Driverless cars are coming. The question is no longer if, but when. Whether the first breakthrough model comes from Google or Tesla or Ford, they’re well on their way. Once this happens, what impact will it have on the out-of-home industry? Here are three ways that driverless cars will change OOH.

BILLBOARD RESTRICTIONS LIFTED

Most municipalities currently have restrictions on OOH for fear of distracted driving. Outdoor ads can only be so bright. They can only be so large. They can only move so much. These restrictions exist because of legitimate safety concerns. While they may keep people safe now, they’ll have no place in the future where cars drive themselves.

This means OOH will be bigger and brighter than ever. Designs will be allowed to incorporate full motion and movement. We’ll likely get those giant holograms we’ve seen in the movies for years. Instead of being limited so they don’t attract all of our attention, they’ll now be trying their best to dazzle us.

IN-CAR VISUAL DISPLAYS

Autonomous cars will ease restrictions on ads outside of cars, and the same can be said for ads inside cars. All newer cars have a dash screen and in-car ads on these screens already exist. Again, the opportunity here is currently downplayed because of safety concerns.

Once those are gone, we can expect full digital commercials and games to be displayed on our dash screens. In fact, expect each seat in the car to have its own dedicated screen. Each passenger in the car will be delivered personalized and interactive ads, perhaps even interfacing with their mobile devices.

IN-CAR AUDIO

There are some passengers who would just as well take a nap or read a book once they don’t have to pay attention to the road. Outdoor advertisements and screens can’t impact people who aren’t looking at billboards and screens, right? How do we reach these people?

Thanks to location data, audio is already used to supplement OOH in certain markets. Self-driving cars allow this to be taken to the next level. Imagine your favorite supermarket jingle starting to play inside your car as you near the billboard a mile before its parking lot. You look up and an outdoor ad reminds you to pick up eggs and chocolate chips on the way home. A pop-up box on the dash screen asks you if you want to make a stop.

There is no question self-driving cars will allow for more dazzling outdoor ads, more engaging in-car displays, and more relevant in-car audio. The truly exciting thing is how future technology and location data will allow all three to work together to create more personalized and attention-grabbing OOH advertisements. Driverless cars will undoubtedly help usher in a new era of OOH.

DOmedia, the host to the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, is constantly encountering innovative vendors. In our Vendor Spotlight series, we attempt to highlight these companies and explain to you how they are pushing the industry forward. Today we’re focusing on Pharmacy Health Network. Pharmacy Health Network is a place-based digital signage network that provides advertisers with access to millions of health-conscious consumers each month in retail pharmacies nationwide.

Founded in 2005, PHN delivers health and wellness media, along with advertising, to independent retail and regional chain pharmacies through digital signage and other technology platforms. They give advertisers the ability to directly message retail pharmacy shoppers and empower those consumers to engage in a conversation with their pharmacist, or make an unplanned purchase. They deliver advertisers access to 3 million consumers on a monthly basis.

PHN consists of a highly skilled and flexible team of professionals that can tailor campaigns to objectives. They have access to data that allows advertisers to target campaigns, focusing on numerous sets of criteria.  They also have collateral racks for patient information and brochures in all locations, allowing advertisers a second opportunity to promote products. Lastly, Pharmacy Health Network has a full-service production team to create ads and content turn key if required.

Their leadership team boasts some impressive credentials. Ian Stone, President and Chief Experience Officer, previously led cross-functional creative teams at The Walt Disney Company and The Freeman Companies. Eric Mills, Chief Operating Officer, has led teams at indoorDirect, Braodcast.com, and Fox Sports Southwest. Elizabeth Davis, VP of Client Navigation, had led in-store programs for Buckle.

When asked what makes the company unique, Stone says:

“First, the network is one of the only out of home networks solely dedicated to the pharmacy vertical. Pharmacy Health Network has been in retail pharmacies since 2009 and continues to grow with both independent pharmacies and chain retailers.  We offer a unique opportunity for advertisers to promote their products at the point of influence, in the pharmacy setting, where product is at hand, and a trusted voice, the pharmacist, is available and part of their healthcare team.”

