Programmatic DOOH
Digital out of home bought programmatically: screens selected by location and moment, triggered by conditions that matter, and measured by what happened rather than by impressions claimed.
Overview
Out of home used to be bought in two week blocks on a poster site chosen months in advance. Programmatic DOOH lets you buy specific screens at specific hours, and switch creative based on weather, transport delays, stock levels or a football result.
That flexibility only pays if you know which moment matters. A screen outside a station at eight in the morning reaches a completely different mindset from the same screen at seven in the evening. We plan around those moments rather than buying coverage and hoping.
Who this is for
- Brands with a physical location or a catchment worth targeting
- Advertisers whose message depends on timing, weather or an event
- Companies wanting broadcast-scale visibility without a national television budget
How we approach programmatic dooh
The specific pieces of work a typical engagement covers. Scope is agreed up front — nothing here is a surprise line item later.
Screen and location planning
Which screens, in which locations, at which hours, chosen against where your customers actually are rather than against a coverage map.
Dynamic creative triggers
Copy that changes with temperature, air quality, transport status, time of day or live inventory. A trigger only helps when it genuinely changes what a passer-by should do.
Moment planning
Commute, lunch, evening and weekend each carry a different mood and a different useful message. The same creative across all of them wastes most of them.
Catchment and footfall analysis
Mapping screens against the areas your customers travel through, using real movement data rather than assumed catchments.
Creative for distance and speed
Short enough to read while walking past. Roughly six words, one idea, and a brand that is recognisable from across a concourse.
Footfall and lift measurement
Exposed against unexposed comparison on store visits or branded search, so the campaign has an outcome rather than an impression count.
From first call to measured result
The same sequence every time, so you always know what happens next.
Map
Identify the locations and the moments that matter for your business, and rule out the ones that only look impressive.
Plan
Build the screen list, the day-part schedule and any dynamic triggers, with the creative requirements each one implies.
Run
Launch with a holdout region held back, and adjust screens and day-parts during the flight rather than after it.
Measure
Footfall or branded search lift against the holdout, reported alongside delivery so both stories are visible.
Outcomes, not deliverables
A pile of artefacts isn't progress. These are the changes the work is meant to produce — and what we report against.
Presence without a national budget
Concentrated screen buying in the right catchment reads as a much larger campaign than it costs.
Relevance from context
A message tied to the weather or the delay board earns attention that a static poster does not.
Flexibility mid-flight
Programmatic buying means underperforming screens can be dropped during the campaign, not after it.
An outcome, not an impression count
Footfall lift against a holdout gives out of home a number it has historically struggled to produce.
Common questions about Programmatic DOOH
The things people ask before they get in touch. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
How is programmatic DOOH different from traditional outdoor?
Traditional outdoor is bought as fixed sites for fixed periods, usually booked well in advance. Programmatic DOOH is bought by impression across a network, so you can select day-parts, change creative during the campaign and drop screens that are not working.
Can you actually measure out of home?
Better than most people assume. Exposed versus unexposed comparison on footfall or branded search gives a defensible lift figure. It is not the same resolution as search advertising, and we would rather say that plainly than dress up a delivery report as performance.
What is a sensible minimum budget?
Around fifteen thousand for a meaningful flight in a defined area. Below that the frequency is too low to register, and out of home works through repetition in a familiar place.
How short does the creative need to be?
Six words is a good discipline for roadside and concourse screens. Waiting environments such as lifts, platforms and queues tolerate more, and are worth planning differently for that reason.
Thinking about Programmatic DOOH?
Tell us what you are trying to change. If we are not the right fit we will say so, and point you somewhere better.
Looking at the wider picture?
Programmatic DOOH usually sits alongside other work in Performance Marketing & Paid Media. Browse the full area to see what it connects to.