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How to deliver effective dynamic DOOH campaigns

Although many companies are embracing dynamic content for digital signage and DOOH, there are many ways dynamic can go wrong. In order to deliver successful dynamic campaigns, companies need to plan carefully and keep it simple.

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April 11, 2019 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

Many companies are looking at moving beyond static campaigns to dynamic advertising campaigns. However, there are many potential issues that can arise during dynamic campaigns, especially in the DOOH space.

James Thomas, digital operations director at Interstate Outdoor Advertising, discussed several issues with dynamic campaigns and how to avoid them during a session at the Digital Signage Expo, held in Las Vegas from March 26 to 29.

The basics

Thomas said one of the most important elements for effective campaigns is understanding the basics of both dynamic content and good DOOH.

"Dynamic content is the layering of real time data with local offline data," he said.

Offline data would include factors such as time of day and location of the screen and real-time data would include Twitter feed, RSS, sports scores and other factors.

The key to good DOOH, according to Thomas, is efficient messaging. For example, a digital billboard should have six words or less in its copy to get its message across quickly.

In addition, successful DOOH campaigns need to be planned carefully and have buy-in from every level of the organization.

Where can dynamic go wrong?

When it comes to a successful dynamic DOOH campaign, Thomas said companies can fall into two traps: not scheduling enough time and resources and making it too complex.

For example, Olay Skin Care planned to run a dynamic campaign that would offer skin care tips based on real-time weather triggers. The company had 21 different weather scenarios they wanted to target such as partly cloudy, rain and other conditions.

However, the campaign instantly ran into problems. First the DOOH company running the campaign only had a few months to set up so it had to be done quickly. In addition, the campaign had to use far more than six words to get its message across with each weather condition. When Olay saw the poor results of the campaign, they shifted back to static campaigns.

Thomas gave another example of an NFL campaign, where the organization wanted to deliver dynamic live feeds to its outdoor displays. The problem was that the NFL didn't have any official feeds of its own, so the campaign managers had to use third-party feeds. The campaign became too complex and the feeds stopped working properly, so NFL switched back to static after a short trial.

"When dynamic doesn't work, the client becomes more conservative," Thomas said.

How to make dynamic work

In order for dynamic campaigns to be successful, companies need to schedule more time and resources in planning.

"Dynamic content creates more variables in the work flow," Thomas said. "That should be respected."

Thomas also said individuals within the company need to set aside egos and work together to plan the campaign carefully. If they don't, it may be a disaster.

Thomas brought up how the Salvation Army wanted to do a campaign in Oakland, California where it would run different content based on whether the weather was above or below 40-degrees. The problem was that in Oakland, the weather rarely goes down to 44-degrees.

"Someone needed to say in a tactful way that the temperature would never achieve that condition," Thomas said.

Advertisers should deliver simpler dynamic campaigns that are not overly ambitious, he said, noting the Olay campaign might have been successful if it had only a few triggers such as rain and sunshine and delivered shorter messages.

Finally, companies need to keep the basic principles of good DOOH creative in mind when designing dynamic campaigns.

"Don't lose sight for what makes good effective DOOH. Respect the complexity of dynamic," Thomas said. "Work through issues well and in advance."

About Bradley Cooper

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Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

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