Welcome to your weekly Cynopsis digital out-of-home marketing newsletter. To share your DOOH story, contact [email protected].

Las Vegas’ The Sphere arena – home to the world’s largest 16K high-resolution LED screen and, for a few months, iconic rock band U2 – is a spectacle, but is it a moneymaker? Quarterly results for the $2.3 billion structure included a loss of $98.4 million, reported after the resignation of Sphere Entertainment’s CFO, Gautam Ranj. During the quarter, the company earned $4.1 million in event revenue and $2.6 million from advertising and suite licensing from the Sphere’s exterior screen, with operating costs of $7.8 million. Still, CEO James Dolan was upbeat. “The incredible response to U2’s run at Sphere has only increased interest from the artist community to play the venue, and we’re having conversations with artists across a wide variety of genres, including discussing runs of varying lengths,” Dolan told investors. “We expect to host two additional residencies in the second half of this fiscal year and look forward to sharing more details.”

But when it comes to spheres, who’s counting? A project is wending its way through California committees that could add a 49-foot glass sphere over Sunset Boulevard. Dubbed the “Sphere on Sunset,” the structure would not be an entertainment venue like the larger Vegas orb, but used as a broadcast facility. Digital billboards would cover 2,000 feet, used for advertising as well as arts programming.

OUTFRONT Media has opened its new OUTFRONT Campus in LA. The space, 34,000 square feet at 1520 North Cahuenga Boulevard, serves as the West Region Headquarters for the company. “We are thrilled to announce our new home in the center of the city, as part of Hollywood’s revitalization,” said Michael Wells, West Region Vice President at OUTFRONT. “Our new space embodies our vision – an inspiring environment of creativity and collaboration, making meaningful connections for both our employees and our clients.”

CAMPAIGNS

Throughout November, Clear Channel Outdoor Americas and the United Service Organizations are partnering on a nationwide DOOH media campaign. More than 2,000 digital billboards in major markets and airports across the United States encourage Americans to support the troops through USO programs. “We are proud to say we are with the people who serve and remind all Americans, during their day-to-day commute or as they travel through an airport, that service members and their families are vital, integral members of our communities,” said Scott Wells, CEO, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings.

No razor, no problem! It’s No-Shave November, an annual event encouraging people to grow their facial hair and raise awareness about cancer. OUTFRONT Media partnered with No-Shave November this time around for a billboard campaign urging viewers to #DropTheRazor and donate to cancer research foundations. The organization has raised over $12 million to date.

Listen up: Bell Media introduced its Streets-to-Screens campaign, a multiplatform program in collaboration with Desjardins which spans TV, Radio, OOH, and Digital. Streets-to-Screens leverages Bell Media’s ad-synching Radio-to-Road program, where roadside digital boards synchronize with advertisements on specific radio stations. Bell Media employs geo-fence technology to retarget mobile users exposed to digital out-of-home boards. “With Streets-to-Screens, Bell Media delivers a seamless journey where brands connect with consumers on the road through Bell Media’s exclusive technology, syncing radio ads with digital out-of-home billboards and at home through ad insertion on both TV and digital platforms,” said Perry MacDonald, VP of advertising sales and partnerships. “We know this holistic approach will resonate with consumers and drive impact for our clients.”

DOOH TELL…

We turned to industry leader and advocate Barry Frey, President and CEO of global trade and marketing association DPAA, for insights on where the DOOH business is heading.

How is creative for DOOH evolving?
The digitization of OOH has opened up a brilliant creative canvas for executing innovative and powerful creative forms. Firstly, due to dynamic ad serving, new data inputs and programmatic, digital addressability is now occurring. The ability to create relevant and tailored ads that are now delivered by time, location, weather, available audience in front of the screen, now offers strong relevance to consumers. As the use of QR codes has become prevalent, it has made DOOH interactive. We have also seen from many of our members like BCN Visuals the use of very creative 3D executions and now Augmented Reality is now also being used as Google transformed Times Square with Outfront Media demonstrated recently at our DPAA Omnivideo Global Summit

Why go global?
DPAA has members in every continent. Since we are working in the digital framework, strategies, tactics, data collection and use, targeting, creative and training cross borders quite easily. We promote the use of best practices that our members readily share globally.

What does the future of DOOH look like?
The future is very bright. As we’re evolving OOH to its digital future as detailed in the earlier question, we are seeing offerings of video and digital solutions to consumers and brands. There is not a consumer or brand that doesn’t passionately engage with video and appreciate the targeting and attribution powers of digital. Increasingly brands are seeing DOOH as integral parts of their Omnichannel marketing. This is empowered with programmatic DOOH, combining myriad data sets (including first party data) and reaching consumers along the customer journey and at the point of purchase. Budgeting is starting come from heretofore mid and lower funnel budgets plus traditional video and digital monies.

