Different Types of DOOH Formats for Advertisers in 2024

Digital Out-of-Home first emerged in the mid-2000s and it was adopted the quickest in the US. Today, DOOH is a media channel that you will find in many different UK cities. 

DOOH comes in a variety of formats, let’s take a look at them.

Digital Billboards

Posters and static billboards have been around since the early 1800s, and they have been used to market and advertise all manner of products and services. Not only are static billboards less impactful with modern-day audiences who don’t always look up from their phones, but setting them up is time-consuming and expensive. 

The digital revolution has brought rise to programmatic digital billboard ads that can be set up in minutes and can host multiple different campaigns for different brands interchangeably. 

An example of a clever modern digital billboard advertisement was the British Airways ‘Look Up’ campaign at Piccadilly Circus which showed a young boy pointing to flights flying overhead from Heathrow, including giving audiences details about the flight codes, departure and arrival destinations, and timings. 

This British Airways DOOH campaign was executed using flight data and positioning an ADS-B antenna on a nearby building. It was an extremely successful campaign that generated 45 million social media impressions and 40,000 + visits to the British Airways web page.

Transit Media and Mobile Digital Billboards 

Mounting digital billboards on transit media formats such as bus advertisements, and advertising on the tube, is not allowed. However, digital billboards are permitted on private vehicles. 

Why rely on static digital billboards for DOOH advertising campaigns when you can leverage the benefits of having mobile digital billboards? At Drovo, we have the largest committed transit media fleet in the UK, with over 2,000 drivers. 

Our network of on-vehicle digital screens in London is capable of

• Moving with outdoor audiences in a non-intrusive way.
  
• Maximising your reach.
  
• Cutting through the noise and making your brand’s DOOH campaigns stand out from the crowd.
  
• Reacting and adapting to ‘triggers’ to display certain screen ads based on current weather conditions, location, time of the day, and more.
  
• Showing 6 different screen creative displays in the space of a minute.
  
• Delivering crystal clear video screen campaigns to outdoor audiences.

Digital Street Furniture as a DOOH Format 

Digital Out-of-Home street furniture advertisements can be found on bus shelters, on D6s on pavements or footpaths, or even on the side of telephone boxes. Digital street furniture advertising enables advertisers to interact in a natural non-invasive way with urban audiences by using the on-street architecture that surrounds them every day. 

People going to work or school by bus every day can spend a fair amount of time waiting at bus shelters. There are 9,300 buses across 675 routes in London alone, you can reach and impact this audience with bus shelter campaigns.

Digital Advertising on the London Underground

London’s iconic underground rail system continues to be used by millions of people every week. What’s more, the tube audiences often have little to look at to grasp their imagination at tube stations. 

Therefore, capturing London underground audiences’ attention with digital advertising display screens next to escalators could help you tap into an audience readily interested and intrigued by your ads. 

Point-of-Purchase DOOH Advertisements

Want to ensure your brand is front of mind right before customers part with their cash? Point-of-purchase digital advertisements can catch consumers’ attention just at the moment when they are ready to pay for their items at the till and make them think, why don’t I also grab that product whilst I’m here?

DOOH Airport Advertising

Digital displays in airports are another DOOH advertising format. Airport passengers are often on their way to and from holiday destinations, and brands can tap into their relaxed holiday mindsets in their advertising strategies. 

Some airport passengers will be travelling by air for work or business, therefore, airport advertising opens doors for luxury brands looking to make an impact on higher-income consumers.