The Out of Home Advertising Association of American (OAAA) has launched a working group charged with establishing standards for OpenRTB. Real-Time Bidding (RTB) is a platform and protocol that allows bidding as a method for transacting media, making it possible for ad impressions to go “up for auction” in real-time. This is accomplished through a programmatic exchange with the ability to serve ads to OOH screens directly based on demographic, psychographic, or behavioral audience profiles.
The working group is comprised of OAAA members representing OOH media companies, buyers, and tech platforms. The group is co-chaired by Ian Dallimore, VP of Digital Growth & GM Programmatic at Lamar Advertising and Leslie Lee, VP Marketing at Vistar Media.
According to Ian, “Programmatic OOH has become front and center for omnichannel Demand-Side Platforms (DSP’s) as they understand the importance of using data to target the consumer journey across all media types, including Digital OOH. OOH is a unique medium and more than just an impression which is why it’s imperative to build standards that fit DSPs but also focuses on the value proposition of our medium.”
Many industry stakeholders agree, now is the time to establish common standards as a way to ensure the OOH medium is part of omnichannel buying considerations.
Vistar Media Co-Founder and CEO Michael Provenzano supports the viewpoint saying, “Programmatic OOH has reached a new phase of media-channel maturity, with most of the world’s largest omnichannel DSPs actively bidding in real-time on OOH inventory. This is enabled by OpenRTB integrations, and we expect these integrations to only keep proliferating. It’s important to build standards that put the unique value of OOH media front and center, and don’t try to simply mimic what has been built for other media channels.”
The new OpenRTB initiative comes on the heels of another important OAAA working group, focused on developing similar standards for OpenDirect trading. OpenDirect platforms automate straightforward media transactions between a buyer and seller.
Programmatic buying is one of the fastest growing trends within the media industry. With an estimated 85 percent of all global advertising to be trading programmatically by next year, the OOH industry needs a focused approach to simplify and streamline transactions. In doing so, industry leaders need to think about programmatic beyond simply a trade tool. That’s why a standardized approach to direct transactions and real-time bidding is essential. The OOH industry will take a leap forward when omnichannel integration is normalized. That’s why both OpenRTB and OpenDirect standards are essential for the OOH industry to thrive.
Modified: 2 years