AROUND THE GLOBE

Travelers to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport will be met with a massive billboard, part of oOh! Media’s Fly network. The length of a Boeing 737-800, the dual format billboard has both a static and a digital side, with Qantas as the inaugural advertising partner on the digital panel. “The launch of this new mega site is a major addition to oOh!’s portfolio, connecting brands with premium audiences as they arrive and depart from Melbourne Airport,” said Elise Taylor, group director of enterprise at oOh!. “Its sheer size makes it simply unmissable, while its dual digital and classic format gives advertisers even more options.”

Sharp Corporation has collaborated with Taiwan-based electronic paper company E Ink to develop an A2-sized color electronic paper display equipped with an IGZO backplane. The new ePoster electronic paper display was unveiled at SHARP Tech-Day, a technology exhibition in Tokyo last week. The prototype ePoster display is the first to be equipped with E Ink’s latest e-paper platform, E Ink Spectra 6. The displayable color gamut has been expanded compared to the previous platform*5, making it possible to render content with greater color saturation and vividness. In addition, IGZO technology has made it possible to make the peripheral circuitry smaller, allowing for narrower bezels.
November 15 DOOH sharp

GOOD SPORTS

Major US sports teams secured a record-breaking $6.7 billion in sponsorship sales, marking a 17.5% year-over-year increase across MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS, according to SponsorUnited’s 2023 Year in Review, Sports & Entertainment Marketing Partnerships Report. The NHL saw an increase of 21%, thanks to innovations such as digitally enhanced dasherboards. AI brands broke ground on sports sponsorships, led by the NHL, with 45% of AI sponsorships across US major pro sports. “The explosion of the AI industry this year has shown limitless potential for sponsorships going forward, as brands can connect with fans in many new and different ways,” said SponsorUnited CE Bob Lynch. “The sports and entertainment space is ripe for AI partnerships to skyrocket, and I believe they will. We are beginning to see a new chapter of data-driven, hyper-personalized, and more quantifiable sponsorships, and it is very likely to continue into 2024 and beyond.”

Supponor, the sport virtual advertising technology provider, announced that the Deutsche Fußball Liga and its host broadcaster Sportcast have granted Supponor league-wide approval for deploying “Carpets over Carpets” in all Bundesliga stadiums. The approval allows Supponor to overlay physical Cam Carpets with virtual ones using its fully software-AI-based Supponor AIR® technology. The introduction of “Carpets over Carpets” provides a new commercial opportunity by enabling virtual, customizable advertisements for international broadcast feeds, a first for the market. “This marks a significant commercial milestone for Supponor and a revolutionary change in the league’s advertising capabilities,” said Massimo Magrì, EMEA Managing Director at Supponor. “This development not only underscores the ongoing evolution and improvement of Supponor AIR® but also opens new opportunities for clubs and advertisers in Germany, ensuring fans across the globe experience relevant and localised content.”

SUSTAINABILITY

JCDecaux Australia and New Zealand have partnered with Scope3, a provider of scope 3 emissions data to measure and report the carbon footprint of media and advertising. JCDecaux is the first local OOH business to participate in the Scope3 tool. “We can’t neutralise our way out of the climate crisis and as a business JCDecaux in Australia and New Zealand will focus on science-based net-zero targets, rather than chasing carbon neutrality. This partnership with Scope3 proves our commitment to sustainability and dedication to transparency,” said Alexandra Heaven, Head of ESG at JCDecaux. “We recognise the urgent need to address emissions in the media and advertising industry, and the first step towards achieving this is understanding the data. JCDecaux’s partnership with Scope3 provides transparency on media emissions for campaigns and enables media agencies to support their clients in making greener choices.”

The Scope3 tool enables media buyers to assess the carbon emissions footprint of the media platforms and vendors they choose to work with. By integrating Out-of-Home advertising into this platform, media buyers will have access to emissions data for a wider range of media options, facilitating more informed and sustainable decisions, and representing a significant milestone for the industry on a global scale.

IAB TECH LAB UPDATE

What has been the impact of IAB Tech Lab’s update of its OpenRTB standard? We asked Shailley Singh,EVP, Product and Chief Operating Officer, IAB Tech Lab, what it means for DOOH:

“The IAB Tech Lab’s OpenRTB standard has significantly impacted Digital Out of Home (DOOH) advertising by providing a standardized communication protocol for real-time bidding. This standardization has streamlined the process of buying and selling DOOH inventory, offering consistent ways to convey vital information about ad impressions, publisher details, and creative standards.

“OpenRTB has also adapted to privacy concerns, introducing extensions to address evolving privacy regulations, such as those associated with iOS 14, ensuring DOOH advertisers can comply with the latest privacy practices.

“Additionally, OpenRTB has consistently introduced features and attributes that enhance DOOH advertising, supporting ad slot refreshing, DOOH-specific elements, and other industry trends, ultimately benefiting DOOH advertisers and making their campaigns more efficient and effective.”