The Challenge of Unified Metrics in the OOH Market

According to Rodolfo Thomé Araújo, Commercial Director at MOVI, out-of-home measurement is still seeking a unified standard in Brazil. Speaking with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast, Araújo pointed out that although industry bodies like the Associação Brasileira de Out-of-Home and Central de Outdoor operate in the sector, outdoor media lacks a third-party standardization organization like other channels: "There is no external research institute, you know, to conduct measurement the way we have for TV, for instance. There, you have an institute with a single, audited metric that everyone looks at, and that metric is the validated standard. Today, that still doesn't happen for OOH."

In the video above, which also covers other dimensions of outdoor media, Araújo explains how the market works with metrics such as total impressions, impact, reach, and frequency, while different companies build distinct methodologies to calculate results. Cross-referencing mobile data and geofencing tools helps estimate foot traffic across media circuits, but it runs into privacy and legal boundaries. According to Araújo, Brazil's General Data Protection Law (LGPD) restricts audience demographic breakdown: "So, I have an estimate of how many people passed by a given location, but I can't know whether they are men or women, right?"

Another obstacle to standardizing metrics lies in each municipality's transit infrastructure. Unlike the digital environment, physical media varies according to local transportation networks. Araújo cites structural differences between state capitals as an example, noting that São Paulo features an extensive rail and subway network, whereas Belo Horizonte lacks rail transit on a comparable scale: "The physical world has its distinctions. You have more public transit in one city than in another, right?" In light of these geographic nuances, OOH companies continue combining technologies and partner data to improve the accuracy of reporting delivered to the market.