DEV Community: Natalia

Driving Engagement and Impact: How Targeting Enhances Digital Out-of-Home Campaigns

Natalia — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 11:50:26 +0000

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) is a new technology that allows the use of digital signage and screens to advertise and promote goods and services. Recently, DOOH has become very popular in various business fields such as marketing, advertising, entertainment, etc. In this article, we will look at what DOOH is, how it can be used to achieve business goals, its advantages and disadvantages, relevant global trends, and the current market situation.

Basics of DOOH

DOOH includes digital billboards on the streets, screens in the underground, interactive designs in public spaces, and much more. The targeting and analytics capabilities of outdoor advertising campaigns are rapidly approaching the accuracy of online advertising. DOOH makes it possible to target ads by geolocation, time of day, gender, age and interests, and to show ads when the proportion of the target audience is higher near the advertising structure.

You can create and run a DOOH campaign yourself on programmatic platforms – services for the automatic purchase of advertising (such as MediaMath, AdRoll, or Adobe Advertising Cloud). These platforms allow you to set the target audience, display time and locations for placement. The basic payment model is auction-based; the platform determines in real time how many of the target audience will see the advert and chooses the optimal moment to show the advert.

Information about the audience is collected using a Wi-Fi monitoring system that identifies the user by the MAC address of a phone or other gadget. The companies also collect operator data on geolocation and video analytics from cameras that are embedded in the advertising structure. It is noteworthy that all user information is anonymous.

The network of digital screens can also use data from the Internet, such as the current weather, the situation on the road or the score in a match. At the same time, it can be integrated with the company’s information system.

Modern DOOH campaigns are often built according to the following lifecycle:

Selection of the address program;
Calculation of the forecast using retrodata analysis;
Purchasing on programmatic platforms and online targeting;
Instant retargeting on the Internet;
Analysis and evaluation of the final audience;
Evaluation of effectiveness and conversion.

Global Trends in DOOH and Modern Ways of Working with Data
Nowadays, there are multiple universal DOOH trends that are applicable all around the world. They are:

The use of programmatic platforms for sales;
Omnichannel;
Building probabilistic models of interest from historical data;
Static heat maps;
Dynamic heat maps based on GPS technologies.

If you want your DOOH campaign to be successful, it should be in line with all the leading trends listed above. Furthermore, you have to be acquainted with the most advanced ways of working with data, which are:

Video analytics (recognising cars, brands and licence plates online);
WiFi traps and MAC address analysis;
Bluetooth tags;
Cell phone tower data.

Current Market Situation

At the end of 2020, the Russian advertising market did not decline as much as many foreign markets. Its total volume decreased by only 4%, whereas DOOH decreased by 22%. During the lockdown, audiences were confined to their homes and advertisers postponed placements or cancelled campaigns. However, from the end of 2020, the market began to recover rapidly and resumed its previous pace.

Moreover, as former Deloitte’s analysts have figured out, it is to digital outdoor advertising that the audience remains most loyal today. The company notes that citizens tend to respond positively to those types of advertising that do not interfere with their personal space. In this sense, billboards on the street beat many other channels: they do not interrupt your film and do not distract from business like intrusive telephone marketing. At the same time, DOOH currently remains one of the most visible to audiences, ranking in the top three alongside TV advertising and in-store promotions.

In Russia, the interest in DOOH advertising has been recently fueled and its share of operators’ revenues grew from 25% to 31% on average.

Targeting

One of the key DOOH concepts, targeting is the process of selecting the audience to which advertising messages or content are delivered. Targeting can be based on various criteria such as gender, age, location, interests, online behaviour, etc. The aim of targeting is to identify the target audience as accurately as possible and to show them exactly the advertising messages that are of interest to them.

