A world without screens seems an almost distant memory, with people more and more reliant on digital technology in their everyday lives our cities have had to adapt to keep up.

It has now become the norm to walk down the street and see a massive glowing billboard or digital pillars advertising the latest brand. The rise of digital has been one of the most impressive factors behind out of home’s constant success. In an age where audiences are increasingly interactive and mobile, digital out of home is an essential tool to command attention and drive engagement.

PWC research reports that Out of Home advertising is thriving in the UK. For Q2 of 2019, OOH was up 9.4% year on year from £284m for April to june 2018 to £310m in the same period in 2019. Within the overall picture, Digital Out of Home advertising came out even better with a 17.2% increase and a 51% share of total Q2 revenue. 

For example, Ocean, operator of iconic screens such as Piccadilly lights, Birmingham Media Eyes and assorted locations at both Westfield London and Stratford City, digital has quickly become the pinnacle of brand-consumer relationships.

Emma Jeffers, Ocean Senior Marketing Executive says ‘The true precursor to memory encoding is emotion, and iconic, large-format digital screens are much better in eliciting this emotive response and driving that long-term recall’

Whilst London is the ‘screen capital’, more and more out of home companies are reporting that the majority of their impacts come from outside of London through a large network within major regional cities. These have become instantly important to deliver important audiences for brands and have become the social norm in city landscapes. 

Digital cities such as Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham are homes to an affluent population of university-educated residents with disposable incomes almost equal to Londoners. These cities also contain a whole host or premium retail outlets and leisure destinations attracting wider audiences.

With a constant stream of services being provided online, connectivity has become an important interconnecting strand linking city and their citizens. Digital cities have become digital hubs, utilising data and technology to improve both their individual economies and the lives of their residents. 

The strengths of Digital Out of Home are endless, particularly its dynamic nature and interactive potential. A good example of this is how screens can be linked to pollution gauges to provide messages on air quality or congestion. Vehicle Detection Technology can now also be used to identify vehicle type and gives the ability to provide communication when needed. On a lighter side of things, DOOH can be utilised for outdoor interactive games for consumers or even targeted advertising to specific people in the street.

With digital an ever-increasing part of consumers lives, the ability to provide dynamic content will become essential for brands to keep-up in the market and be the new norm on our streets.