J. G. Navarro
Research expert covering advertising and marketing with a focus on South America
Either abbreviated as prDOOH or pDOOH, programmatic digital out-of-home advertising refers to a purchase method, not an ad format. It comprises automatizing buying and selling DOOH media as an ad space. This process is already part of marketing planning in several instances. During a September 2023 global survey, nearly two-thirds of marketers reported acquiring digital outdoor campaigns programmatically, with three out of 10 respondents exclusively purchasing DOOH media that way. Compared to traditional OOH and non-programmatic digital outdoor advertising, prDOOH outperforms its predecessors in multiple aspects, according to the same study. Perhaps most importantly, almost two out of three marketing professionals said prDOOH ensured brand safety – a quality often associated with automated processes in the marketing industry.
The sources for an intended increase in the prDOOH expenditure also seemed well-defined by marketing professionals. Over half of them mentioned non-programmatic DOOH, while more than 40 percent planned to relocate the budget from traditional OOH. If media planners implement such changes, prDOOH may soon cease being the future of outdoor media and become the present.
A prDOOH global leader
Headquartered in the inner suburbs of Paris, JCDecaux is the world's leading outdoor ad company by revenue. The holding started to disclose its programmatic-related results as early as 2022. According to its financials, JCDecaux's prDOOH ad revenue doubled that year, surpassing 60 million euros. That figure will likely rise in the following years, considering its increasing relevance for the company's digital operations. Throughout 2022, prDOOH's share in JCDecaux's DOOH ad revenue stood just below six percent. Six months later, during the first half of 2023, that share exceeded seven percent.Will companies spend more on prDOOH?
The automated process still has a long way to go in the field of outdoor media. As of September 2023, little less than one-third of marketers had included prDOOH in their advertising plans throughout the 18 months preceding a global survey. However, four out of 10 said they would likely include it in the following 18 months. Many respondents also reported an intention to expand their investments in programmatically bought outdoor media, but the intensity of that move varied from market to market. In economies like Australia and the United States, the average projected rise in prDOOH ad spending exceeded 30 percent, while in France, Spain, and Germany, the figure fell behind the global average.The sources for an intended increase in the prDOOH expenditure also seemed well-defined by marketing professionals. Over half of them mentioned non-programmatic DOOH, while more than 40 percent planned to relocate the budget from traditional OOH. If media planners implement such changes, prDOOH may soon cease being the future of outdoor media and become the present.
