Smart Cities Out of Home Hubs Connected TV

The United Nations has accelerated the implementation of programs aimed at securing a resilient, green and inclusive future for the world's cities and their inhabitants, with international guidelines on people-centred smart cities to be adopted in May next year.

Digital technology is absolutely a necessary tool for transforming how each of us live in our cities, experiences our cities and how cities are managed and planned.

Emerging trends in smart city development—such as 5G networks, autonomous transportation and AI-driven urban management and entertainment events—are redefining real estate. These advancements enhance the appeal of smart cities and increase portfolio demand in property values.

Arabian Contracting Services Co. recently announced that its UAE sector’s Al Arabia OOH Digital Company has been granted the rights for digital outdoor billboards in Dubai worth more than $142 million (AED 522 million).

The properties include 85 digital billboards and 209 static billboards of different types and sizes. Smart cities like Dubai can leverage their public urban transit infrastructure hubs to partner with digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising on CTV.

OSNtv’s direct-to-the-home set-top boxes in the UAE provide the context for this advanced ad partnership. Nielsen research shows OSN’s DTH households are highly sought after, with above-average disposable income, making them difficult to reach through free-to-air TV or streaming platforms. This innovative solution could underscore OSNtv’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge OOH technology as follows:

Smart City Digital OOH

Integration of Digital : Integrate digital screens and interactive displays into public transit stations, bus stops, and transit vehicles to provide passengers with real-time information, entertainment, and targeted advertising content.

Location-Based Targeting: Utilise location-based targeting capabilities to deliver relevant and contextual advertising messages to commuters based on their proximity to specific transit hubs, landmarks, or commercial districts.

Dynamic Content Delivery: Deploy dynamic content delivery systems to showcase targeted advertising messages that change based on factors such as time of day, weather conditions, and passenger demographics, ensuring maximum impact and relevance.

Data-Driven Insights: Leverage data analytics and audience measurement technologies to gather insights into passenger behavior, foot traffic patterns, and dwell times at transit hubs, enabling advertisers to optimize campaign strategies and measure the effectiveness of their ads.

Strategic Partnerships: Forge partnerships with digital OOH advertising networks and media agencies to monetise advertising inventory at transit hubs through programmatic buying, direct sales, and revenue-sharing agreements.

Innovative Ad Formats: Experiment with innovative ad formats such as augmented reality (AR), interactive touchscreens, and experiential activations to create engaging and memorable advertising experiences for commuters.

Smart City Goals: Align DOOH advertising initiatives with broader smart city objectives such as urban mobility, sustainability, and citizen engagement, demonstrating the value of digital signage and enhancing public transit infrastructure to improve the quality of life for residents and visitors.

By leveraging their public urban transit infrastructure hubs in collaboration with digital OOH advertising networks, smart cities like Dubai can create new revenue streams, enhance tourism experience, and contribute to the overall vibrancy and attractiveness of their urban environments.

Smart City CTV

Secondly, to loop OOH advertising campaigns on sites with the same target audience on connected TV in their home, the advertising display network can employ the following strategies:

Cross-Channel Targeting: Utilise data-driven audience segmentation and targeting capabilities to identify consumers who have been exposed to OOH advertising campaigns in specific locations and re-target them with connected TV ads in their homes. This ensures continuity and reinforces the messaging across multiple channels.

Data Integration: Integrate data from OOH advertising campaigns, including location-based audience insights and campaign performance metrics, with connected TV advertising platforms. This allows advertisers to create custom audience segments based on OOH exposure and deliver targeted ads to the same audience on their home TV screens.

Sequential Messaging: Implement sequential messaging strategies that deliver a series of connected TV ads to consumers who have been exposed to OOH advertising in the same campaign sequence. This ensures a cohesive and consistent brand narrative across both offline and online channels.

Geo-Fencing and Geo-Targeting: Use geo-fencing and geo-targeting technologies to define virtual boundaries around specific OOH advertising locations and target consumers within those areas with connected TV ads when they are at home. This allows advertisers to reach consumers with relevant messaging based on their physical location and behaviour.

Frequency Capping and Ad Scheduling: Set frequency capping and ad scheduling parameters to control the number of times consumers are exposed to connected TV ads following OOH advertising exposure. This prevents overexposure and ensures a balanced ad experience for the target audience.

