Earlier this week, the IAB UK announced the release of a new Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Glossary which marks the first time that the UK industry has worked together to agree a set of shared terms across multiple areas, including measurement, programmatic and targeting. 

I’m incredibly proud to have been part of the committee which has enabled this first small but important step in the history of DOOH. In collaboration with the IAB UK’s Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advisory Group, the UK trade body for Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising Outsmart and audience measurement body Route, we’ve spent the last few months working hard to agree these standardised terms. The agreement and adoption of industry standards is the best way to build confidence in programmatic as the main method of trading digital out of home.

The Glossary demonstrates the significant growth across the DOOH industry over the past few years. Arguably, 2018 was the year the traditional and longstanding OOH industry finally started to embrace programmatic. It was also the year that VIOOH launched, demonstrating both the commitment of the larger players such as JC Decaux, and the growing demand for precise targeting, flexible trading and detailed reporting for OOH inventory.

June 2020 saw the release of IAB OpenDirect (OOH), the programmatic direct trading standard in OOH. Building on this with the development of standard shared terms is a natural next step that establishes a strong foundation and builds on the sector’s ambitions for further growth. While the Glossary currently only applies at a UK level, the aim is to drive adoption globally and use this as a base to develop a set of cross-industry standards. 

A consistent approach from the outset delivers clear and valuable results for advertisers and others across the digital OOH supply chain. It ensures DOOH benefits from lessons learnt across other digital channels too. At VIOOH, we’re confident in the high quality, transparent and agile approach DOOH can deliver. Taking this step to create a standardised industry approach working with the IAB and other industry partners demonstrates our commitment to an exciting and future-proofed media channel. 

Available for use by everyone working across the programmatic OOH supply chain from SSPs to DSPs, media agencies and media owners. The Glossary is one clear set of definitions creating a universal approach. 

This is the first step on a longer journey ahead - programmatic DOOH is still in its infancy and has huge potential to provide valuable results for brands. We’re committed to delivering a standardised approach that supports dynamic content, reactive creative, data-driven triggers and competitive pricing, with transparency. Programmatically traded DOOH is now a serious contender for ad spend – and industry standards make it easier to plan, trade, activate and optimise within an advertiser’s overall campaign.

Looking ahead, I’d love to see gold standard accreditation for DOOH, that incorporates the nuances of OOH while also enabling programmatic OOH to be evaluated alongside other digital channels. Programmatic OOH is a new way of trading media that has emerged from a well-established and successful medium. Digital transformation across a traditional and established advertising channel will take time, and at VIOOH we want to be at the forefront of this evolution to ensure high-quality, clarity and accessibility for everyone across the ecosystem. 

Download the DOOH Glossary here