you walk into a store or a mall, you are, indeed searching for potential goods, information, and/or offers as you would when you are online. Even when you are at a life style venue/location, there are such opportunities as well, where your purpose might not have been to search for such factors, but may still be really glad that you are made aware of such products, information, and offer, which this in itself is the “Art of Targeting” in the DOOH, and in any other media/advertising/branding worlds. 

Mobile and DOOH Integration:

Completely jacked from digitalsignageexpo.net, and looks to be: Ad Space Networks

The integration of Mobile and DOOH is not anything new actually. Before DOOH “blew up” in the recent years, there has been countless campaigns that integrated Mobile with Out-of-Home/printed creatives. In this sense, as much of OOH continues to evolve into DOOH, this continued partnerships between the medias obviously makes sense. Ultimately, both medias may have actually needed each other to be effective all along.

Mobile, by it nature, is an entity that is “moving” and usually outside of the home or office. It is likely that you would use a computer over your mobile phone if both were available to you simply because of the speed of information access, but more relevant to this subject, because of the screen size. Mobile, also by its nature, have horribly small screens. It is definitely harder to read and navigate the information thru these screens.  

DOOH, by its nature, is an entity that provides large, readable, and more attention-getting screens while the viewers are “moving” around. Hit them with the right content at the right time and place; it is far more likelier that it would grab the attention of the viewer. Also, by its nature, Digital screens/displays are just that, a screen or display. There are no keyboards around for viewers to interact with the digital signages for the most part.

At the end of the day, it’s all about placing viewers in their element and comfort zones. Simple advertising and retail psychologies would state that when viewers/customers are more comfortable in the element or environment; they are more likelier to be receptive to an advertisement or offer. Simply put, people like the ability to see what is going on, but they definitely also like their privacy and the ability to opt-in for more information as well; bascially, “choice is a good.” The problem with DOOH has been the lack of ability for viewers to opt-in, and the viewers are at times being force fed content and advertising. On the other hand, the problem with Mobile (and what has limited mobile media’s future so far) is the issue of privacy, as people do not like being tracked, and also being force fed content thru technologies such as Bluetooth or GPS. Even when they do opt-in, mobile creatives/content can be pretty bad and strategies/timing; simply annoying. 

But put the Mobile and DOOH medias together; these issues become far less so, and helps to promote creative, new, and cool ways to engage the viewers and consumers (such as gaming, and socia media), helps with measurement (keyword is: “helps” as mobile will never be able to tell the Full story in terms of results or measurement by itself in DOOH), increase relevancy of content, and interactivity overall becomes less of an issue as well. Think mobiles as the keyboards (w/small screens that can display actually relevant and useful things like coupons and simple updates AFTER the info is promoted through the DS screens and opted-in for), and Digital signage as the Computer screens. Put this all together and this ultimately places the viewers and consumers at a very similar comfort levels as when they are using their personal computers. 

It was never really a choice, but rather, a matter of time.

Web and DOOH Integration:

The web is intertwined with our daily lives so much so that, I personally can’t imagine a day or world without it; although this could be more of a personal problem compared to some. Issue related to the web is that you need a computer. Yes, there are Netbooks coming out these days that make the issue of “Mobility” less so, but honestly, they are still pretty big, and no where near compares to mobile’s sizes. Again, mobile web simply is not that good for couple of  reasons. 

There are a Lot of great things going online in terms of content and interaction and usually sets the blueprints in which Mobile and DOOH tries to emulate to make them their own. The key thing that attaches the Web with DOOH is content and factors such as social media, which helps in terms of interaction, engagement and perhaps most importantly, giving viewers a real/true voice and the sense that they are a part of the content; not the walking targets of content. Illustrated is an example of a Wiffiti screen that was created last week. The background of the screen may look familiar: It is from a previous post, where DS at the new Yankee Stadium was covered in this blog. Between the Tweets, web/text messages, and Flickr images that were automatically attached and rotated around the screen by the LocaModa program, this screen certainly elevates the quality and “interesting/fresh-ness” of the photo. This was not for a specific network or a screen, but you should be able to get the idea here in terms of the potential and what web content and capabilities can do for Digital Out-of-Home/signage content. Replace the photo with a product shot, a company logo, or what have you, and you get the idea; or at least, I would hope you do. Networks, such as Danoo, swear by web content/capabilities as well (also have tried their system), as Flickr and YouTube dominates the content of their network, and are posted by individuals from their own computers. At the end of the day, people like “realness,” helping with the “comfort” psychology factor, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to get their individual “2 seconds of fame.” 

From personal experiences, such utilization of the web (and social media) were not used as much they should be in many DOOH networks, but the power and potentials of the Web and DOOH is starting to gain true momentum, and should also be seen as an eventuality, rather than an option.

The Question is:

Were Mobile and Web medias really just options for DOOH?? or Were we simply just heading towards a world and future all along where the lines of these “different” medias blurred to the point where the “line” itself was ultimately destined to disappear?

Entry Filed under: Content, Digital Signage Software & Solutions, Future of Out Of Home. Tags: Adcentricity, Adwords, Danoo, DOOH, Google Search, LocaModa, Mobile Integration Into Digtial Out-of-Home, Web Integration Into Digtial Out-of-Home.