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FeaturedOpinion

OOH Industry Snapshot: Viola Comms’ Ammar Sharaf

WHAT EFFECT IS TECHNOLOGY HAVING ON THE OOH SECTOR?

There’s no doubt about it, technology has opened new doors in the OOH industry for both buyers and media owners.

The opportunities are limitless, but ultimately, it’s about helping advertisers purchase spaces more seamlessly within the digital ecosystem. Once optional, the ability to respond quickly to shifting world events and conditions on the fly is now deemed critical.

Marketers now demand data as a standard to understand ever-evolving consumer habits and movement patterns.

Technology- enabled OOH allows buyers to manage their OOH media strategies in more flexible ways that make the most of the more agile nature of the medium.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE EVOLUTION OF DOOH?

OOH is one of the oldest advertising mediums in the world, and hadn’t really changed significantly in many years until the last decade, when the introduction of DOOH put it on a fast track to becoming one of the most modern media formats.

With mobile devices now omnipresent, there is a growing awareness around how OOH can be integrated with new touchpoints to become the ultimate platform for online consumer engagement.

OOH is a ‘reach’ medium – it exists to reach people in public spaces.

Viola Outdoor’s coverage across the UAE gives us unparalleled audience reach, but more than that, we see ourselves bridging online and offline worlds by combining our outstanding audience reach, bringing together the traditional purposes of OOH with the power of modern technology that gives brands a sense of control, which will never fully be the case online, making OOH truly future proof.

WHAT ARE CLIENTS ASKING FOR?

Viola has a long history and a lot of experience selling OOH inventory, but DOOH is a different ballgame.

With options to sell based on deeper audience insights, the demand and expectations from media buyers have deepened too.

From the request for more dynamic and contextual displays for advertising messages to flexible buying models that help in fulfilling offline-to- online journeys using mobility data and context to inform where audiences are – at the end of the day, it’s really all about using data to streamline processes and deliver hyper-targeting at scale.


Campaign Middle East will be hosting its monthly Breakfast Briefing on the Out of Home industry on 10th November at the Grand Plaza Mövenpick, Media City, Dubai. To find out more click here.

HOW CAN OOH BE BETTER INTEGRATED INTO THE MARKETING MIX?

Historically, OOH has been known as an awareness driver, but that view is rapidly changing. Advertisers can now leverage DOOH as both a lower-funnel conversion engine and an integral part of their omnichannel mix – allowing them to consistently reach their target audience with powerful messages and drive measurable value for their business.

We know OOH elicits online activity and prompts consumers to take action, with almost half of consumers using a search engine after being exposed to OOH advertising.

Advanced targeting and measurement capabilities have refreshed interest in traditional OOH advertisement and opened up new possibilities for adopting data- driven approaches – pushing the industry toward greater efficiency and effectiveness and enabling all formats to work together to achieve greater business outcomes.

– By Ammar Sharaf, Founder and CEO of Viola Communications