Munich | For a long time, DooH start-up Hygh was viewed with skepticism by the established DooH market for its shop window TV concept. The Berlin-based company was not dissuaded and already installed more than 4,000 screens in shop windows in 16 German cities. Now Ströer is following suit with its own DooH shop window network.
The Berlin DooH start-up Hygh established shop window TV to the DooH market in Germany. It was originally invented more than 15 years ago by Cityup in Cologne, but the market and cost base were simply not yet ready for it. Launched in Berlin in 2019 as Kiez-TV, Hygh screens can now be found in 16 major cities nationwide. With the support of British investors and in close cooperation with Samsung, the network is being rolled out to more than 10,000 screens.
It was not to be expected that the German DooH market leader Ströer – the undisputed top dog with an 80 percent market share – would permanently leave the DooH window TV segment to its competitor Hygh. According to market rumors, Ströer has already secured access to a low five-digit number of sunlight-readable LCD screens from a Chinese display manufacturer in the summer of 2024. A few hundred screens have now been installed in Munich and a few other German cities, and in the new year the expansion seems to be progressing further.
From fur tailors to locksmiths
Ströer’s location scouts seem to be particularly active in the Munich district of Haidhausen. On the way to work, the author of these lines is now accompanied by over ten Ströer screens in shop windows in the immediate neighbourhood. Whether it’s a late-night shop, hairdresser, locksmith, glasses, luxury hi-fi or fur tailor – the displays of the DooH network have so far only been in the shop windows of local retailers. Preferably in a pedestrian zone as well as in shop windows around traffic lights – anywhere where there is a high footfall and waiting times.
Compared to other major German cities, Munich is underdeveloped in terms of DooH. Permits in public spaces are rare – even for Ströer and Walldecaux, who jointly operate the public transport shelters. Shop window screens that do not require a permit are obviously an alternative. The non-representative screen count the author did showed 14 screens within a radius of 800 meters around his house. But Ströer is also expanding indoors – new Dooh screens appear out of nowhere in local eateries. A DooH environment a few local DooH start-ups have been looking to build up reach with digital screens – the costs of doing this have increased dramatically since Ströer entered the market. But Hygh will also feel the impact of the new competitor when it comes to acquiring shop window locations.
55-inch Screens on a Solid Base
Ströer uses highbrightness screens with 55 inches on a solid base, including rubber spacers for optimized alignment in the shop window and a round cellular antenna on top. Installation is super-quick – power is provided by the retailer. Operation starts at 6 a.m. – as it is standard with Ströer.
Content and the DooH campaigns are suspiciously similar to Ströer’s public video totems. Ströer tends to forego news on the approval-free shop window screens; predominantly programmatic advertising is in focus, only interrupted by images and long-lasting content such as book reviews and Ströer media content.
Shop window owners get screen time for self-promotion, but most shop owners don’t seem to be using their self-promotion slot yet or are overwhelmed by the design and resolution. Because of the holidays, it’s still too early to make a reliable statement about the screens’ utilization. But since the turn of the year, we’ve been observing a series of nationwide campaigns in loop.
The competition for the best locations seems to have flared up here in Munich. Because high-definition screens are also becoming increasingly visible in the city. It will be interesting to see who wins supremacy in German shop windows.
