The Canadian Out of Home Marketing and Measurement Bureau (COMMB) has hired tech firm DOmedia to develop new software to manage OOH audience data and provide new analytics for agency, advertiser and vendor company members.

The new analytics suite will offer users detailed audience information with mapping capabilities, as well as a project briefing interface to facilitate and streamline the planning of OOH campaigns.

Currently in the pilot stage, the software will house all the OOH products COMMB measures, including outdoor and place-based (indoor) networks.

“A planner will be able to go into the new system, look at circulation and granular information like a detailed audience profile of people passing by a particular billboard,” Rosanne Caron, president of COMMB, told MiC. “The software also has a mapping layer, with a picture of the location and link to map with which the planner can see where the specific inventory is.”

COMMB is collecting audience data for Toronto and Vancouver. This data is being used by DOmedia to build the back end. “We plan to involve agencies and OOH operator members as testers for every stage of the software,” said Caron.

Based on consultation with members, COMMB identified the rising demand for data and insights, especially the need to bring in an automation component outdoor planning. Caron said COMMB hopes to roll out the development of a national data set by June of next year. “This software is going to make planning a lot more efficient and eliminate the back-and-forth between the buyer and seller.”