Turn your DOOH knowledge into a story that wins clients

There’s a difference between knowing what digital out-of-home (DOOH) can do and knowing how to make someone else care about it.

Imagine sitting down with a brand who wants to reach more customers. You could tell them about targeting, measurement, dynamic creative and the capabilities of programmatic advertising. All true. All impressive. But a list of capabilities alone doesn’t show the client where they fit into the picture.

A better place to start? Their world.

Understanding what the client wants to accomplish, who they need to reach and what success looks like gives you something much more valuable than a list of features. It gives you a problem to solve and a reason for DOOH to be part of the solution.

Bring the possibilities of DOOH to life

For someone who doesn’t live and breathe digital out-of-home, it might still bring to mind a giant screen in Times Square. That’s part of the picture, but it’s far from the whole thing.

Think about everything that happens between leaving home in the morning and coming back at night. There’s the commute, the office, a stop for gas, a trip to the gym and maybe a grocery run on the way home. DOOH can show up across all of those moments, giving brands opportunities to connect with people as they move through their day.

And people are paying attention. 68% of adults notice OOH ads on their way to retailers and 42% said OOH ads influence their in-person purchase decisions.

The opportunity for a seller is to make those possibilities feel real for the client. Say you’re talking to a beverage brand trying to reach commuters. You could explain that programmatic DOOH supports dynamic creative including weather-based targeting and dayparting. Paint a picture: It’s after 5 p.m., the temperature has climbed above 80 degrees and someone heading home from work sees an ad featuring friends enjoying a cold drink on a patio. The brand isn’t just reaching the right audience. It’s showing up at a moment when the message is more likely to resonate.

That’s when the story comes to life. DOOH becomes more than a line on a media plan. It gives clients a glimpse of how their brand could show up in the real world, in real moments, powered by programmatic.

Shape the strategy around your client

Of course, every client has different goals, challenges and ideas about what success looks like.  The strongest strategies start there, with what matters to the client and builds from there.

"Smart targeting starts with understanding what the client is trying to achieve. Lead with capabilities and you sound like a vendor. Lead with their goals and you sound like a partner."

- Dave Rivera, VP of Channel Partnerships, Vistar Media

That comes down to three key areas: targeting, context and measurement. Who is the audience? How will DOOH reach them? And how will success be measured?

The answers can take a campaign in very different directions. First-party data might help a brand better reach existing clients, while third-party data can open opportunities to connect with new ones. Context helps determine which environments make the most sense, from high-traffic outdoor screens to grocery stores, office buildings, gyms and more. Defining measurement upfront keeps the strategy focused on the outcomes the client actually cares about.

The bigger opportunity is thinking about how DOOH fits into everything the brand is already doing. Existing creative can be extended onto DOOH screens, creating consistency across media investments. Brands can also re-engage consumers on their mobile devices after DOOH exposure, carrying the experience from the physical world into digital channels.

That connection can drive action. 49% of smartphone users had used online search to look up an advertiser after seeing an OOH ad, while 43% had made an online purchase.

When DOOH is part of the broader omnichannel mix, it can help connect the physical and digital moments that shape how consumers experience a brand.

Build confidence with real-world results

A thoughtful strategy can make the case for DOOH, but clients may still be wondering: Will it perform? Can we measure it? Does it really make sense for our brand? This is where another client’s story can be more powerful than another slide in the pitch deck.

When Target wanted to drive shoppers to hundreds of remodeled stores, the brand used programmatic DOOH across environments including billboards, gyms, gas stations, universities, bus shelters and office buildings. Creative was tailored around individual stores and the campaign could adjust as remodeling timelines changed.

The result was 533,000 incremental store visits and a 6.5% lift in foot traffic.

The best proof points are the ones your client can relate to. Steel City Media, which historically focused heavily on radio, added DOOH to give its clients a more complete media mix. Within six months of working with Vistar, the company generated more than 400 net-new opportunities, 50 campaigns and 23 unique advertisers. These proof points show something more compelling than a claim about what DOOH could do. They show what it already has.

Make every client conversation count

When you know DOOH inside and out, it’s tempting to want to share it all. But clients don’t need every detail. They need the story that connects to what they are trying to achieve.

Scale will make the strongest case. Other conversations may hinge on targeting, fast activation, real-time optimization or evidence-based results. The right approach depends on what the client needs and what will help move their business forward.

That idea sits at the heart of Accelerate: Selling DOOH, the next certification in Vistar Academy’s Accelerate program. Building on Accelerate: Foundations of DOOH, it takes that foundational knowledge a step further, exploring how to turn what you know about DOOH into stronger client conversations. From building the right story and shaping a selling strategy, to creating confidence in navigating myths and challenges.

Interested in learning more about the Accelerate: Selling DOOH certification? Click below!