Interview with Truckscreenia
Transit, Programmatic & Sustainable DOOH Advertising
- Written by Marcello
- 10 min read
How Truckscreenia’s new technology is revolutionising the segment of mobile billboard advertising.
Interviewing Luciano Delmastro, Co-Founder & Business Development of Truckscreenia.
Luciano has been active throughout his career from the very beginning in the business development area focusing mainly on regions like Italy, MENA and DACH.
Today, we are going to talk about his newest journey, Truckscreenia, which offers advertisers an innovative Digital-Out-Of-Home solution and enables brands to reach customers while on the road through digital screens mounted on the rear of trucks and vans.
Here are the Topics We’ll Talk about Today
- Quick history and speciality of mobile billboard advertising and Truckscreenia
- Why Truckscreenia’s solution offers a sustainable and programmatic buying approach to mobile billboard advertising
- How Truckscreenia’s DOOH campaigns will enable you to target your audience and measure impressions almost like a online advertising campaign
- Why it’s the right time to jump on DOOH marketing as soon as COVID restrictions end
- How Online Marketing and Online Ads can play together with DOOH solutions
Marcello Argenziano: Hi Luciano, thank you for joining today. How are you doing and how are things going for Truckscreenia?
Luciano Delmastro: Thanks Marcello. We faced a hard time due to the pandemic but nowadays everything is going better.
A couple of days ago we signed with our first investor, FERCAM group, a leading transport and logistics company in Europe.
Also new customers and new carrier partners are in sight. Throughout the year we’ll be covering new routes and increasing the number of screens in the inner urban environment.
TRANSIT & DIGITAL ADVERTISING SCREENS
Marcello: So let’s dive a little deeper into the young history of Truckscreenia.
What sparked your interest in mobile billboard outdoor-, road- , transit advertising and why did you want to do it differently with Truckscreenia?
Luciano: Truckscreenia is a young startup founded in 2019 by professionals with different skills.
One day I was travelling on the highway and looking at the back of the trucks when a thought came up to my mind: What if we turn all that surface into a mobile, geo-referenced communication tool?
Surely many had the same idea before us, but we are trying to turn it into reality and business.
From the very beginning of the endeavour, we have been supported by the South Tyrol-based company Rizzo Trans. With them we tested the first prototypes.
Another big chance, was to get access to the startup incubation program of the NOI Techpark in Bolzano, with its wide range of impactful services like coaching, training and networking.
Finally, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano provided the first financial support for R&D, a remarkable boost for advancing the project.
Marcello: As the name “Truckscreenia” suggests, trucks are used to host your advertising screens.
Can you tell us something more about that? Which vehicles transport your advertisement screens? And how do they install the screens?
Luciano: Yes, the name suggests screens on trucks but our devices are applied also on vans and, in the near feature, on buses.
We developed and patented an easy solution in order to affix the device in a simple, safe and quick way.
Also, in the second place, the name refers to the operation of screening; currently we have the ability to collect and analyse road traffic-related data.
Marcello: What technology do the devices use? How do they work?
Luciano: We created a low-energy consuming, high-resolution reflective grayscale e-paper display.
It’s fully compliant with the road regulations in Europe.
The device is also equipped with a sensor system which enables the geo-localization of the vehicle and gathering of data from surrounding environment.
It’s processed partly by the proprietary algorithm software to generate targeted advertising.
Marcello: Do you have only grayscale screens?
Luciano: At the moment and due to several practical reasons, yes. But we’re also testing some coloured displays.
Marcello: So your service is basically a turning point in the classic truck advertising industry?
Luciano: Yes, it’s actually much better than traditional truck advertising since we don’t employ extra trucks to host the advertisements.
What we do is to affix the advertising screens on our partners’ trucks, which would be on the road anyway.
This is a huge gain for the environment, since no extra vehicles are put on the road, therefore avoiding vehicle-related costs, consumption and emissions.
SUSTAINABLE TRANSIT ADVERTISING
Marcello: It seems that Truckscreenia can be of help for the environment and increase sustainability. How?
Luciano: We believe that Truckscreenia can be of help for the logistics operators in taking on sustainability.
First of all, the fact that our system maximizes the profitability of their existing routes, helps both businesses and environment.
Also, with our digital screens, paper billboard consumption is reduced to zero.
Moreover, our devices can be used to encourage habits and actions which are good for the environment.
