Ubimo, a Quotient brand, is a Location Intelligence technology company that powers Out-of-Home sales, planning, measurement, and programmatic buying. The audience building capabilities allow Ubimo to activate real-world behaviors by unifying cross-device and online/offline data, creating granular views of shopper foot traffic, and improving campaign performance.
The Place Exchange team spoke with Ubimo's Gilad Amitai and Norm Chait.
What's your role at Ubimo?
Gilad: I lead revenue and operations for our Out-of-Home (OOH) and media platform businesses.
Norm: I own the OOH product and my role is focused around selling and sharing the value of OOH to brands.
What are some recent company and personal milestones?
Gilad: The recent acquisition by Quotient is probably our most significant company milestone to date because we are now able to bring OOH and Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) to the shopper and CPG world. We have been focusing on connecting Quotient’s proprietary and exclusive data sets on consumer intent and purchases with Ubimo's sophisticated data and planning tools. As for a recent personal milestone, I have been adapting to three children being at home while focusing on my work. I’ve also had to learn how to lead a team dealing with similar hurdles while working 100% from a remote location during this pandemic.
Norm: As one of the few DSPs custom built for OOH with a particular strength in CPG, we have an incredibly powerful story to tell. Thanks to our strong relationship with Place Exchange, we have access to a large variety of DOOH media types and inventory. As for a personal milestone, after working for MANY years in this industry, what stands out to me is how invigorating it is to be learning every day! Our industry is rapidly adopting Programmatic OOH as the future, so being on the forefront of that with an industry leading DSP and partners as sophisticated as Place Exchange is exciting.
How have you seen the digital OOH landscape change over the last few years?
Gilad: Without a doubt, the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the growth and adoption of DOOH. From a CPG perspective, we're reaching consumers at a very valuable and significant time. Although the common idea in the market was that people are staying at home leading to less exposure to OOH, the reality is that there is much more focused and purposeful exposure. DOOH, and especially Programmatic DOOH, has been such an effective channel during this unprecedented time to engage with consumers. With Programmatic DOOH, we have the ability to move budgets in real-time, change the messaging and more—which is incredibly valuable at the current moment.
Norm: I’m seeing so much positive change around DOOH. As DOOH inventory expands and becomes increasingly available to advertisers, it gives us greater opportunity to transact and bring solutions forward. The shift towards audience-driven planning rooted in real-time data fuels value and more growth for OOH. As the environment evolves and changes, we have the ability to measure DOOH campaign effectiveness due to new data sets and the conversations with clients are very different as a result of these changes. COVID-19 has changed the way marketers connect with consumers and this underscores the value that Programmatic DOOH delivers. The ability to dynamically shift impressions, offer flexibility, measurement, accountability and audience-based targeting is the future for OOH.
What is something you wish more brands and advertisers knew about OOH?
Gilad: OOH is a channel that can be leveraged from a planning, targeting and measurement perspective. There’s already very sophisticated data and plenty of tools that allow brands and digital advertisers to use OOH as an effective channel and also use their data sets for effective planning and measurement. DOOH can be a great part of a focused omnichannel strategy that reaches consumers at every point of the buyer journey in both the digital and physical world.
Norm: OOH has long been underutilized and undervalued. Previously, OOH was rarely viewed as part of the omnichannel strategy, probably since ROI couldn’t be measured making it more difficult for brands to justify spend. Additionally, in the past, OOH was a real estate-based operation instead of an audience-based medium. But the technology surrounding OOH now allows us to illustrate how any billboard or OOH screen performs in certain categories against haircare buyers, entertainment enthusiasts, golfers, or any other behavior because we have exclusive data. We can also quickly reach the right audiences at the right time and place, like consumers en route to the store or shoppers who are already grocery shopping.
What’s it like working with the Place Exchange?
Gilad: Place Exchange has been one of the key players in driving programmatic adoption for OOH. They have led from an open environment, which is very important for the sustainable growth of this industry. The team is truly committed to the idea of transforming a traditional industry and making it open, data-driven, and programmatic.
Norm: The Place Exchange team has been instrumental in our campaign activation process, from Haley in Partnerships making sure we have all the correct PMPs to use at our disposal to Rob in Ad Ops being able to troubleshoot and expand any delivery capabilities. When activating a campaign through Place Exchange, it really is an extension of our own. Besides working with a great team, the benefit that becomes apparent every day is the scale they bring to the table. Being able to offer advertisers and agencies the publishers and vendors that they want, when they want them, removes barriers, enables quicker plan approvals and bigger budgets.
Give us a fun fact about yourself.
Gilad: When the pandemic started, I bought an at-home trainer bike. So fun fact, during large meetings I sometimes turn the camera off and keep my mind and body both active by biking. Honestly, without this addition, I would have no time to exercise—so I highly recommend it!
Norm: Fun fact about me, I proposed to my wife on a billboard. She said yes! A great case study proving OOH works.