Choosing KPIs for a DOOH campaign

Most DOOH campaigns get judged on whatever number is easiest to pull. That's rarely the number that matters. DOOH KPIs, the key performance indicators for digital out-of-home advertising, should follow directly from the campaign's objective. Some measure whether the campaign ran as planned. Others measure whether it changed anything. A good plan uses both, and keeps them separate.

DOOH means digital out-of-home: advertising on digital screens in public places, from roadside billboards to screens inside stores.

Which KPIs measure delivery?

Delivery KPIs answer a simple question: did the campaign run as booked? They include the number of screens live during the flight, the number of times the ad played, the dates it ran and whether the right creative ran in the right locations.

These are the foundation. If delivery fell short, outcome measures can't be interpreted fairly. A campaign that ran in half the planned stores for half the planned time didn't get a real test.

Delivery KPIs are also where reach and frequency come in. Reach is the number of different people exposed to an ad. Frequency is how many times, on average, each one saw it. In DOOH, both are estimated from audience data rather than counted directly, so it's worth understanding how any network calculates them.

Which KPIs measure outcomes?

Outcome KPIs answer the harder question: did the campaign change anything? For in-store media, the most direct outcome measures usually involve sales of the promoted products in the stores where the ads ran.

The strongest version compares advertised stores with similar stores that didn't run the campaign over the same period. That comparison separates the campaign's effect from seasonality, promotions and other changes happening at the same time. Store-level sales data, such as the scan data analyzed by NRS Insights, is the kind of source that can support that comparison.

Other outcome KPIs include share of category in advertised stores, distribution changes if the campaign supported a sell-in effort, and brand measures from surveys if awareness is the goal.

What should you avoid?

Using delivery as outcome. A high play count proves the ad ran. It doesn't prove anyone bought more. Reports that lead with impressions and stop there are describing effort, not effect.

Too many KPIs. A dashboard with fifteen measures invites cherry-picking. Pick one primary outcome KPI and a small number of supporting ones.

Moving the goalposts. Choosing KPIs after seeing results makes almost any campaign look successful. Agree on them before launch and report on them even if they disappoint.

Comparing without controls. A rise in sales during a campaign might reflect the season or a price cut. Without comparison stores, it's hard to say what the campaign contributed.

How do you match KPIs to in-store screens?

Start from the objective. If it's trial of a new item, the primary KPI might be weekly units per store in advertised stores versus controls. If it's local awareness, it might be a survey measure in the target zip codes. If it's supporting a distributor's sell-in, it might be distribution gains in the targeted stores.

Then check what's available. Different networks provide different reporting. Ask the NRS Digital Media team what delivery and outcome reporting your campaign can use, and plan the KPIs around what can actually be measured.

Finally, set expectations. Some effects take time to appear, and some are small relative to normal week-to-week variation. A KPI plan that explains how results will be read, and what size of change would be meaningful, prevents disappointment later. More about the network is on the NRS Digital Media site.