Why work in DOOH?
You’re probably reading this because you’re looking to make movements in the media and advertising industry - be that hunting down your first role, or taking a step into a new sector. Working out which road to take in the multifaceted media industry is undeniably confusing.
Want advice from someone who’s worked across various channels in the past 12 years and recently shifted lanes? Look to future facing channels with projected growth. Look to something that inspires with creativity. Look to a medium with a rich history, that is embracing technology to stay relevant and drive it forward.
Look to DOOH (Digital Out-Of-Home)… or “those screens that look like TVs on the street that show advertising” if you’re explaining it to your parents.
Why DOOH? Firstly, it is one of the fastest growing channels in advertising. For people with the right mindset, working in a growing channel will offer opportunity and career progression.
As well as the expected growth and career stability this should bring, in the DOOH space you will find a potent mix of tradition and innovation. I like to think it’s this melting pot that makes it so interesting and fun, it’s why brands have been flocking to put their ads on outdoor screens for hundreds of years and why they continue to do so.
Since becoming the first ever advertising channel in the 1800s, Out-Of-Home (OOH) has gone from strength to strength through technological advancements. OOH became DOOH and these shiny new screens have only increased the capability of the channel to drive huge shifts in brand uplift. OOH has been named the most trusted channel and its inclusion in a diverse media mix drastically increases the results of other channels. OOH serves local communities, with almost 50% of every advertising £1 spent going back to local authorities.
In recent years, programmatic technologies have been added to these digital screens, helping the space to evolve gracefully and allowing it to keep up with the new players such as social, display and online video. Programmatic is pushing DOOH to new heights by enhancing creativity with dynamic creative optimisation, by allowing 3D builds to be delivered at scale. Programmatic is enabling DOOH to be accountable by offering brand uplift, footfall or even till sale measurement studies. It is offering brands the opportunity to react within hours to real world events, deliver economies of scale and reduce wastage.
With this mix of experience and future facing solutions, it’s obvious to see why the growth predictions for DOOH are so strong and why there are such an interesting variety of roles to work in across all parts of the ecosystem.
And let’s not forget how good it feels to walk past one of the ads you’ve worked on the actual street (Look mum I did a thing!).
After 12 years working in online channels myself, everything mentioned here recently inspired me to make the move to the big screens. After 6 months I’ve fully fallen for DOOH’s charm and I’ll never look back. Who’s next?
Tom Barbour , Sales Director @ Vistar Media