If you want to learn more check out Pharmacy Health Network’s vendor page here.

Want to be featured on our blog? Fill out our short vendor questionnaire here.

The OOH industry is one of constant innovation. New practices, businesses, and innovations are constantly changing the out-of-home market landscape. Recently there have been exciting new developments in technology that have the potential to seriously influence the future of outdoor advertising. This post will examine four of the coolest new OOH technologies and determine how they could be used and the potential impact they could have on the industry.

Augmented & Virtual Reality

Augmented reality is a technology that is already making an impact on the OOH industry. By definition, augmented reality is “a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite view.” As seen in the video above, augmented reality can be effectively delivered using digital OOH displays. In addition to this, augmented reality can also capitalize on the increased relevancy of smartphones in daily life. Allowing users to use their own personal devices to augment reality enables consumers to access additional information and helps marketers craft more memorable ad experiences. AR is set to seriously influence the way advertisers place ads, and the way users interact with them.

Virtual reality is further from making a true impact, it is interesting to consider it’s potential effect on the industry. Virtual reality creates entirely new realities through the use of advanced VR capable headsets. As opposed to altering our present reality the way AR does. VR is commonly used for gaming and other novelty applications, but if it ever became popular enough its OOH impact could be massive. Not only would it offer advertisers another way to reach new consumers, it would also enable them to reach these users in previously unfathomable ways, as they would no longer be limited by physical restraints. AR and VR both have the potential for future growth, but AR is closer to making a noticeable difference in the industry than VR is at the current moment.

3D Robotic Billboards

Although 3D billboards have been discussed on the DOmedia blog before, this post will focus on robotic 3D LED displays. The first board of this kind was placed in the Summer of 2017 by Coca-Cola. The ad (shown in the video above), placed in Times Square in New York City, consists of 1715 moving and 245 static LED panels. Measuring 68′ x 42′, this engineering marvel took nearly 4 years to design, fabricate, and ultimately install.

This board achieves its effect by individually moving the various LED panels on a coordinated schedule to create wavelike effects and incredibly smooth transitions. Although coca-cola pioneered the technology, 3D robotic LED displays certainly have the potential to make their way into the mainstream. Eventually, standard digital displays could be converted to be 3D compatible, as these boards can be programmed with up to a month’s worth of content and are capable of displaying stunning high-definition content. Due to their incredible ability to grab consumer’s attention and make lasting impressions, it should not come as a surprise when 3D robotic screens become commonplace in the OOH industry.

Holograms

Holograms have long played are a role in the future of OOH laid out by Hollywood directors. Recently though, these ads born on the silver screen have become reality. Holograms can now be formed using holographic prisms, water projection, and LED blade technology. All three are already used in practice, and it certainly looks like these displays are poised to play an increasingly large role within the industry. Companies like Kino-Mo and Lightvert continue to create innovations that move outdoor advertising forward and further align the present market landscape with the OOH future that Hollywood has long predicted.

Parallel Reality “Magic” Pixel

The Parallel Reality, or “Magic,” Pixel is another technology that is set to change the face of OOH. Created by Misapplied Sciences, this new pixel is capable of “simultaneously outputting a million controllable rays of many different colors.” The result of this is the creation of screens that display content to different people at different points in space.

Eventually, as developers further innovate this technology, marketers might be able to target users according to individual needs and interests even in public spaces. For example, “directions could be customized on road signs to accommodate a drivers destination” or daily news displayed in a hotel lobby could be differentiated by user’s interests. The parallel reality “magic” pixel isn’t ready to go mainstream just yet, but when it does it will be interesting to see the ways it changes the industry and measures the impact it has on consumers.

