Screen advertising today means three different worlds. City digital screens along roads and in malls. Large LED screens at stadiums, arenas and concerts. And the smartphone screen people look at most. Here is how each is bought, what can be counted, and how they combine at live events.
City digital screens
Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is sold by plays: a 5–15 second spot runs in a loop together with other advertisers. You buy a package of plays on specific screens or impressions through programmatic platforms. Pros: large reach, fast launch, creative can change by time of day.
The downside is the same as for any outdoor advertising: the report is based on estimated traffic. How many people actually looked at the screen and what they did next is not directly visible. Some operators add a QR code to the spot, but few people point a camera at a roadside screen.
Screens at stadiums and concerts
At a stadium or concert hall the screen is visible to every spectator at once, and attention is higher than on the street: people watch replays, the score, close-ups of the artist. Screen advertising is sold as part of a sponsorship package or separately: spots during breaks, LED boards around the perimeter, scoreboard idents.
Reach here is clear: the number of spectators plus the broadcast audience. But, as in the city, viewer actions are not measured. More on stadium formats in stadium advertising, on concerts in concert advertising.
The smartphone screen at an event
Every spectator has a phone, and it is the only screen where you can press a button. The problem is that spectators do not scan QR codes for the sake of an ad. They need a reason.
We give them one. A QR code appears on the stadium or hall screen, spectators open the page and raise their phones. Flashlights and screens on every phone glow in sync with the music, the signal travels via ultrasound through the venue sound. After the show a brand promo opens in every participant’s browser: a coupon, a prize draw, a landing page.
This way the big screen and the screen in the hand work together: the first gathers attention and shows the QR, the second produces the action. At the Krylya Sovetov vs Lokomotiv match, 1,493 of 9,000 spectators joined the show and 362 went on to the sponsor promo. Every step is visible via UTM.
Comparison
- City digital screen. Large reach, brief attention, actions not measured
- Stadium or concert screen. Known reach, high attention, actions not measured
- Post-show promo on the phone. Reach limited to show participants, full attention, every click and contact counted
The show price depends on the number of viewers and is easy to compare with screens via cost per contact: 120,000 ₽ for a show for 5,000 viewers is 24 ₽ per contact. Calculator on the pricing page.
FAQ
Is a big screen needed for the show? Preferably, it shows the QR code. Without a screen, the code is printed on tickets, flyers or table tents.
Can the brand’s logo appear on phone screens? Yes. In screen mode spectators’ phones show the brand colours, and the show page is designed in its style.
Ads keep popping up on my phone screen. Is that you? No. Such ads usually come from one of the installed apps or the manufacturer’s built-in services. We only work at events and only after a viewer has scanned the QR code themselves.
Formats for brands in the For brands section, for sports sponsors on the stadium advertising page.