Google Makes Out of Home Inventory Available in Display and Video 360 Campaigns

This could be interesting – today, Google has announced that all Display & Video 360 users will now be able to expand their campaigns to digital out-of-home ads, including screens in public places, like stadiums, airports, bus stops, shopping centers, elevators, taxis and more.

That could be a big addition to your promotions, using digital targeting to reach audiences in specific regions and areas, which could help to promote key offers to engaged, interested consumers.

As explained by Google:

“With digital out-of-home ads in Display & Video 360, brands can combine the emotional power and captivating formats of traditional out-of-home advertising with the efficiency of other digital channels. With a single plan, they can reach people on screens of all shapes and sizes. And, it can be done rapidly and efficiently.”

Google says that marketers will be able to activate, pause, and optimize digital out-of-home campaigns in near real time, with a full overview of your online and outdoor promotional efforts controlled via a single dashboard.

“Centralizing buys and automating out-of-home campaigns is particularly effective for brands with international footprints. It gives them a chance to reach their global audience using a single tool. Today Display & Video 360 already partners with exchanges Hivestack, Magnite, PlaceExchange, Ströer SSP, VIOOH and Vistar Media. These exchanges give access to large media owners around the world like ClearChannel, Intersection, JCDecaux, Lamar and Ströer. All of this inventory can be secured via programmatic deals.”

Though while you will be able to use more advanced digital ad targeting for your OOH campaigns, there will be some limits.

Digital out-of-home ads placed through Display & Video 360 won’t be personalized, and will not use individual identifiers or audience location data. Advertisers will only be able to reach people based on screen location:

“For example, a fast food spot can quickly advertise on a billboard in a bustling business district during the lunch hour for office workers to see. Later that day, the same billboard can promote an upcoming performance at a nearby concert venue.”

Which makes sense – using individual device location markers could end up being pretty invasive, and would likely freak a lot of people out (‘that thing I was looking up last night just appeared on a bus stop promo’). But targeting your ads to specific locations, at specific times, could have significant value in helping to drive both awareness and action based on exposure.

It is also worth noting that digital out-of-home publishers measure impressions by using an impression multiplier, which is based on publisher estimates of the number of viewers for each ad.

That’s less specific than regular digital ad targeting, but again, it’s a traditional ad format that’s being translated to the digital realm, so there will be some crossover metrics required to estimate performance.

There are other qualifiers for Google’s OOH campaigns, which will impact how you go about utilizing the process in your efforts. But it could offer significant potential, and it may be worth considering the possible value of such exposure in proximity to relevant stores and stockists.  

You can learn more about digital out-of-home ads in Display & Video 360 campaigns here.