Game-changing tactics: How to captivate your audience with DOOH for sporting events | Vistar Media | Open Mic

If you’re like a lot of marketers out there chasing the Super Bowl hype and March Madness is right around the corner, then advertising around sporting events is paramount. Whether you’re promoting sportswear, snack foods, alcoholic beverages, sports betting, or the game itself, associating your brand with these major tentpole events can have a dramatic impact on how your brand is perceived.

While TV-based sports-centric advertising has traditionally dominated the industry, increasing competition from second screens and record high ad placement costs are forcing marketers to explore alternative methods of reaching consumers at these important cultural moments.

Programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) ads are an incredibly powerful way to engage with your audience around specific sporting events in an offline environment as they move throughout the day, allowing you to be of the moments that matter to benefit when sports fans and local communities come together are most receptive to your messages.

To understand why it’s important for brands to get involved in sporting events, consider the following:

• 67% of sports fans find brands more attractive when they engage in sports sponsorships.
• 56% of fans are likely to research brands that sponsor sporting events.
• 59% of fans would choose a sponsor’s product over a competitor’s if price and quality were the same.

In this article, we’ll discuss some DOOH tactics you can use today to amplify your brand message around sporting events and maximize the relevance and impact of your investments.

Highlight stunning moments to make a splash

Most of us have experienced the fear of missing out (FOMO) at least once in our lives, and it’s a powerful feeling. A study by OptiMonster found that 60% of millennial consumers said they make a reactive purchase after experiencing FOMO, mostly within 24 hours. That makes sense – no one wants to feel like they missed out on something truly amazing, and amazing moments happen all the time in the world of esports. You can use those key game moments, big surprises, etc. to generate FOMO with fans who aren’t watching and encourage them to tune in. Also, consider using large screens in high-traffic environments like arterial roads or busy intersections that make the biggest splash.

Activate media based on movement patterns

When consumers aren’t in front of a TV or personal device, they’re commuting to work, at the gym, at the mall, out to dinner with friends, or engaging in a variety of other activities. This makes outdoor billboards, transit stations, city boards, gyms, bars, restaurants, and gas stations fantastic options for engaging with consumers while they’re a captive audience, without the interrupting quality of many other ad types (e.g., digital or pop-up). To sue).

Using geospatial technology within your DOOH programmatic platform, you can expand your reach by enabling media based on your audience’s movement patterns. This allows you to engage with your audience at multiple touchpoints throughout their day-to-day activities and solidify your message in their minds.

Prioritize specific locations during peak hours

It’s no secret that different consumer segments have different movement patterns (a fashion enthusiast is likely to visit different places than a sports fan), making it crucial to consider where your audience is most likely to be at certain times of the day. Vistar analyzes consumers’ movement patterns to create audiences based on the places they visit, so you can best reach your target as they move throughout the day.

For example, a “sports-loving” audience (ie, those who attend live sporting events at least once a month) are more likely to be in the gym from 3pm to 5pm and in a bar or restaurant from 6pm to 10pm .

Considering the places your target audience is more likely to visit at any given time, you can strategically activate screens in those locations during rush hours to maximize the relevance of your ads, increase excitement around the game, and reduce wasted budget to minimize.

Use dynamic creatives

While static outdoor advertising (like traditional billboards) is fantastic for running long-term advertising campaigns, DOOH programmatic ads offer tremendous flexibility, allowing you to share messages in near real-time. By leveraging dynamic creatives in your DOOH campaign, you can tailor your messaging before, during and after big games to always stay relevant.

Before the game: Build anticipation by showing ads that include elements such as the competing teams, game time countdowns, win/loss records, etc.

During the game: Generate excitement and increase viewership by showing real-time game updates, live scores and more.

After the game: Enforce relevance by sharing creative messages based on which team wins or loses the game; or start promoting the next upcoming match-up.

Strategically surround DMAs with your ads

Sports fandom is largely segmented geographically (i.e. certain geographic areas favor certain teams). This presents an interesting opportunity to surround specific areas of the market (DMAs) with your message based on their preferred team.

With your DOOH programmatic platform, you can use proximity targeting to activate your campaign with city-specific messages only within a certain radius of key points of interest (e.g. stadiums, bars, airports, etc. near game venues). . This ensures that your ads are much more impactful and relevant to your audience.

Make your ads mobile-friendly

It’s almost a given that smartphones are everywhere, in fact it’s estimated that almost 95% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 own a smartphone. Knowing that your target audience most likely has a smartphone presents a great opportunity to run interactive ads that elicit an immediate response from your audience. By creating ads with scannable QR codes that lead to a dedicated, trackable landing page, you can drive traffic to pages where people can tune in, download your app, place bets, and more. Additionally, you can retarget consumers who are likely to have seen your ad(s) and re-engage with them on their mobile devices to reinforce your message and drive direct actions.

Finally, using MIRA measurement, you can quantify how many mobile devices visited your landing page or took further actions like registration, subscription, app install, purchase, etc. after being exposed to DOOH campaign. This allows you to pinpoint the effectiveness of your campaign and ensure you are seeing ROI.

Final Thoughts

DOOH programmatic advertising offers a meaningful way to engage with your target audience at specific sporting events in the real world. Whether you’re trying to increase brand awareness, generate sales, increase ratings, or get more app downloads, by incorporating the tips we’ve outlined into your DOOH strategy, you’ll be well-equipped to Launch a successful campaign and achieve your goals.

Want to learn more about how to make the most of your upcoming sports campaign? Sign up today and a Vistar DOOH programmatic expert will be in touch.