We are the launch partner for DOOH.co.za, a news and events platform for the digital out of home industry launching across Africa in March 2023. Editor Livia Brown explains why it will help drive the industry forward.
Why have you launched a new industry blog?
We have decided to launch www.dooh.co.za to fill a gap in the African OOH market when it comes to digital OOH. We saw that there is a huge appetite for OOH and DOOH related news, but no dedicated, central platforms to share information, gain insight and collaborate. We are building the most influential, trusted information platform for an African community engaged in the transformation of the digital out of home industry. DOOH.co.za is an integrated platform for media, events, data and information for the next generation of DOOH practitioners.
Who is it aimed at and what issues / topics will you cover?
This blog is for anyone interested in OOH and specifically DOOH. There will be content and thought leadership pieces that will appeal to every player within the OOH media ecosystem, from media owners to media agencies, to creative agencies and clients. Each month we will cover a different topic through thought leadership pieces from various industry leaders in the OOH and wider media landscape, carefully selected based on their level of experience and expertise.
The www.dooh.co.za site itself includes three current and past blog posts; a directory of digital OOH media owners and site inventory which is supplied and verified according to industry standard and best practice from a third party supplier; and a rich resources section with case studies, research and measurement related to OOH and DOOH and industry playbooks and white papers, all hand selected to build a community platform that is designed to inspire, empower and uplift the OOH industry as a whole.
Will you be campaigning for any changes in the OOH market?
We are hoping to bring the industry together to join forces and to share learnings, insights, research and successes in order to drive overall growth for OOH. We aim to push OOH into the media spotlight and showcase some of the amazing work that is being done and what results are being achieved for clients to grow in OOH. We are also going to be a major player in helping to introduce and maintain OOH industry standards and best practices by sharing guidelines and connections on how to achieve success in OOH for all players, from media owners to media agencies and clients and everyone in between.
What is the biggest current barrier to growth?
Currently I would say the biggest barrier to growth is lack of standardization, collaboration and partnerships. The OOH industry in SA currently has more than 250 media owners and over 14,000 roadside billboard sites and with rapid growth comes gaps in a market, there needs to be a central platform for all players to rely on for accurate information, fair representation and a place where standards and best practice guides can be found.
What are the opportunities for OOH?
OOH is such a diverse and ever-changing media format and if the past two years have shown us anything it is how resilient and adaptive the medium is. There is a lot of opportunity around programmatic DOOH, dynamic creative in general and creative executions as a whole to really drive offline and online audiences, as well as the integration of mobile, geotargeted OOH to drive consumer interest and engagement. There is also a lot of opportunity for those who understand and are leveraging consumer data and insights in relation to location strategy and targeting and we are really able to maximise efficiently in OOH when planning is enriched and informed by data. In some instances we are ahead of the curve and in other we are behind, but we are an incredibly quick moving market that can adjust to shifts in the landscape and this is going to help drive the industry forward.
How to drive success in the South Africa OOH market
Read our Tractor Outdoor case study.