Digital signage and out-of-home advertising has been growing exponentially in recent years, and one of the driving forces for this is the introduction and accessibility of programmatic advertising.

Programmatic advertising isn’t exactly new technology but has recently become a selling point for the out-of-home industry. So what is it, and where did it start?

Dive into our blog below to find out why digital signage media owners and brands are making use of programmatic advertising.

What Is Programmatic Advertising?

Put simply, programmatic advertising is the automation of buying advertising inventory. There have been a lot of changes to what programmatic advertising includes, but this is its simplest form.

These days everywhere you look there are programmatic ads being served, from social media platforms to media sites, radio, TV, and of course digital signage.

One of the reasons that programmatic DOOH is becoming so popular is due to it being available to small business owners who operate a small network.

This need has created an entire marketplace industry, often referred to as the supply side platform (SSP). Media owners opt-in to provide ad inventory space, which requires a service fee and enables their screens to be accessed by advertisers.

Programmatic DOOH is often cheaper than direct deals due to the automation process, but programmatic ads are often only served if there is room in the advertising loop, usually as a last resort.

It’s worth noting here that the next level of programmatic advertising involves data and targeting. SSPs provide this data to brands looking to advertise as a way to inform them of the value of the inventory space.

Advertisers log into the demand side platform (DSP) to see all the information available and upload content and place their bids. The highest bidder for that inventory space wins and their ad is displayed.

All of this bidding is done automatically, users simply enter the maximum amount of money they wish to spend. You’ve likely experienced this when purchasing ads on Google or Facebook.

In all honesty, this is a slight oversimplification, but for the purpose of this article, this knowledge alone is enough.

History Of Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising made its debut in the mid-’90s and started as display banner ads on websites. From there it grew to be involved in search engines, media platforms, social media and eventually digital signage.

Whilst the principles of programmatic advertising have remained mostly the same, its capacity and value change on a platform basis.

The more data available, and the more specific the targeting, the more likely a platform is to make use of programmatic advertising and charge a premium for it.

Understanding individuals that brands are trying to reach has always been easier with internet platforms, which is why they adopted programmatic quicker than traditional channels.

This is one of the key reasons why marketers making use of digital signage have been hesitant when comparing it to other programmatic options. Digital signage is a one-to-many platform, whilst things like display ads and social media ads are one-to-one.

However, as more research and information is collected, and the fall of the internet cookie looms closer, digital signage programmatic advertising is becoming more and more valuable and relied upon.

Key Features Of Programmatic Advertising For Digital Signage

As both marketers and digital signage media owners (and network operators to some extent) start adopting and supporting programmatic DOOH, it’s important that both sides understand what is and isn’t available feature/data-wise.

It’s also important that marketers understand how to make the most of DOOH advertising and understand what makes a great DOOH campaign.

Whilst it’s likely that digital marketing teams won’t have direct communication with the media owners, understanding what is possible will help reduce friction and encourage the use of the advertising vehicle.

Smart digital signage solutions such as Doohly provide a way for these media owners to enable programmatic advertising. Basically what this does is allow media owners to display ads that have won bids on the third-party marketplace.

The way that data is collected depends on the specific implementation with the digital signage solution. These programmatic companies have partnerships with the digital signage media owners and collect audience metrics.

By collecting these audience metrics, marketers are able to purchase ad inventory based on audience data, such as age, gender and social-cultural demographics.

For media owners looking to enable programmatic advertising, look no further than Doohly. We’re a digital signage CMS with both programmatic and third-party reporting capabilities - if you’re interested, get in contact with us today!