Laure Malergue, Co-Founder and CEO of Displayce, spoke to invidis about the international expansion of the adtech company and about the role of programmatic in the modern DooH ecosystem.
Displayce: “Digital-out-of-Home Has a Unique Position in the Media Mix”
Founded in 2014 in France, Displayce started as one of the first first programmatic platforms dedicated entirely to Digital-out-of-Home. About ten years later, the DSP has not only unveiled a refreshed brand identity, but now also operates on a global scale: The company powers programmatic campaigns on over 1.6 million screens across more than 80 countries, partnering with over 600 media owners.
A strategic partnership with JC Decaux, which became a majority shareholder in 2022, helped accelerate this global expansion. After opening offices in Brazil, the UAE and, as of late, Germany, Displayce now has offices in eight countries and is connected to nine SSPs.
While these are impressive numbers, Laure Malergue, co-founder and CEO of Displayce, emphasizes the importance of respecting the regional circumstances of each market: “There are specific SSPs for each region, and also local screen networks that need to be integrated.”
For Displayce, programmatic isn’t just about scale. It’s about accessibility – and education. “We need to explain why you should choose programmatic,” Malergue says.
The pulse of programmatic
This mindset is also behind one of the newest tools of Displayce, which Malergue describes as a “showcase for programmatic”: Launched over the summer and first available in Belgium, Germany, France and Spain, Pulse is a predictive optimization engine designed to boost campaign performance without increasing media spend.
The engine identifies prime time screens – DooH displays expected to have a spike in audience during real-world events like concerts, sports games, or local festivals. Pulse predicts where and when these surges will occur and adjusts campaign delivery accordingly. This way, agencies can boost the campaign’s impressions without raising the budget.
The first figures look promising: In an internal analysis, Pulse generated a median increase of more than 28 percent in the number of impressions.
While standard impressions are based on robust historical averages, tools like Pulse bring predictive data into the planning process, making programmatic bookings smarter and more efficient. “As a specialist, this is part of our mission,” says Malergue.
Between awareness and interest
Over the past decade, Malergue has witnessed first-hand the evolution of programmatic DooH. The first five years were about accessibility – making DooH available to digital buyers.
But more recently, the focus has shifted. Today, thanks to programmatic, DooH remains a one-to-many medium, but is far more flexible. It has become the go-to format for advertisers seeking broad reach with targeted impact. “We have a unique position in the media mix, right between awareness and interest,” says Malergue.
Like many other Adtech leaders, the Displayce CEO believes AI will transform the industry. But one of the first use cases she sees as vital differs from the norm: With tools like CampaignAI, Displayce is using AI not just for optimization, but for inspiration, especially for GenZ professionals in agencies. “We think agencies still know the clients best, so we want to give them as much inspiration as possible.”
AI needs to tell the DooH story
For the time being, DooH is best suited for top-funnel activities. The consequence: “More DooH pitches have to be made to the clients. That must be one of our first goals with AI.” Of course, Artificial Intelligence will impact all aspects of the business, and the industry will need to take time to integrate it. CampaignAI is just the first step in a larger AI suite that Displayce plans to roll out.
From this, Malergue also deducts the main goal for the DooH industry: converting more clients, thus raising the global market share – not necessarily through programmatic alone. “There is a need for Guaranteed”, she emphasizes. But Programmatic can be the door-opener, tapping new markets through accessibility. “Guaranteed programmatic will be a game changer,” she adds. “It removes the last big barrier for traditional advertisers.” And it could help bring DooH as a whole to the next level.
