Back to school season with programmatic digital out of home

The end of summer is here and consumers are actively looking for back-to-school supplies. As per The Harris Poll/OAAA, the return of in-person schooling has prompted 75% of consumers to spend more than usual on school necessities. The poll also indicates that 68% of these consumers will be seeking out of home (OOH) ads to determine their purchase decisions and 69% will lean towards in-store shopping. 

This is undisputedly the best time for advertisers to connect with their audiences and address the market’s demand. From stationary supplies and electronics to fashion retail and accessories, brands offering a variety of school supplies seek to target consumers who are actively looking to make purchase decisions around this time. Personalised creative messaging is no secret to advertisers, and has proven to be a huge success across all digital channels. With advanced programmatic capabilities, OOH channels can be leveraged towards generating highly personalised messaging to audiences on the move. 

Here’s how programmatic DOOH has enabled brands to stay connected with their back-to-school shoppers every step of the way: 

• Reinvented buyer journeys: Brands today are strategically working towards establishing lasting relationships with their target audience and encouraging them to engage with their products through a consistent and customised approach. With most shoppers preferring in-store shopping for back-to-school season, advertisers have the incredible opportunity to engage with them in close proximity to the final points of sale, activating screens near or within malls, supermarkets, gas stations and transit networks.
   
• A unique approach to the competition: The retail industry is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the world. With numerous businesses striving to meet their customers’ needs in new and creative ways, it is crucial to reach the consumer a step above and beyond competition. We are also seeing an influx of international retailers leveraging programmatic DOOH, especially around key seasons, be it back-to-school or holidays in order to encourage buyer decisions and preferences for both domestic and global consumers. 
   
• Taking advantage of the ease and efficiency of programmatic planning: DOOH planning and campaign delivery has become as effortless and sophisticated as executing any other digital marketing strategy. Advertisers now are able to access demand side platforms (DSP) and create, activate and control dynamic campaigns with simplicity and ease in addition to tracking and managing in-flight campaign flows, ensuring satisfactory optimisation of their budget spend. 

Through their media agency Starcom via Apex Exchange Canada, Walmart Canada recently ran a campaign targeting back-to-school shoppers, which resulted in a lift in brand consideration, ad recall lift and lift in purchase intent. Read more about how Hivestack helped deliver this back-to-school campaign with Walmart.

For more information contact us to set up your next campaign.