In today’s complex landscape, it’s essential for political candidates and interest groups to get their messages out in a big, bold, safe and timely manner.

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) offers political advertisers an effective and proven way to engage their constituents, in the real world. As the only channel that seamlessly integrates into people’s everyday lives, DOOH provides advanced, data-driven targeting solutions to reach voters as they go about their day. 

When it comes to politics, time is of the essence to get key messages across. The ability to react quickly to breaking news or opponents’ ads, and to have mass reach in markets that tend to have high costs or low availability, makes DOOH an essential channel for political campaigns.

To help political planners gain support in the places they need it most, we’ve compiled the top seven benefits of leveraging programmatic DOOH to drive campaign success.

1. Reach voters where and when it matters most 

With a deep understanding of routines, habits and lifestyles, DOOH helps you engage constituents on a more personal level in the real world. Here are some ways you can leverage the Vistar platform to reach voters where and when it matters most: 

• Audience segments: Vistar partners with the industry’s most trusted data providers, including Epsilon, Accretive, Foursquare and more, allowing you to leverage third-party data to expand your omnichannel campaign strategies into DOOH. 
  • Example segments: Democrat Donors, Republican Voters, Washington 8th Congressional District, Active Political Cause Donors 
• First-party voter data: We can safely ingest your voter files or other first-party data and transfer it into an audience segment to safely reach your constituents, as well as people who move similarly to them, out there in the world. 
• Location targeting: Strategically place ads where your target audiences are most likely to react, such as federal buildings in key municipalities or around political conferences or debates. Plus, using time- or day-parting, you can select the perfect moments in the day for your ads to go live.

2. Target politically-safe screens 

DOOH media is everywhere, from Times Square billboards to screens in office buildings, bars and universities, making it easy to amplify your message in an increasingly complex advertising landscape. To help political advertisers navigate the restrictions placed on political ads, Vistar offers political inventory packages — pre-selected screens that comply with all ad regulations, ensuring your campaign goes live safely and at scale. 

3. Use hyper-contextual creative

Incorporating dynamic elements, like countdowns, into DOOH campaigns creates urgency and enhances consumer engagement. These triggers not only nudge behavior by highlighting voting deadlines but also provide valuable real-time information such as nearby polling locations, ensuring accessibility and removing barriers to voting.

4. Be flexible in a changing environment

Take control with hands-on-keyboard options that allow for the closest alignment to your team’s strategy. With programmatic DOOH, you can be extremely agile and swap creative assets to instantly promote the most relevant messages. With Vistar, it’s extremely simple to tailor specific creatives to different audiences or markets without complicated setup requirements. This flexibility allows you to capitalize on every news cycle and campaign milestone with up-to-date messaging.

5. Leverage a nimble buying strategy

Traditional OOH often operates on a 4-week flight cycle with high minimum spend requirements. DOOH offers rapid turnaround on campaign setups, allowing you to get live in near real-time. With no strict spend amounts or minimum flight lengths, Vistar removes the high bar to entry, making it easier to launch your political campaigns quickly.

6. Seamlessly extend your video assets 

The majority of DOOH inventory today accepts 15- or 30-second video creatives. Whether you have broadcast TV spots or digital video assets, there’s no need to invest in new or additional tailor-made creatives. You can seamlessly extend your existing video assets to DOOH platforms.

7. Retarget and further engage your audience

Vistar allows campaigns to safely retarget those who were exposed to a DOOH campaign on their mobile devices — driving consumers to take lower-funnel actions. For example, many marketers are leveraging the power of sequential messaging to prompt voter registration or generate donations.

With our device ID passback solution, Vistar can share the device IDs of voters exposed to your DOOH campaign.These device IDs can be used for retargeting across CTV, display, audio and other channels.  

Are you ready to embrace the full potential of programmatic DOOH? 

Let us help you create impactful campaigns that truly connect with your constituents. Contact us today to discuss how OOH can take your political campaign to the next level.