What trends will drive (D)ooH in 2024? Bernd Rabsahl from It Works Group provides an outlook as part of the invidis Year in review series.
In the end everything had a happy ending. At least until the end of November 2023, the German advertising market recovered noticeably – largely driven by the start of the Christmas business. (Digital) outdoor advertising in particular increased significantly, by a whopping 21 percent in November. Will the upward trend continue in 2024? I am sure! The following five trends are driving development:
1. Social media triggers DooH
Social media and DooH are the perfect match: a connection between the two enables complementary networked media planning, which also promotes brand interaction – for example through social media content in real time on digital advertising spaces.
An example of this is the provider Ocean Outdoor with “Deepscreen Alive”: consumers can connect their smartphone to the screen and thus interact with it directly. A wow effect that greatly increases the reach of campaigns through social media. Real-time content, user interaction, continuity and targeted advertising – interaction will play a major role in media planning.
2. Sustainability will also be the top topic in 2024
Sustainability will feature heavily in media plans in the next few months. A variety of emissions offsetting programs are already being used because it is ethically right and customers demand it. But there is still a lack of a uniform procedure and the necessary transparency. This must change now.
The dispute over the EU CSRD directive, which is being fueled by Tüv and Dekra, shows that sustainable action will only be sufficient in the future if the relevant evidence is provided based on clear criteria. To do this, we need standards that everyone adheres to. Individual solutions are more likely to cause confusion here; we need industry commitment.
3. 3D content take outdoor advertising to a new level
The international trend of spectacular 3D content on outdoor advertising spaces is now also finding its way into Germany. There are now more and more large advertising spaces in highly frequented locations where the 3D experience can be booked. An example is the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin.
But DooH campaigns in 3D are now also possible in the digital deluxe and city networks or public video locations from Ströer, for example. And 3D content is not only a real eye-catcher, it also gets people talking. Advertising becomes the talk of the town again.
4. Expansion of digital spaces
With the digitalization of the train stations in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Hamburg with huge screens, new highlights will emerge in 2024. But smaller cities and communities are also upgrading when it comes to DooH. This is what happened in the 7,000-strong community of Ruhpolding in Upper Bavaria. The winter sports hotspot has been using seven displays since this year.
From a media perspective, marketers are now also recognizing the medium’s great potential in terms of flexibility and real-time control even outside of the major metropolises – this creates comparability with all other digital media. The cities and municipalities have another communication channel available for citizen dialogue such as tourist information. So win-win.
5. Interaction at (D)ooH between big players and independents
And: outdoor advertising is becoming diverse. The big players are joined by smaller, powerful independents. In combination, this results in new media packages. This was implemented, for example, by the sports brand “New Balance” on the occasion of the Berlin Marathon: In the outdoor advertising campaign, which was visible throughout the city digitally and static, in addition to the large out-of-home media owner such as Walldecaux, small specialist sales houses such as Steini were also involved with static und digital screens. In 2024, combinations will be used more and more often.
But: We need common platforms for all out of home offerings – digital and static – which enable buyers to booked network-agnostic transparently and in direct comparison. Joint market research across all (D)ooH channels is necessary. This is the only way we can achieve our stated goal of achieving a ten percent market share of total advertising revenue.