The simplest targeting is targeting by structures and their location in the user’s path or near the advertised object. There is also more complex targeting using heat maps: the city map is coloured according to the consumer’s chosen parameters (e.g. social demographics or interests). As a result, advertisers can target their advertising not to a specific location, but directly to the desired audience, which greatly influences the final result. Today, the classic DOOH is gradually transitioning into the programmatic one, the principal advantage of which is that targeting can be adjusted in real time. One of the breakthrough features of DOOH is the technology for maximising target reach. This means that an ad is only broadcast when the target audience is present in the viewing area of a particular advertising screen.

An example of a targeting map. Source: Mapping Analytics

Let’s have a look at Profitator’s case study with the Spirit.Fitness chain:

The agency ran two advertising campaigns in DOOH (88 and 90 screens respectively). The target audience was men and women aged 20 to 60 with an interest in “sports and active recreation”. The average share of the brand’s target audience in the stream was 19%. The mechanism used in February reached more than 1.5 million users and increased the target audience share within the placement to 44%, while the advertising campaign in March reached more than 1.8 million users and increased the share to 50%. The ROI for both flights was 161% and 219% respectively. It is an astonishing result reached thanks to DOOH and proper targeting.

Key Analytical Indicators
The success of a DOOH campaign is usually assessed according to the following analytical indicators:

OTS – the number of contacts with the audience;
Reach – the number of unique contact with the audience;
Frequency / Effective Frequency – an average number of contacts with advertising material per person;
Target Audience – the percentage of the advertiser’s preferred audience (men, women, football players, etc.)
Affinity Index (AFF) – the indicator of audience shift towards an increase in the target audience in relation to the average distribution of target audience along the way.

The effectiveness of an advertising campaign can be also evaluated by three measurement products:

Brand Lift – evaluates the improvement of brand metrics (brand awareness, ad recall, product consideration, and purchase intent) through online surveys;
Sales Lift – assesses how DOOH helped increase sales;
Completion Rate – measures the contribution of DOOH in attracting offline and online visitors.

Russia is rightfully considered one of the world leaders and trendsetters in DOOH, so let’s look at some real examples of how to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising campaigns in this very market:

The Carousel (a Russian supermarket chain) advertising campaign used Sales Lift to evaluate its effectiveness. Such an approach was applied together with the use of business data. According to the results of the campaign, the increase in transactions was 27.9%. It turned out that DOOH can have a significant impact on the growth of traffic, transactions and new customers. In addition, the flexibility of programmatic settings allows optimisation of the campaign in many ways (change of creatives, time targeting).
The Tinkoff (the world’s largest online bank) project team increased the completion rate by using their own pixel – simple and open enough to be tested even in the banking sector. The pixel was installed on the Tinkoff website. According to the results of the advertising campaign, the use of DOOH provided a 43% increase in conversion to the site.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, DOOH offers a plethora of competitive advantages, combining the benefits of outdoor and online advertising:

Large audience reach;
Fast launch and customisation of the ad;
Collection of data to analyse effectiveness;
Budget optimisation and real-time bid adjustment based on audience reach;
Dynamic video attracts attention and is not blocked by the user’s programs as on the Internet;
Suitable for any business regardless of size and advertising budget;
Flexible conditions – you can run a national ad or a small campaign for 1-2 days with placement on a billboard.

However, there are some drawbacks, such as deployment in large cities only (due to expensive hardware and software) and the problems of identifying the entire traffic. Despite this, DOOH is an important tool for promoting products and services in today’s digital world. Through the use of digital technology, DOOH enables companies to achieve their objectives such as increasing sales, raising brand awareness and attracting new customers. In addition, DOOH can be used to create a more personalised experience for consumers, which can lead to increased loyalty and repeat purchases. Overall, DOOH is an indispensable tool for successful business promotion in the modern world riddled with digital technologies.

Data-Powered Accessibility: How to Build Inclusive Product for Any User Need

Natalia — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 13:36:24 +0000

The rapid development of technologies gives unprecedented opportunities for reshaping the world to make it a better place for everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. No wonder that digital transformation has set new standards for product design, demanding that every product is not only user-friendly but also inclusive. The advent of Big Data marks a pivot in technological advancement when vast troves of varied information can power the creation of products that cater to all needs of every person on earth. In this article, we will explore how Big Data can help pave the way to a more accessible and inclusive future for all.

