It is a powerful tool of influence on society that shapes values, encourages good deeds, and changes attitudes toward important topics. That is why social campaigns on digital billboards, digital screens, or through other DOOH (Digital Out of Home) formats are becoming a noticeable part of the urban environment and daily remind people about the importance of donation, charity, or road safety.

New technologies, such as pDOOH and Programmatic DOOH, open up additional opportunities for effective communication of social ideas. Thanks to video wall software and modern players for digital signage, messages instantly change depending on the time of day, weather, or events in the city, which increases the relevance and credibility of such advertising.

Why outdoor advertising is effective for social projects

One of the key advantages of DOOH solutions for social advertising is the variety of formats and the scale of reach. On one platform, you can communicate about charity, a healthy lifestyle, or responsible behavior in different ways. It is exactly digital screens and video walls, configured through professional software, that allow you to communicate with the audience in the most modern and flexible ways.

Another important advantage is the impact through repetition. People who pass by or drive past the same digital sign or billboard every day subconsciously remember the message. Even if the viewer does not pay special attention, the repetition of a bright visualization and a short slogan quickly forms an association. These features of DOOH technologies are especially important for social topics: a sudden reminder of a donation program or a safe traffic campaign can save lives.

Visual markers in a modern city create a special social space that affects the atmosphere and consciousness of residents. DOOH and Programmatic DOOH provide an opportunity to precisely control what citizens see at different times and in different locations, thanks to analytics and automated settings of digital signage players.

Moreover, outdoor advertising is a channel that simultaneously covers all layers of the population. It is seen by students, drivers, pensioners, and office workers. It is thanks to the combination of broad reach, flexible settings through video wall software, and data analysis that social messages become available to the widest possible audience. And the larger the reach, the stronger the impact of the advertising campaign on public consciousness.

The influence of outdoor advertising on offline sales

Modern formats of outdoor advertising, especially Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) and bright LED billboards, become an effective tool to stimulate purchases when the consumer is near the point of sale. It is known that people who have seen attractive video ads or digital signage near a store just a few hours before shopping are more likely to go inside. This phenomenon is especially noticeable for fast food outlets, supermarkets, and stores of everyday goods—here, properly used DOOH software allows you to hit the “moment of truth” when the client is ready to make a purchase.

Thanks to modern digital signage players, sellers have the opportunity to quickly change videos and adapt content for a certain hour or even mood of the audience. This supports constant interest, as well as announces current promotions without delays and complicated preparations. Dynamic video ads on digital signage become the final push to visit a store or café right now.

Choosing locations strategically: the importance of geography for retail

In the field of retail, almost everything depends on the proper placement of an LED billboard or digital signage. It is not just a point on the map, but a real contact with a potential buyer at the right moment of their journey. Sometimes, a single successful video ad can provide thousands of relevant contacts every day. If, however, the location is chosen poorly, even the brightest video ad or the most modern DOOH software will be noticed only by a few passersby, leading to a waste of the advertising budget.

The focus on hyperlocality is important for both large chains and small businesses. It is better to invest in placing digital signage or an LED billboard near your own store than to try to cover the whole city. This is especially prominent in the format of video advertising for essential goods: buyers are more likely to enter those stores they see nearby along their route.

Hyperlocal approaches: the closer, the better

Experts say that placing outdoor advertising, for example LED billboards, further than 600–800 meters from the store is ineffective for attracting real visitors. Digital signage should be located precisely on the way to the point of sale so that video advertising can have the maximum impact on the consumer’s choice at the right moment.

The role of geoanalytics in selecting placement locations

Modern geoanalytics services allow you to accurately track the routes of potential customers. This is very important for retail: thanks to such data, digital signage players can be placed exactly where target audiences move—near offices, shopping centers, stops, and parking lots. It is also important to consider time factors: during rush hours, some locations work best, while on weekends, completely different ones do.

Typical mistakes in outdoor advertising placement

1. Focusing only on price. Cheap spots for video advertising are often located in “dead” areas, where digital signage or LED billboards may be blocked by trees or buildings, or simply are barely visible to pedestrian traffic.

