Val Morgan is rolling out real-time programmatic trading for digital outdoor screens on its PumpTV network so that advertisers can directly target customers on a one to one basis. The first clients to take it up are Optus, GIO and Subaru.
Val Morgan is working with Starcom MediaVest and Videology and believes that the technology will evolve to mean other digital outdoor ad sites can be traded programmatically.
Currently, digital outdoor is targeted by day part, with different creative shown at different times of day. The PumpTV trial uses the facial recognition technology built into the screens to identify gender and age. Coupled with the geo-location information the screens then serve relevant content to target the demographic profile of whoever is using the petrol pump.
Anthony Deeble, managing director of Val Morgan's outdoor business, told AdNews that the company isn’t aware of any other digital outdoor being traded in this way in Australia.
Because its digital screen network in petrol station forecourts is a one-to-one advertising opportunity, the content is specifically targeted to whoever is right in front of it. The programmatic element, he said, is not that the inventory is biddable in real-time, but that it is served automatically, in real-time, based on targeting who is in front of the screen.
He added that the technology will evolve to allow advertisers to bid for inventory in real-time. But that for now, "it's not the objective".
Deeble wouldn't be drawn on how the technology alters the cost of the inventory for advertisers but said that it is a premium ad site.
“It's a highly focused audience and it will lead to a change in pricing as there is an opportunity around yield. We're not making the decision on content, it's based on the audience,” he said.
Jason Tonelli, executive director of digital at Starcom MediaVest Group called it “game changing” for digital outdoor and point of sale advertising and told AdNews that it is expected to deliver better ROI and ad recall than more standard day-part targeted ads, but also reduce wastage.
Tonelli also said that he expects more traditional digital out of home billboards to be traded programmatically within the next 12 months as technologies from elsewhere, particularly the US, emerge and make inventory accessible.
Deeble added that by allowing inventory to be traded programmatically, it makes digital outdoor part of advertisers' broader connected screen strategy alongside cinema, TV and mobile.
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