2020 made many advertisers rethink their plans. You would be hard-pressed to find a part of the advertising market that was more affected by this change than the DOOH advertiser. At the precipice of 2021, we got the much-awaited news of a hefty vaccine roll-out. This, at the very least, has given people hope that there is an end on the horizon. 

As consumers slowly gain back their confidence to brave the outdoors, this brings a new opportunity for those digital out of home (DOOH) advertisers. Let’s explore how one type of real-world data can help DOOH advertisers get back to where they were pre-pandemic: location intelligence.

Location intelligence is built on verified consumer insights from mobility data to maximize your visibility into what your target audience wants, who they are, and what they respond best to. This helps you understand your target market on unprecedented levels. What does this mean for you as a DOOH digital strategy?

Let’s say that your client is a real estate company in Miami Beach. They want to maximize their reach to snowbirds in the New York City area. Because of COVID-19, their usual audience who are retirees and higher risk may not be interested in moving to a city with fewer regulations. They decide that they want to reach remote workers in the 35-45 age range for optimal conversions. Now that you have a specific audience narrowed down, you need to find the perfect places around New York for your ads to reach these people.

Typically, this would take weeks of research, and a whole lot of guesswork. You have a location intelligence solution that does this job for you. You’re able to narrow down your audience to those people who have recently been to open-house events in the suburbs (willing to relocate), recently visited a socially distanced networking event (likely single), and recently shopped at a car dealership in the last thirty days (likely have disposable income).

You decide to place your digital billboard next to the most frequented car dealership in Manhattan, another smaller advertisement next to Washington Square Park, and one more billboard by the highway on the way to the suburbs. Because of your digital strategy to target only those consumers who fit the profile dictated by your client, and because you know enough about them to understand what will make them convert, the results are quick to come. Your client runs out of condos to rent and sell, and there’s a waiting list.

Another aspect of a post-COVID world that may be confusing for DOOH advertisers is simply where to target certain markets. In the past, densely populated cities were a no-brainer, but now when so many consumers have high-tailed it out of metropolitan areas and settled in the ‘burbs, there’s a new gold-mine and it isn’t in the cities. 

The trouble for DOOH advertisers lies in the fact that because of the exodus, consumer shopping behaviors have changed. Before, people roamed the city streets and walked by countless storefronts on their way home or to work. This meant that it was much easier to draw that sidewalk crowd into a shop, and convert them into a paying customer. 

The suburbs are different, however. Most people get from point A to B by driving, and are less likely to turn into a shop than they would have been if they still lived in the city. Not only this, but the values and way of life of converted city dwellers have changed so much, that DOOH advertisers have to consider not only what to advertise, but where. 

Location intelligence can tell you about an area that you’re considering for a billboard or an interactive bus-stop ad. Not only do you get a high-level view of what consumers in the area are interested in, but also where they spend most of their time based on foot-traffic patterns.

• Where do they shop the most?
• How will they respond to your ad based on its location?
• Why do they shop where they shop?

2021 is likely to be a bounce-back year for the DOOH market. As people venture out of their homes, you’ll be ready to take advantage of the new economy with location intelligence. Get ahead of your competition, delight your clients, and save on ad spend. Contact us today to learn how you can improve your digital strategy with location intelligence.