The Power of Big Data in Product Design

Big Data, defined by its immense scale, variety, velocity, and veracity, has turned into an indispensable tool for product development. In the context of accessibility of products for users with varying abilities, Big Data refers to gathering, analyzing, and leveraging vast datasets containing user interactions, preferences, and challenges. This is key to a better understanding of accessibility requirements and bridging the gaps in current designs. This data-driven approach goes beyond traditional methods by enabling the analysis of complex patterns and predicting future needs, thereby ensuring products are truly inclusive.

The creation of inclusive design nowadays entails collecting, analyzing, and processing large sets of varied data from various sources. User demographics and behavioral data are foundational as they shed light on who the users are, including their age, gender, and geographic location, among other things, and how they interact with products, including their interactions, clicks, navigation paths, and dwell times. Other sources of valuable data include surveys and feedback, which are direct input from users who open up about their experiences, challenges, preferences, and needs. It is worth mentioning the data that assistive tools like screen readers or voice commands and wearable technologies like smart watches can present to product designers.

Big tech corporations, with their vast resources for collecting and processing data, are leading the way in leveraging Big Data for accessibility. One such example is global tech leader Microsoft, which has been leveraging data analytics to refine its products by taking advantage of its diverse global user base. In particular, the company created 'Seeing AI', an app designed for the visually impaired community. By harnessing Big Data insights on how these users interact with technology, Microsoft was able to create an app that uses AI to narrate the world around them, thus providing a more inclusive user experience. The project's success underscores the potential of Big Data in developing solutions that transcend traditional accessibility boundaries, truly embodying the ethos of designing with, not for, users with disabilities.

Analyzing User Demographics for Inclusivity

User needs are defined by a variety of features that define various demographics ranging from age, nationality, and gender to profession, hobbies, physical and cognitive abilities. Companies must understand these characteristics in order to create a true portrait of their users and build products that meet their needs.
This procedure begins with the careful collection of demographic data, such as surveys, user feedback forms, and online behaviour.

Following that, advanced analytics tools, machine learning algorithms, and artificial intelligence are used to decode patterns, identify user needs, and forecast future trends. The insights gained during the process serve as the foundation for product ideation, development, and iteration, ensuring consistent alignment with user needs and preferences.

Many product designers struggle with finding the right balance between personalization and universal design. On one end, there's personalization, which involves tailoring products to individual user preferences, needs, and data. Such design can greatly improve user experience by making products feel custom-made for each individual. Universal design, on the other hand, makes products that are accessible and usable by everyone, regardless of age, ability, or any other factor. It's a one-size-fits-all approach that prioritises inclusivity. However, this does not imply that these approaches are mutually exclusive. A happy medium can be found by using demographic data to inform universal design principles, resulting in a base product that is accessible to all. Personalization features can then be layered on top, allowing users to tweak and adjust based on their specific needs. Companies can offer products that are both broadly accessible and deeply personal by combining the strengths of both strategies.

Understanding User Behavior for Inclusive Features

A path to a more accessible product design lies in carefully monitoring and analyzing how users interact with a product. This allows developers to clearly define specific areas where users may be having difficulty due to a lack of accessibility. For example, if a user takes a circuitous route through an application, spending more time than expected may indicate accessibility issues. In this case, user behaviour data, in conjunction with data derived from user feedback, can serve as a critical source for obtaining a comprehensive picture of product accessibility.

User journey mapping, which visualises the user experience from beginning to end, is perhaps the most important process for identifying accessibility gaps. It begins with selecting various user personas with varying abilities for a user journey. Every interaction, emotion, and potential barrier is mapped as these personas interact with a product. This map, especially when supplemented with feedback from real users with disabilities, sheds light on areas where the user experience may degrade due to accessibility issues.