For instance in Italy, on a certain section of highway A22, drivers are suggested by BrennerLEC messages, displayed by Truckscreenia’s devices, to decrease speed to help reduce air pollutant emissions.
ONLINE ADVERTISING AND DIGITAL-OUT-OF-HOME
Marcello: Both OMDemocracy and Truckscreenia are in the advertising industry.
So let’s talk a second about the strengths of DOOH and how online advertising can be used in combination with DOOH.
Luciano: Well, firstly OOH ads are important for companies because they help increase brand awareness.
They are a good solution if you want to start marketing right at the top of the funnel.
Seeing the company’s content both off- and online conveys a feeling of omnipresence to users, since they are reminded of the brand, in- and out of home throughout the day, through multiple touchpoints. This results in serious brand building.
A study has shown how people who see an outdoor OOH campaign are 17% more likely to engage with the brand on their mobile.
So, oftentimes using different marketing channels at the same time. results in a force-multiplying effect.
Ultimately, Truckscreenia is a “phygital” medium.
Consumers with smartphones have already become accustomed to supplementing normal life experiences with digital content.
Embracing phygital marketing therefore represents for advertisers a logical and rewarding step.
Enterprises and brands addressing customers’ behaviours blending physical and digital effectively stand to gain considerable ground on competitors ignoring the opportunity to address their target audience with phygital experiences—our advertising system is a tool for the first ones to gain a competitive edge in marketing.
Marcello: That’s great news! What about tracking ?
Luciano: A way of connecting the offline with the online is to use hashtags, QR codes, unique URLs and coupon codes.
One famous example is Netflix’s Daredevil DOOH campaign, as is Burger King’s “Burn the ad” campaign, which have both been used as standard cases in the past few years.
Another strength of DOOH tracking is that it opens the OOH market to the efficiency benefits of programmatic buying and selling.
Truckscreenia’s vision is that Programmatic can be brought into the Transit Digital Out-Of-Home sector, and we want to be the pioneers in unifying these two existing advertising approaches by means of Truckscreenia System.
PROGRAMMATIC ADVERTISING
Marcello: Talking about (programmatic) advertising: I am teased about the programmatic features of your screens. This is a real game-changer. How does it work ?
Luciano: A proprietary technology management software we are going to develop will connect the Truckscreenia System to the Programmatic advertising marketplace, turning the screens on the road into dynamically targetable inventory for agencies.
Marcello: Alright, let’s change perspective: What if people want to partner with you?
Who can be your ideal carrier ? Who your ideal customer?
Luciano: In identifying carriers for our screens, we pay attention to companies that value the aesthetics of their vehicles, whose exteriors are very well kept.
Also they must be keenly aware of the need for innovation in the transportation field and open to it.
With regards to clients, we believe that our system is fitting for any company aiming at reaching customers while on the road in an innovative, striking and eye-catching way.
Marcello: Due to the actual COVID situation, the number of commuters on the street is pretty moderate now.
How do you see Truckscreenia as an advertising solution for post-COVID times?
Luciano: There is some pre-COVID data that indicates how a large number of consumers spend 70% of their day away from home.
We predict that history will repeat itself and, based on what happened after the 1930s Great Depression, people will be willing to spend much time outside, making up the outdoor activities lost during the pandemic.
Truckscreenia will therefore help companies aiming to reach the increased audience on the move.
Marcello: Last question: What is your prediction about transit- and outdoor advertising in general?
Luciano: COVID contingency apart, looking at the long trends, the advertising market is still growing strongly. Particularly so, the Digital Out of Home sector (DOOH) and within it, the niche of Transit DOOH.
Looking at the overall OOH market, the digital form accounts for the lion share of future demand and revenue growth.
Truckscreenia, which belongs to the DOOH sector, aims to ride this wave.
After analysing a number of market forecasts, IAB, the European-level association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem, evaluates that the total DOOH market was €8.2 billion in 2020.
While this is small compared to the €28.4 billion that will be achieved in the traditional OOH market, IAB expect DOOH market to grow to €13 billion by 2024.
The traditional OOH on the other hand, will remain relatively flat.
Despite the 2020 (-14%) and 2021 Covid-19 emergency related slowdown, a long-term compound annual growth rate of more than 10% is expected.
DOOH is now the second fastest growing advertising medium (second only to the mobile internet) and is predicted to account for over 30% of OOH revenue in some mature markets in the near future.
Marcello: Luciano, thank you for your time and all the best for Truckscreenia.
