Digital Out of Home Integration into OPENRTB

WASHINGTON, D.C.& LONDON (December 7, 2022) – The OAAA (Out of Home Advertising Association of America) and Outsmart (Out of Home Advertising Association of United Kingdom) today announced that they have collaborated with IAB Tech Lab, the global digital advertising technical standard-setting body, to publish a comprehensive document and technical resources to support standardized Real Time Bidding in DOOH. The two OOH trade organizations brought together global Demand Side Platforms (DSPs), Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) and OOH Media Owners to establish a common implementation of IAB Tech Lab’s OpenRTB methodology.

Key DSP, SSP and Media Owner organizations who contributed to this work include Broadsign, Centro, Clear Channel, Global, Hivestack, JCDecaux, Lamar, Ocean Outdoor, Place Exchange, TheTradeDesk, Triton, Vistar Media, VIOOH, and Yahoo.

Until now, implementations of OpenRTB in OOH advertising had resulted in many custom implementations, adding complexity to omnichannel consideration of the medium.

The new OpenRTB implementation guide for OOH:

  • Details the unique differences between trading the online world of digital display and the real-world aspects of outdoor display.
  • Describes the OpenRTB extensions and conventions required to bring OOH to the OpenRTB marketplace in a standardized way.
  • Shows the implementation of the OOH recommendations in bid request and bid response scenarios with a standardized schema.

This work is now part of the IAB Tech Lab’s OpenRTB standard, allowing OOH to be properly described and traded alongside the established digital media channels of online display, mobile, audio and CTV.

Tim Lumb, Director of Outsmart comments, “The benefits of international collaboration across advertising associations, publishers and adtech companies are clear to see. IAB Tech Lab’s OpenRTB now handles Digital Out of Home inventory too, making it even easier for brands to embrace the medium.”

“Having OOH specs in OpenRTB is a massive step forward to unifying standards across digital channels and out of home media – providing transparency and efficiencies which are sure to drive greater spend in DOOH,” said Jeff Jan, Head of Industry Initiatives, OAAA. “We reached this milestone in collaboration with IAB Tech Lab, Outsmart, and the tireless efforts of our members.”

“The DOOH medium has grown over the past decade to provide a critical volume of connected screens to the physical world,” said Hillary Slattery, Director of Programmatic, Product, IAB Tech Lab. “As a growing number of advertisers integrate the OOH medium into the digital display omnichannel of online, mobile, audio, and CTV advertising, the importance of working with stakeholders across the programmatic ecosystem to establish a living, common language with standard definitions cannot be overstated. IAB Tech Lab is proud to collaborate with global DSPs, SSPs, Media Owners, and OOH trade organizations like the OAAA and Outsmart to establish a common implementation of IAB Tech Lab’s OpenRTB methodology.”

The documentation and technical resources to support standardized Real Time Bidding in OOH are available free of charge and can be found here.

About the OAAA

The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) is the national trade association for the entire out of home (OOH) advertising industry. OAAA represents over 800 members, including leading media companies, advertisers, agencies, ad-tech providers, and suppliers, which comprise over 90 percent of the industry. OOH media includes billboards, street furniture, transit, place-based media, and digital formats (DOOH) across every sector of the channel. OAAA is the unifying voice for the industry, the authoritative thought leader, and the passionate advocate for advancing OOH advertising in the United States. The legislative unit of OAAA advocates for the responsible growth of OOH with federal, state, and local governments. OAAA-member media companies donate over $500 million annually in public service advertising. Founded in 1891, OAAA is headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New York City.

About Outsmart

Outsmart is the UK trade body for the Out of Home (OOH) industry. We collaborate with all parts of the industry to provide a central reference point for our members, aiming to protect and advance their relationships with the advertising community, the public and national and local government. For further information contact [email protected] or visit outsmart.org.uk

About IAB Technology Laboratory

Established in 2014, the IAB Technology Laboratory (Tech Lab) is a non-profit consortium that engages a member community globally to develop foundational technology and standards that enable growth and trust in the digital media ecosystem. Comprised of digital publishers, ad technology firms, agencies, marketers, and other member companies, IAB Tech Lab focuses on solutions for brand safety and ad fraud; identity, data, and consumer privacy; ad experiences and measurement; and programmatic effectiveness. Its work includes the OpenRTB real-time bidding protocol, ads.txt anti-fraud specification, Open Measurement SDK for viewability and verification, VAST video specification, and Project Rearc initiative for privacy-centric addressability including the Global Privacy Platform. Board members/companies are listed at https://iabtechlab.com/about-the-iab-tech-lab/tech-lab-leadership/. For more information, please visit https://iabtechlab.com.

Media Contact:

Laura Goldberg

LBG Public Relations for OAAA

[email protected]

+1-347-683-1859