Today, the DOmedia team is proud to announce the latest round of improvements to our industry-leading software. We have made several new enhancements to our PowerPoint download options.

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• The ability to display three media items per slide.
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• Links to interactive maps are now optional.

Want to learn more about our PowerPoint export features? Click here to schedule a demo today!

Founded in 2011, Moviepass is threatening to radically change the way movies are consumed. Moviepass is a subscription service that covers moviegoers’ admission to almost any movie, at any theater, for a low monthly rate. Although cinema subscription services are already relatively popular in Europe, Moviepass is the first serious entrant into the US market. This post will take a closer look at Moviepass’ efforts to liberate the silver screen, and attempt to determine what its success, or failure, could mean to the OOH industry.

Offerings & Environment

If successful, Moviepass will be disrupting a well-established industry that has grossed over 115 billion dollars of revenue over the past ten years. An MPAA report exhibits the sheer size of the US cinema market and concludes that it is made up of about 36 million avid moviegoers and nearly 246 million casual moviegoers. Eating up a sizeable portion of this market will be Moviepass’ greatest challenge.

The introduction of Mitch Lowe, a former Netflix executive, as CEO in 2016 was certainly a step in the right direction. After his installation Moviepass’ offerings changed dramatically. The monthly price of an unlimited subscription was lowered to a $9.95 a month, costing only 97¢ more than the average movie ticket in 2017. Additionally, a $7.95 subscription was added in February (2018) that limits moviegoers to three movies a month. These changes have since caused Moviepass to become the “fastest growing paid-entertainment subscription company in history,” signing up over 90,000 users a week.

In addition to providing a consumer subscription, Moviepass is also looking to be a leader in data analytics. Its majority shareholder is the New York-based data analytics firm, Helios & Matheson. Eventually, Moviepass hopes to use the massive amount of data it collects from its millions of subscribers to help marketers place more relevant ads. For this to become a reality the company will need to achieve greater success. Moviepass will need to reach more moviegoers in a more profitable way and continue to push itself to make a noticeable impact on the cinema industry.

Impact on Cinemas & the Silver Screen

Currently, Moviepass boasts over 2 million subscribers and claims to be purchasing around 3% of the US domestic box office. By years end, the company hopes to have signed up around 5 million members and be purchasing around 9% of the box office. Moviepass is bringing more people to the movies, largely between the ages of 18-34, more often. One report even noted that 82% of Moviepass users surveyed said that they often go to movies they would otherwise skip because of the service.

Although some theaters are pushing back (AMC vs. Moviepass), many are seeing the benefits of the service. Moviepass is improving ticket sales, facilitating pre-show advertising, and creating greater demand for lesser-known films as well as highly anticipated blockbusters. With domestic movie attendance hitting a 25-year low in 2017, and ticket prices increasing over 50% since 2002 Moviepass is finding ways to solve both consumers and theaters problems through the use of one single solution. Although the sustainability of the company may be called into question, the utility of the business remains steadfast.

Impact on Cinema Advertising

Cinema advertising is a truly powerful form of OOH. Cinema ads allow marketers to reach captive audiences with messages that are often more involved, and ultimately more memorable than other forms of advertising. The result of this is that cinema ads often compete for the highest ROI of any ad format. Lately, the medium has been so successful that many industry experts project that cinema advertising will nearly be a billion dollar industry by 2021.

Moviepass’ offering could influence further growth within the industry. Moviepass is doing more than driving additional sales and attracting increasingly larger audiences to theaters nationwide. The movie mogul is also collecting massive amounts of consumer data that could be of serious benefit to cinema advertisers who want to better understand their audiences. Moviepass reselling audience data means that they have done more than just found a way to make money. By providing advertisers with valuable information on American consumers, Moviepass has found a way to facilitate the placement of increasingly effective ads.

Now that you know a little more about cinema advertising, and the impact Moviepass could have on it, head on over to DOmedia, host of the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, and start planning your next blockbuster outdoor ad campaign today!