Dubai, UAE
Campaign Breakfast Briefing, the most awaited happening of the year, gathered thought industry leaders to explore the most notable topics in out-of-home advertising on November 4.
Philip Matta, Group COO, W Group (Hypermedia & DigitAll), delved into the best practices of accelerating the digital out-of-home (DOOH) growth in 2023 through an insightful session called “out-of-home signs of progress”, highlighting the driving forces behind out-of-home (OOH) evolution and the valuable contribution of W Group to this sector.
From measurement to innovation, all facets of outdoor advertising have been tapped into by influential experts and panelists. They outlined tech advancements, metrics, data, measurement, transparency, and much more. W Group was an inspirational pole in the discussions, bringing out everything up-and-coming in OOH/DOOH advertising. Philip Matta, Group COO, weighed in with his expert input through the OOH Signs of Progress session.
“Digital out of home has been growing for years in this region, specifically with a huge turnaround in the UAE. It has been our vision as W group since 2009 when we started with Dubai Mall and identified the potential of digital, and we’ve been committed to investing a lot in this technology. Through our sister company DigitAll, the tech arm of the group, we always know what’s up next, we catch globally trending technologies”, accentuated Matta on the key role technology being conducive to DOOH thrive in the UAE.
He shed light on the OOH advancements witnessed today vs. 5 years ago, “The advantage of digital, specifically signage, is that computers can do anything… but now basically the software and technology are all over the place in facial recognition, triggers, connectivity, interaction, measurement tools…these are all available today;” also recognizing the contribution of these advancements from a sustainability point of view.
When discussing measurement tools and their effective implementation, W Group focalizes on the eminence of all stakeholders collaborating to build a supply chain that benefits both customers and business, an ecosystem that is safe, efficient, effective, transparent, accountable, and properly moderated.
Matta built on his colleagues’ takes, “As a media owner, our responsibility is to make sure first we have digital signage and then we have the technology, capability, and smartness of being able to offer bidding as an industry as well not just as a sole owner of certain verticals of media. We are programmatic-capable on all our assets. We have all the technology behind it… and we have a long way to go in the region in a few years when programmatic becomes a more reliable source of income. We have digitized all our sites; we make sure our technologies are up to the standards and always ahead of global trends.”
W Group’s leading impact is proclaimed by being aligned all the way with Dubai’s vision. “We just completed the largest digital network in public transport. In phase 2, we’re transforming them to smart signages, where we can target the relevant content to relevant audience,” emphasized Matta W Group’s partnership with the roads and transport authority (RTA).
The OOH landscape has been bolstered by two major players: creativity and storytelling. “The basic advantage of static vs. digital is that digital is more flexible, more attractive, and more impactful. We have audios, videos, 3D contents, and AR is now enabled; so, creativity is more of an added impact…and agencies are realizing this importance,” Matta called to attention.
He further exemplified his perspective of being able to project a story on a certain bridge and the user is following up with the story while passing by the next bridge. This capability has been also unlocked in malls with a focus on increasing user interactivity with ads.
W Group is going flat-out to a higher futuristic level by pushing for an in-depth exploration socio-demographics, hastening DOOH advertising growth.
As per Matta, From the media ownership perspective, W Group makes sure all marketers have all the technologies, all the flexibility…it’s capable of implementing. “This is where we are, and this where our vision is, to be a media tech experience to offer,” pointing out W Group’s status and vision of keep spearheading the leading media tech company in the OOH sector in the UAE region.