Attribution and Measurement: Implement robust attribution and measurement frameworks to track the effectiveness of integrated OOH and connected TV advertising campaigns. This allows advertisers to measure cross-channel campaign performance, optimise media spend, and demonstrate ROI to stakeholders.

With two of the top 10 smart cities in the world in Switzerland, smart cities could become even smarter with the application of AI, both in infrastructure development and analysis of data.

Smart City Future

Recently, emerging trends in smart city development—such as 5G networks, autonomous transportation and AI-driven urban management and entertainment events—are redefining real estate. These advancements enhance the appeal of smart cities and increase portfolio demand in property values in GCC.

MENA Region

Africa is undergoing a rapid urbanisation process, with more than half of its population expected to live in cities by 2030.

Showmax recently announced a target of 50 million subscribers and $1 billion in revenue over the next five years, amid intense competition with Netflix in Africa’s video streaming industry. In 2020, Showmax acquired the rights to stream HBO's content in Africa, indexing local content through global partnerships.

Kenya

Nairobi Konza is home to a new vibrant innovation ecosystem that fosters creativity and entrepreneurship among its young population. The city hosts several tech hubs, incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces for ICT networking, and funding opportunities for start-ups and innovators.

Konza Technopolis is a smart city, with an integrated urban information and communication technology (ICT) network that supports delivery of connected urban services and allows for efficient management of those services on a large scale.

As a smart city, Konza will gather data from smart devices and sensors embedded in the urban environment, such as roadways, buildings, and other assets. Collected data will be shared via a smart communications system and be analyzed by software that delivers valuable information and digitally enhanced services to Konza’s population.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM initiative has proposed a $50 million investment in the Web3 gaming and investment company Animoca Brands. NEOM’s investment division has teamed up with Animoca to further Web3 projects in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy.

Saudi Arabia and the region already boasts a US$6 billion video gaming industry. NEOM is creating a regional hub, a focal point for industry, talent, creatives and collaboration. A fully integrated campus, unlike any other, harnessing the most advanced technologies and environments to stimulate creativity and streaming business opportunities.

Shahid VIP will overtake Netflix, with its subscriber base to rise from 3 million to nearly 6 million by 2029. Netflix which had 3.8 million subscribers at end-2023 is expected to reach 5.6 million subscribers by 2029. The Saudi government owns a majority stake in MBC Group.

Saudi Arabia offers a 40% cash rebate on qualifying spend for international screen productions. This includes expenses related to hiring Saudi talent, using local facilities, and promoting the country.

This exciting partnership is an integral part of the NEOM Media Hub. Currently being incubated, the studio is producing high-production-value games for local, regional and international gamers, and will relocate to NEOM to act as a catalyst for the gaming ecosystem.

Dubai, UAE

In the UAE, Dubai's Visa Program for Gaming 2033’, will focus on three main areas including talent, content, and tech. The initiative aims to create a global platform in Dubai that brings together digital content creators and provides training and job opportunities in partnership with international companies, universities and academic institutions. It will also support entrepreneurs and innovators to launch educational and training programmes.

The 'Dubai Visa Program for Gaming 2033' objective is to establish an incubating environment for developers to draw leading technology companies from across the globe, specialising in digital content experiences. The program will support developers, designers, programmers, as well as entrepreneurs and startups in the creative industries.

A smart city could also use its AI facial recognition citizen data technology in an OOH campaign by anonymously analysing demographic information and real-time emotions of foot traffic to dynamically tailor ad content and public service messages for enhanced relevance and audience engagement.

By integrating OOH with connected TV campaigns and leveraging data-driven targeting and measurement capabilities, advertisers can create seamless cross-channel experiences that engage consumers at different touch points and drive interactive destinations for brands.

Smart City Events

Become a Smart City and host the 2025 Ad Forum and Stream On Awards. We're looking for the next Smart City to host the Connected TV Advertising Forum and Stream On Awards to 2030.

Ad Forum and Stream On are developing the world's biggest live-streaming cloud gaming conference and awards for Connected TV. Become an international host city and annual destination hub for the future of gaming, commerce, advertising and global entertainment.

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