How to Measure Success for DOOH Advertising Campaigns

Proving the return on investment (ROI) of your advertising campaigns is more important than ever.

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is growing rapidly as a dynamic, location-based medium. However, to truly demonstrate its value, it’s essential to measure and track key performance metrics.

Unlike traditional out-of-home advertising, DOOH campaigns can be measured alongside other channels in your omnichannel strategy, offering a holistic approach to understanding campaign performance. This is especially true when DOOH is bought programmatically, allowing you to use the same tools and partners to track results across various platforms.

Why DOOH Advertising Matters for Modern Brands

DOOH advertising includes a variety of digital formats, such as digital billboards, transit screens, and retail displays featured in a vast range of high-traffic spaces and locations.

As consumers are on the go more than ever, DOOH offers a unique opportunity to reach them in multiple locations and contexts, extending the reach of your campaigns.

DOOH stands out from traditional OOH in several ways:

• Audience Targeting: Tailor your message to specific demographics with high precision.
  
• Contextual Relevance: Deliver ads that match the environment and moment.
  
• Proximity Targeting: Target audiences in close proximity to purchase to reinforce messaging and drive conversion.

Major brands are already integrating DOOH into their omnichannel strategies, benefiting from its ability to engage audiences in both physical and digital spaces.

Why Is Measuring Your DOOH Campaign Important?

Accountability is crucial when it comes to marketing budgets.

In the past, measuring the success of traditional OOH advertising relied on broad estimates and top-of-funnel awareness metrics, often without clear insight into audience behavior.

Today, digital capabilities such as mobile data, audience measurement technology, geofencing and sophisticated attribution capabilities allow for a much more accurate picture of how well your DOOH campaigns are performing.

By using advanced data collection and tracking tools, you can prove ROI to your stakeholders and optimize future campaigns. The democratization of data has led to the creation of robust measurement solutions that make it easier to track and quantify campaign success at all stages of the funnel.

What are the Key Metrics to Measure DOOH Advertising Campaign Success?

1. Impressions & Reach

Impressions are typically calculated based on foot traffic and mobile data.

By using geo-fencing and location data, you can estimate the number of people exposed to your ad. Tools like Geopath and Foursquare Places along with audience measurement leaders like The People Platform, Comscore and others provide accurate data for verifying audience size and ensuring your campaign is reaching the right people in the right places.

2. Engagement & Interactivity Metrics

Engagement metrics measure how actively people interact with your DOOH campaign. This includes:

• Mobile purchase transaction
• QR code scans
• SMS prompts
• App downloads
• On-site visits
• Click through
• Social sharing and hashtags as proxy indicators of campaign success

These metrics are particularly important for campaigns designed to drive action and interaction.

3. Attribution & Conversions

DOOH can drive real-world actions, such as web traffic, in-store visits, app engagement or purchase transaction.

Attribution modeling, using tools like Vistar Media, PlaceIQ Crossix or IQVIA, allows you to track the effectiveness of your campaign by linking ad exposure to actions. Pixel tracking and mobile data also play a significant role in measuring conversions.

4. Brand Lift Studies & Surveys

Brand lift studies assess how well your DOOH campaign improves brand awareness, recall, and favorability.

Conducting pre- and post-campaign surveys with third-party partners such as Alidacan provide insights into the broader impact of your campaign, especially for awareness-driven goals.

5. Foot Traffic & Store Visits

Foot traffic and store visits are particularly important for retail and QSR campaigns.

Using mobile data providers to correlate ad exposure with physical behavior, you can measure the success of your campaigns in driving real-world visits. This is a powerful metric for campaigns with a direct purchase intent.

Tools & Platforms to Help Track DOOH Campaigns

There are several powerful platforms available to help track and measure DOOH campaign success. These include:

• Mira
• Adelaide
• Narrative
• Foursquare Places
• Crossix
• ABCS Insights

These platforms provide comprehensive reporting dashboards and real-time data, helping brands understand campaign performance and make data-driven adjustments. Integration with mobile and programmatic platforms ensures that DOOH campaigns work seamlessly with other marketing channels.

What are the Best Practices for Tracking DOOH Campaign Performance?

To optimize the performance of your DOOH campaigns, follow these best practices:

• Set Clear Campaign Goals: Determine your primary objectives, such as awareness, visits, or conversions.
• Choose Measurement Methods Based on Objectives: Tailor your measurement tools to suit your campaign goals.
• Combine DOOH with Other Channels: Integrate DOOH with channels like CTV, mobile retargeting or search to improve attribution.
• Continually Test Creative and Placements: A/B test your creative and optimize placements to enhance performance.

Proving the Value of DOOH Advertising with Captivate

Data-backed measurement is key to proving the value of DOOH advertising in your overall marketing strategy.

As DOOH continues to grow and play a larger role in omnichannel marketing, businesses should focus on outcomes, not just impressions. We specialize in providing the tools and expertise to measure and optimize your campaigns effectively.

Get started with Captivate DOOH solutions today.