Predictive analytics is another popular tool for increasing accessibility. It is used to predict when a user might benefit from an accessibility feature by analysing past user behaviours. Constant monitoring allows designers to anticipate user behaviour trends and stay ahead of the curve, ensuring accessibility is always a step ahead rather than a reaction.

Designing Inclusive Features with Data Insights

AI's pervasive transformative power has opened up entirely new horizons in inclusive design opportunities. One of the most significant effects of AI is the ability to learn and adapt while users interact with products. This allows AI to gain insight into individual behaviours and preferences, ensuring that the interface is tailored to each user's specific needs. Voice recognition technologies, for example, allow users to interact with their voice, making the user experience easier and more convenient for visually impaired people. Similarly, AI-driven image recognition can now describe visuals to the visually impaired, closing a previously unbridgeable gap.

The AI-powered continuous collection of user-specific data enables saving accessibility preferences and better suiting the product for a user right during the interaction process. As the system learns more about user behaviour and preferences, it may even start to suggest tools or features proactively, ensuring that every user feels seen and catered to.

One of the most notable characteristics of the AI-driven quest for perfect accessibility is that it is a never-ending process that evolves in tandem with technologies and user needs. Developers can make informed decisions about where to focus their efforts by collecting feedback on a regular basis and relying on data-driven insights. Testing the product with a variety of user groups ensures that it remains inclusive and that any unintentional biases are avoided. This feedback, testing, and refining cycle ensures that, as the digital landscape evolves, the commitment to accessibility remains rock-solid.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

While collecting extensive user data allows designers to better understand consumer behaviour and tailor products to be more accessible than ever before, it also raises ethical concerns. Collecting data on how users with disabilities interact with a product, for example, can aid in the development of special accessibility features. At the same time, the fact that this information is being collected implies that it can be mishandled, shared, or sold without explicit consent, which is a serious breach of personal data security. Misuse of data endangers the most marginalised groups, who can be disproportionately affected. The key strategies for addressing this issue should include companies obtaining informed consent from users on data collection practises, limiting the amount of data collected to the essential information, and storing data securely to prevent data leaks.

Another accessibility-linked problem is the bias in design, which is referred to the design of the product that assume all users have the same physical abilities can exclude those with disabilities. For example, a mobile app that relies heavily on swiping gestures may not be accessible to someone with a motor impairment. Bias in design can exclude large segments of potential users and consumers, while developers may inadvertently incorporate biases based on their own experiences or limitations in understanding the diverse user base.

The strategies to avoid bias in design include various approaches like using varied and inclusive data sets during the development phase to train algorithms, attracting external experts to evaluate the design for any unconscious biases and interacting with the user community in the development process to identify and eliminate biases.

Legal frameworks such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States, or the Equality Act in the United Kingdom, set certain standards for accessibility. GDPR in the EU, and its global equivalents, govern how user data should be handled. Non-compliance can result in heavy fines and reputational damage. The compliance strategies may include liaising with experts in accessibility and data privacy law and conducting audits.

The Future of Inclusive Product Design

The evolving technologies like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are furthering the accessibility opportunities. For example, AR could overlay sign language interpreters during a live event, while IoT devices can automate tasks for people with mobility issues.
Leveraging new technologies can ensure accessibility for all individuals, regardless of ability, heralding a shift towards a user-centric culture in product design. This shift requires not only designers but also marketers, engineers, and executives to align their strategies to consider the end-user experience.

Conclusion

With the rise of the Internet, it is becoming increasingly clear that the world is very diverse, which means that one-size-fits-all solutions are becoming a thing of the past. Modern technologies help to bring about change, making the world more accessible to all. While the challenges of this process are multifaceted, ranging from ethical concerns about data privacy to potential biases and regulatory hurdles, the rewards are enormous, both morally and in terms of market reach. By integrating emerging technologies and fostering a user-centric design culture, we can make a truly inclusive world a thing of reality.