What Does DOOH Mean: Digital Out-of-Home Definition

DOOH Definition: What Does DOOH Mean? 

With the growing interest in digital outdoor advertising, more companies are discovering the DOOH definition – and learning how this media form delivers value to marketers everywhere.

So, what does DOOH mean? DOOH stands for digital-out-of-home. This is a form of advertising and media known as out-of-home – or outdoor advertising. Unlike online and traditional at-home versions of advertising, out-of-home media is found on billboards, signage and displays. In the last decade, the digital version of outdoor advertising, known as digital-out-of-home media has exploded in popularity. 

Why is this? Many marketers suspect that online advertising is becoming more and more saturated and in turn, a lot less effective. People face a barrage of digital advertisements on their personal devices constantly and after a while, it can all become background noise. Plus, with more and more people tuning out or implementing ad blockers, there is a larger chance your content is not being viewed at all. In response, advertisers are wondering what digital-out-of-home advertising is and what it means for their business and target audience.

Digital Out-of-Home Definition

The simple DOOH definition is: digital outdoor media used for advertising outside of the home. While simple versions of DOOH have existed for quite a while, the latest interactive software has really changed the game for both businesses and consumers. Digital-out-of-home advertising can be found on roads and highways, on the side of buildings and other structures, digital screens, or in high-traffic areas where people sit, stand and wait (such as restaurants, bus stations, train stations or airports). In these spaces, people are prone to let their attention wander to the media around them and with the right technology, hopefully interact with that media. 

What Does DOOH Mean for Businesses?

From the business side of things, DOOH has become more customizable, more attention grabbing and more interactive. Target audiences can experience a lot more than a simple digital image. Now, there are opportunities to create touch screen games, customizable interactions and CTAs that can lead to immediate digital conversion. Advertisements can also connect directly to a smartphone, through QR codes and scanning.

What Does DOOH Mean for Consumers?

For consumers, DOOH media largely enhances the outdoor advertising experience. Outdoor advertising is less intrusive than many forms of advertising, leaving many people more open to absorbing it in passing. The psychology behind outdoor advertising is also a lot more promising. While good ad content is always a crucial factor, more people can recall digital billboards than other forms of advertising – with marketing messages often sticking in their memory for weeks. Without the ability to block ambient advertisements, audiences who have removed ads from their at-home media can still receive messages from businesses and gain insight into their values. 

Advantages of DOOH

Some advantages of DOOH advertising include gaining the ability to quickly change and optimize media. On traditional outdoor signage, this process is not only time consuming, but also expensive. DOOH allows advertisers to supply more content — and a larger variety of content on one screen. 

From the data side of things, DOOH provides a lot more insights than traditional outdoor advertising. Businesses can get information on the number of people who viewed the advertisement, interactions and the demographics behind those audiences. This means that content delivery can be optimized for these people and made more relevant and powerful. 

Finally, the potential for reaching both massive audiences and extremely targeted audiences is much greater with digital-out-of-home – making it an extremely valuable tool for building up brand recognition. The latest advertising technology allows for more revenue through engaging content and unique advertising opportunities. 

Getting Creative with Content

Many advertisers are getting tired of social media advertising, and the often-rigid parameters that this content must adhere to. For many, DOOH is a great space to implement new and exciting content strategies that can gain more attention and interaction. With the help of new technology like artificial intelligence (AI), businesses can even take advantage of features like facial recognition. These technologies allow businesses to expand their creative, provide more value to their customers and develop campaigns that make a much bigger impact. In contrast, display advertising found online and at the top of webpages are receiving less and less clicks and interaction. Many marketers suspect that this form of advertising will continue to decline in value. Meanwhile, digital-out-of-home is predicted to continue growing. 

Learning the DOOH Definition and Applying DOOH Media to Your Strategy

With the DOOH definition in mind, more and more businesses are applying digital outdoor advertising to their media mix. For businesses interested in building their audience and growing their recognizability, it can completely transform strategies. From specific user demographics to targeted content creation and added insights, companies can build the most relevant, engaging and highly converting messaging for their audiences – and present it in an extremely consumable manner. This transforms experiences for end-users and steps away from overdone online advertising strategies. 

Using Technology for Effective Advertising Experiences

By working with DOOH technology companies, businesses can find customer experience solutions that support specific marketing goals and increase ROI. Take the Shark Experience presented by Verizon, for example. This form of digital-out-of-home is found right in a user’s golf cart. The primary purpose of Shark Experience technology is to provide insights into the game of golf and connect users with entertainment like music, news and Greg Norman golf tips. However, on top of that, this digital screen provides fantastic advertising opportunities for businesses who are trying to reach this audience. This unexpected and effective out-of-home screen reaches people for hours and provides meaningful insights to advertisers about the people that interact with their media. 

Beyond that, having out-of-home opportunities like the Shark Experience, which has such a specific audience, allows advertisers to create spot-on content for this viewer. For example, Coors Light created curated advertisements for their golfing audience, which was delivered through the Shark Experience right to their targets. With the ability to create more engaging content for these people, advertisers can build highly effective campaigns with the help of interactive tech. 

The Next Steps: Discovering DOOH Definitions and Implementation

Businesses of all kinds can increase their conversions with interactive advertising technology like DOOH. With more power, more insight and more creativity, there are amazing opportunities to be found from reaching audiences outside of their home. Now, advertising can be brought into non-traditional spaces and provide more value to users. 

With a stronger understanding of the digital-out-of-home definition – and the impact this media can make on a business, let’s get into implementation. If your business could stand to benefit from DOOH advertising technology, Edison Interactive can help. We are an interactive technology company that creates game-changing solutions for businesses. Contact our customer experience experts today to get started with DOOH.

To learn more about the digital-out-of-home definition and the power of digital outdoor advertising, read more from our DOOH blog.