In past years, the perception that dynamic Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising is a rarity, comprising just 2-3% of the OOH market, was a common belief. However, over the last few years, the industry is witnessing a remarkable transformation. Dynamic DOOH is no longer an outlier; it’s on the rise and redefining the landscape, as we estimate dynamic is at around 10% of all Kinetic campaigns now.

Notably, leading brands such as Tesco, KFC, ITV, and Audible, amongst others, have fully embraced the power of dynamic DOOH year-round. Recently, successful campaigns have demonstrated the tremendous impact and effectiveness of dynamic DOOH in today’s evolving advertising sphere.

The Rise of Dynamic

In 2019, consumer surveys unveiled a pivotal shift in advertising. About half of consumers based their choice of news sources on one critical factor: credibility. They also expressed a preference for brands aligned with trusted platforms. Industry experts have long appreciated the credibility and trustworthiness of OOH, owing to its presence in public spaces and its alignment with consumer behaviour. This surge in the need for choice and transparency heightened the industry’s urgency for trusted platforms, leading the way for the rise of OOH and specifically Dynamic DOOH.

The rise of dynamic DOOH has been driven not only by consumer demand but also significantly propelled by out-of-home specialists. Dynamic advertising has gained favour and popularity not only for its timely and hyper-relevant nature but also for its remarkable ease of implementation and cost-effectiveness.

Ease of Implementation: Dynamic DOOH campaigns offer an accessible and straightforward implementation process, as once the overall creatives are chosen and locations are finalised, visuals can be altered with ease. Furthermore, the integration of rigorous verification processes used across all OOH, such as Verify (Powered by DOOH.com), adds to the reliability and integrity of dynamic campaigns, contributing to their success in the ever-evolving advertising landscape.

Cost-Effectiveness: Combining a single strong creative campaign and area-specific data to reach the target audience, Dynamic ensures the relevance of every ad campaign, whilst saving time, resources and ultimately money. This cost-effective method allows brands to use one creative, whilst continuing to see enhanced conversions and increased ROI from their advertising investments.

Consumer Reactions & Sales Uplift: The Moments of Truth landmark 3-stage research project, which examines the neuroscience, ad recall, and sales effect of Digital Out-of-Home advertising, proves that the use of contextually relevant messaging will increase effectiveness by an average of 17%. In this study, delivered by Clear Channel, JCDeuax, and Posterscope, they discovered when looking at Dynamic DOOH in particular, the average sales uplift as a direct result of the campaign is around 17%. On a cognitive level, when a DOOH ad is displayed at the relevant moment and with an explicit call out to relevant content, the average increase in brain response is 32%. It was also found that the inclusion of specific location calls offered a 14% sales uplift compared to no OOH, with a 6% uplift over OOH advertisement alone.

Backed by recent figures to come out of a beauty campaign which also included location call-out, pointing consumers to relevant retail stores, they found a 114% sales uplift, 14% higher than not using out-of-home ads.

Dynamic in Programmatic Campaigns (DCO)

In today’s fast-paced world, real-time reactions and dynamic content are essential for successful advertising strategies, and Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) is the game-changing tool that elevates dynamic DOOH within programmatic campaigns. DCO tailors advertisements in real-time, ensuring messages connect with audiences at the perfect moment, swiftly responding to evolving events, trends, and audience behaviour.

One compelling example of DCO in action is the Times Radio campaign by News UK, which was shortlisted for a Campaign Tech Award this year. They sought to harness the real-time nature of Times Radio by using dynamic creative on DOOH screens to instantly react to UK events. Collaborating with Hivestack, Kinetic (Sightline), M/Six, DOOH.com, Global, and VIOOH, they created a campaign that placed Times Radio front and centre on high-impact JCDecaux and Global screens.

Nicole Lonsdale, Chief Client Officer at Kinetic, says:

‘Dynamic DOOH solutions offer brands the best of both worlds. The ability to deliver personalisation at scale, but on a public, trusted and high-impact channel.

The biggest spending clients in OOH fully appreciate the role that dynamic creative can play in engaging audiences and driving better outcomes – without increasing media spend.

The technology now available to activate dynamic campaigns is real-time, seamless and can use a wide range of data triggers (e.g., sales, weather, sentiment, event). It’s also more cost-effective than ever before which is why at Kinetic, we’ve seen huge growth in this area working with our partners at DOOH.com’

The Future of Dynamic DOOH

In conclusion, dynamic Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) continues to rise, dispelling its past perception as a rarity and high prohibitive costs. Big-name brands continuously embrace dynamic DOOH for its impactful and cost-effective nature. Fueled by the demand for credibility and transparency in advertising, this transformation is driven by both consumers and industry specialists who recognise its value. Its ease of implementation allows agile adjustments and ensures reliability and cost savings. Looking ahead, we see dynamic DOOH continuing to rise, as innovation and adaptability will enable brands to thrive in an evolving industry defined by dynamic change.

Virgin Active’s “Find Your Mix” campaign showcased the power of Dynamic DOOH ads. By incorporating dynamic location callouts, each advertising site displayed the name of the nearest Virgin Active club, creating an immediate and personalised connection with passersby. 

Leveraging the proximity of Virgin Active gyms, the campaign effectively increased visibility and foot traffic, attracting potential customers with tailored messaging. This campaign exemplifies the remarkable impact of Dynamic DOOH in driving engagement and conversions.

Tesco’s innovative Ramadan campaign, in partnership with Kinetic, Mediacom, BBH, DOOH.com and The Unmistakables, aimed to connect with the fasting Muslim population in the UK during the month of Ramadan, aligning with their commitment to inclusivity. The dynamic digital out-of-home creative featured empty plates filling up with food as the sun set, symbolising the Iftar meal at the end of each day’s fast. 

Displayed on billboards in high Muslim population areas like Brent, London, Birmingham, and Bradford, the creative cleverly faded in as the sun went down, emphasising the break of fast coinciding with sunset. This campaign won a Cannes Lion award last year, amongst others and showcased the impactful synergy of context and placement in out-of-home advertising.

The TfL – Bonjour, Hallo, Ciao, Ola, Kon’nichiwa campaign by Transport for London, also a Dynamic DOOH initiative, aimed to educate international arrivals about the enhanced Elizabeth line service to London Heathrow Airport as they landed in London. Delivered by Wavemaker, VCCP, Kinetic & DOOH.com, this data-driven campaign leveraged Journey data to connect with the extensive Elizabeth Line audience. 

Receiving multiple Drum Award nominations in both Use of Data and Use of Location, central to the campaign’s success was the use of live train departure data, fed directly from the National Rail API to give updates on journeys between all London Heathrow terminals and central London on the Elizabeth line displayed as dynamic overlays on the campaign creative. 

Tailoring content based on the flight’s country of origin meant dynamically adjusting the creative language to align with each specific carousel in the arrivals hall as passengers’ baggage arrived. This strategic move played a pivotal role in entising tourists to opt for the Elizabeth Line, contributing significantly to the overall success of the campaign.