2. Ignoring seasonal changes. In summer, business districts may lose visitors, while parks and highways, on the contrary, become the most popular. That is why it is worth reviewing the placement scheme of video ads every season.

3. Lack of synchronization with offline sales. Video advertising on digital signage in one district will not give results if the point of sale is located on the other side of the city.

Overall, the use of DOOH technologies allows not only to attract consumers’ attention but also to actively stimulate offline sales through relevant, visible, and properly placed video advertising.

Economic efficiency

The use of screens for advertising and modern DOOH networks provides a significant economic advantage for the organizers of social campaigns. Thanks to the software for LED screens, it becomes possible to plan displays in detail, adapt the rotation frequency, broadcast time, and promptly change messages without additional costs for printing and installation. This allows a significant optimization of the budget and eliminates expenses for unnecessary, non-targeted displays.

DOOH display solutions make it possible to simultaneously manage a large number of advertising surfaces, ensuring maximum coverage of the target audience even for budget-limited initiatives. Thanks to automation and effective analytics, different creatives can be quickly tested and audience reactions assessed in real time during the campaign. Such approaches make social advertising on digital screens much more economically advantageous compared to traditional outdoor advertising (based on Ocean Outdoor data and Route Research studies).

Specific impact on social initiatives

The experience of conducting campaigns to attract donors, disseminate information about socially important events, or calls for responsible behavior proves the effectiveness of DOOH networks. Thanks to the high visibility of modern advertising screens and the ability to quickly change content through LED screen software, the level of citizen engagement in social initiatives increases. For example, after launching thematic videos on DOOH networks in the city center, the number of inquiries related to donation or charity often increases by 10-15% in the first month. This effect is associated with repetition, bright visualization, and a strong emotional impact, which are characteristic of digital formats.

Analytical materials of the European DOOH Association confirm that targeted display settings and rapid content updates have a direct impact on citizen behavior: in more than 20% of cases, the audience starts to act—seek information, participate in public initiatives, or change their attitude toward the proposed issues.

Evolution of influence: how DOOH advertising changes social attitudes

In the modern city, social advertising has become part of everyday life—both during the hectic morning in the metropolis and the cozy evening in residential neighborhoods. DOOH technologies allow not only broadcasting standardized slogans, but also organizing an intelligent dialogue with residents. Flash videos about road responsibility or reminders about donation appear on digital screens precisely when the moment in life around requires it. Thanks to the centralized video management system, a social campaign can quickly respond to current events or the moods of residents—from emergencies to large-scale community events.

Local relevance: the power of social advertising is defined by context

The effectiveness of outdoor social advertising depends not only on creativity, but also on the ability to reach the “right person” at the “right moment.” Analysis of movement flows, time of day, and daily routes makes it possible to place messages where they are truly needed: near educational institutions — campaigns about ecology, near hospitals — calls for blood donation, on highways — reminders about safety. DOOH advertising, with its ability to flexibly manage content through a centralized video management system, becomes maximally relevant and does not lose its sharpness even in a dense information flow.

Emotional resonance: the role of repetition and social context

One of the features of social advertising on digital billboards is its ability to “echo” in the daily life of city residents. Constant, but unobtrusive reminders through different video formats create the effect of a “second thought”: even those who at first just noticed the plot out of the corner of their eye may, after a few encounters, realize the importance of the message.

The role of DOOH in social change

DOOH technologies turn social campaigns into a truly effective tool of influence in the city. When the right message appears at the right time and place, it becomes part of everyday life, forms new habits, and promotes the development of a culture of responsible society.

Technological flexibility and the possibility of analytics make it possible to significantly increase the effectiveness of such initiatives — which means outdoor advertising is already capable of changing the urban environment and people’s attitudes for the better.

Advision — Content Management System for remote management, media planning of video and audio content broadcasting and Supply-Side Platform for monetization of advertising time. We help Digital Signage owners and DOOH advertising operators earn on advertising placement, automate workflows and build a reliable media infrastructure using our own software solutions.

Contact us if you want to increase your profit and implement the most modern technologies to solve problems!