New Takes on Advertising Could be Set to Go Wild

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Photo by Pedro da Silva on Unsplash.

Is normalcy coming back to much of consumer activities in the United States? Quite possibly yes, with some caveats — one being that things are looking even more intense than they were before. 

An example of this effect might be the rapidly growing digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising industry. DOOH using digital billboards, smart signs and interactive kiosks is a common sight along many highways, in malls, airports, train and bus stations, and much more. From the rise of remote work to a massive decline in foot traffic and public transit usage in cities, many traditional settings for these types of advertisements went into relative decline due to COVID-19.

However, there seems to be a change in the wind: Just in 2020, the global DOOH industry reached beyond a value of $41 billion, with conservative estimates having it reach $50 billion by 2026. Now, after a while of quieter roads, there are more people driving past billboards again, and the same goes for smart signs and other pedestrian targeted tools that have been significantly underutilized as downtowns across the country have been left eerily empty. 

Neon Out, LEDs In

With the market growing rapidly, many incumbent players may be having a difficult time catching up with a possible surge in demand after a difficult 2020, and supply chain difficulties associated with nearly every industry. The unique aspect involved in DOOH is that while much physical advertising infrastructure — such as traditional billboards and signs — does already exist, the trend seems to be moving toward digitization of existing infrastructure in addition to building new digital devices. 

Making DOOH Even Smarter

However, innovative DOOH AI company Alfi ALF — whose stock has been on a massive bull run since the middle of June — is projecting that things could be even bigger and more advantageous for DOOH companies than previously thought of due to disruptive new technologies like its own AI-powered advertising systems. 

As enormous numbers of people go back to being outside and encountering DOOH advertising at a much higher rate than 2020, the market could be ripe for change and innovation in addition to rapid growth. “People are rushing to get outdoors and the new platform of advertising is DOOH, and Alfi's technology is well-positioned to capture this surge,” Alfi founder and CEO Paul Pereira stated. "With our technology platform and fundamental principles this market is much larger than anybody anticipates as ALFI also plays in the Digital Online market delivering privacy compliant, real-time data reporting using no cookies. This market is in excess of $600 billion and we are going after it in a major way."

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.