Catherine Morgan is Head of Creative Solutions at Ocean. In the first in our series of Ocean Talks, she discusses what the future landscape of Digital Out of Home might look like.
The scale and impact of DOOH provides the perfect canvas to engage consumers as they go about their everyday lives. It is the familiarity of these giant screens that means, as consumers, we can instantly relate to interactive campaigns within the DOOH environment. This is why I think DOOH is not only ideally placed to curate content, but also act as a platform for content creation. The familiarity of the setting adds to the share-ability online. There have been a few recent examples of content creation through DOOH which have gone viral on social media, extending the consumer experience well beyond its initial location.
Consumers are starting to expect and demand immersive experiences from brands. In a culture obsessed with celebrity, people will queue up to see their selfies on a giant screen to have their moment of fame to share with their friends online. There is an opportunity for brands to harness this fame-hunger and create an experience for consumers to become part of the marketing communication, developing a deeper engagement and unique brand advocacy with that consumer.
The ability to use data to target consumers with relevant messaging based on their interests and profile is something that we’ve seen online for a while and recently in TV through Sky AdSmart. DOOH is the next frontier, with developments in technology already providing potential to tailor adverts to someone’s gender, age, mood and the weather. The future will develop the connection of the mobile screen with the giant screens of DOOH through second syncing, cementing DOOH key role in the omniscreening world.
As the ideas above insinuate, the creative capabilities available in DOOH are an important factor in its future. As technology evolves and becomes ever more sophisticated, the creative possibilities become increasingly endless. There is no shortage of creative ideas, our responsibility lies in the education of how best to use technology to match the creative thought process.