Article
Defining DOOH
Industry experts seek to describe the one of the industry's most popular acronyms.
October 19, 2009
Several years ago, there was not a term for LCD and plasma screens that provided information in public spaces. But as time passed, the term "digital signage" rose to the top of industry nomenclature and became the standard.
We seem to be faced a similar situation again. The rise of installations and interest in advertising on digital signage networks has spawned a new term: digital out-of-home, also known as DOOH. But is this really what the industry wants it to be called? Ad agencies can confuse DOOH with traditional out-of-home (OOH). Others think it sounds too "Homer Simpson."
DigitalSignageToday.com gathered experts in the digital signage and digital out-of-home industries to discuss their opinions on the definition of DOOH.
Keith Kelsen, MediaTile:
Today digital signage is commonly replaced with digital out-of-home, referring to it in the context of the digital signage medium. Digital out-of-home is anything that is digitally shown on any display. Mobile falls into this category, as does digital signage, but all are related to ad-based networks. I predict that over time digital signage will be replaced by DOOH in relationship to ad-based networks, whereas corporate communication and in-store networks will continue to refer to the industry as digital signage.
Mike DiFranza, Captivate Network:
Digital out-of-home (DOOH) is a very broad term that I believe is often misunderstood. DOOH is really made up of at least two distinct categories: Digital signage (which includes electronic billboards) and digital place-based content networks.
The first category is found on roadsides,and we think of them as "glance media" opportunities for advertisers targeting mass audiences.
The second category, of which we consider Captivate Network to be a part, targets niche audiences in a particular venue and provides customized content and promotions for that channel. For example, Captivate Network might run ads on local weekend getaways because our research shows that the vast majority of office professionals do their vacation planning while at work.
DOOH content is "digital," in that it is typically distributed through a digital infrastructure and is therefore more targetable and interactive than more traditional media. We believe this explains the comparatively higher viewer engagement and ad effectiveness scores of DOOH versus other media channels.
Doug Scott, Reach Media Group:
From my standpoint, I would draw a distinction between the "umbrella" category: Digital out-of-home and sub-categories such as digital billboards, digital location-based media, etc.
So, I would define digital out-of-home as "digital signage displaying content and/or advertising in places away from the home."
I would define digital location-based media as "digital networks of screens displaying contextually relevant content and/or advertising in locations away from home with extended dwell times."
I would define digital billboards as "digital screens away from home displaying generally static advertising to consumers in environments with limited or no dwell time."
Stephen Randall, LocaModa:
Digital out-of-home refers to dynamic media distributed across placed-based networks in venues including but not limited to cafes, bars, restaurants, health clubs, colleges, arenas and public spaces. DOOH networks typically feature independently addressable screens, kiosks, jukeboxes and/or jumbotrons. DOOH media benefits location owners and advertisers alike in being able to engage customers and/or audiences and extend the reach and effectiveness of marketing messages.
Ashley Flaska, NEC Display Solutions:
DOOH is any signage that is running content and/or advertising in a public space. This could be four-inch shelf talkers in a grocery store all the way to massive LED billboards on the side of the road and everything digital in between. The differentiation is the word "digital." Regular "outdoor" equals static signage — static billboards, static signage on the sides of buses or buildings, static signs at bus stops or in airports, static taxi toppers, just to name a few. Displays in the DOOH space have to be powered by a media player or PC in order to accept "digital assets."
Lyle Bunn, BUNN Co.:
A myriad of descriptors are still being used, though the term digital out-of-home (DOOH) has gained broad acceptance in use to describe networks that are primarily supported by advertising revenues, since advertising has typically been assigned from the "out-of-home" budget. Such networks operate on a for-profit basis and are typically owned by the location provider or investors. The Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) membership accounts for more than 400,000 dynamic, location-based video displays, which are available to present messages paid for by advertisers. The term "in-store TV" has been used to help tap into TV budget allocations and "the outernet" also has been used to help DOOH networks access online ad spending. The term digital signage serves as an umbrella term or is applied to networks that are typically funded by internal communications or operational budgets for patron, visitor, staff, student or community communications. Janice L. Litvinoff, Cisco:
The DOOH market consists of any digital display outside of the home, used for the sale of advertising "spots" or "impressions." DOOH is a unique intersection between advertising, digital signage and traditional out-of-home. For the advertising market, DOOH is just another digital-advertising medium and is more targeted than television and print. For digital signage, DOOH is an ad-based business model, different from other models such as sales/marketing, corporate communications, and sports/entertainment, to name a few. For the traditional out-of-home market, DOOH is simply the digital form of media used on billboards or other street furniture.
Bill Collins, DecisionPoint Media Insights:
For the purpose of this definition, the terms "digital signage" networks and "digital out-of-home" networks can be used interchangeably, but with one exception. The exception: when screen networks are deployed inside corporate buildings largely for human-resource and corporate-communication purposes, this is digital signage, but it cannot be accurately referred to as digital out-of-home.
Digital signage is comprised of networked electronic displays (such as LCD, LED, plasma or projection technology) that show information, advertising and other messages that are relevant to the specific venue or geographic location where the displays are visible to viewers. Digital signage can be found in public and private environments — both indoors and outdoors — alongside roadsides and at other venues such as retail stores, hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, motion-picture theaters and inside corporate buildings. Messages on digital signage networks always include visual images (sometimes moving images, sometimes a succession of static images). These messages may also include audio. Although most digital signage networks are connected across distances via the Internet or satellite communication and are controlled technically from one central network operations center, for the purposes of this definition of digital signage, we also will include the so-called "sneaker-net" networks. For these "sneaker nets," the operator of the digital signage network drives the content to the screens from DVDs, memory chips or other memory devices that are physically connected to the electronic displays on-site.
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