Outdoor ASIA - July 2018

August 2018^47

THINK DIGITAL

OOH & Smart Cities

Advertisers are increasingly aware that smartphones
aren’t well suited to brand building – the traditional
domain of television advertising. Although so-called
millennials (people who became adults around 2000)
watch less TV than previous generations and rarely
read newspapers and magazines, they do wait at bus
stops, get stuck in traffic jams and pass through railway
stations, making billboards a key channel for brands
looking to reach this generation.

Moreover, the growing number of connected digital
screens and smart city sensors mean billboards no
longer must be blunt instruments. Indeed, they can be
precision tools. Screen space can be bought and sold
at auctions based on real-time data showing how many
people are in the vicinity, how many of these people
are standing still and their demographic profiles. City
administrations and transport operators could capture
this data either by working with cellular service providers
or by mining usage of transport apps and “footfall” data
captured by roadside sensors and cameras.

Advertisers need to be aware that the smartphone
is not the only screen and it is not the only sensor.
As they install connected devices to support smart
city solutions, such as traffic management, public
information systems and crowd management,
municipalities should consider how they can use the
same infrastructure to serve the advertising industry.
Smart billboards delivering targeted and timely
advertising could generate significant revenues for city
administrations and transport operators, while also
helping the advertising industry rediscover its mojo.

In the middle of all of this, we find Out-of-Home –
billboards, transit shelters, bulletins, digital and static
signage and panels of all sorts. A medium that for years
have been quilted into the design of cities with various
degrees of intelligence and success. For this industry it
is vital that stakeholders become knowledgeable about
the future role of OOH in planning and designing cities,
and that we play an active role here in. This industry
has a unique knowledge of where people are at what
times, what they feel, what they do, how they act and
much more.

From an industry perspective we need to evolve with the

rapid change of infrastructure and how people live their

lives. The role will be one of not focusing on creating the

most impactful locations and formats but focusing on

how one can facilitate and help in creating new formats

and bring innovation that make life, and moving about

out of home, better for people.

There is need to become experts in location-based

datasets, and that this industry needs to develop

capabilities in modern technologies such as Ai,

machine learning etc., because over time we will see

some of these automation technologies take over the

tedious tasks of optimising and increasing the value of

connectivity and thereby media.

OOH can play this role effectively when it leverages the

geo-location data and the knowledge already have, to

change the way one sees OOH as a medium. It is no

longer a question of wanting to buy a certain prime

location or having an affinity towards e.g. transit media.

The strategic discussions that one can have with clients

should be focused on geo-based audience data, and

insights to inform which datasets and connections we

can utilize to be both a media, and a service for the end

consumer.

Smart Cities will be designed to improve the quality

of life and increase the investment opportunities.

This would require building infrastructures that

would improve transportation, facilitate better living

standards and provide a good work-life balance.

Projects like escalator-based Foot Over Bridges,

modern stainless steel BQSs, public conveniences and

“Smart Cities are all about

better city management and

optimisation of resource

consumption with use of

integrated urban information

and communication

technology”