Picture this: You order DoorDash, but instead of that sweet delivery confirmation, you get a “yeah, we delivered it and will probably send you proof in a few days” message. Silly, right? Yet, in the world of Out-of-Home advertising, with delivery of a much more valuable asset, it’s often OK to provide that answer.
The Amazon Standard
Let’s talk about Amazon for a second. These folks send you more delivery photos than your aunt posts on Facebook during her annual Florida vacation. You didn’t ask for it, you don’t need to beg for it – boom, there’s your package, photographed like it’s trying to become an influencer. Why? Because Amazon knows trust isn’t given, it’s earned (and photographed).
The Digital Plot Twist
We’ve got digital screens smarter than most smartphones from five years ago yet getting detailed digital proof of play is sometimes harder than getting a straight answer at a political debate.
These screens are literally computers. They know exactly what they’re showing and when – kind of like how Netflix knows you watched that reality show three times (no judgment). So why isn’t this detailed play information flowing as freely as spoilers on Twitter?
The Delay
There is plenty of data available (photos, play logs), and some operators do a great job of providing near-real time proof, but there are others who expect the client to wait for days after an ad has posted for that peace of mind.
In 2025, when your coffee maker can tweet its feelings, maybe we should know for sure when that $50,000 billboard campaign is actually running.
The Measurement Show
We’re so often talking about measurement and metrics like we’re writing the next “Big Bang Theory” of advertising. We’ve got more analytics than a baseball statistician’s dream journal. But here’s the million-dollar question: How can you measure the impact of an ad if you’re not even sure it ran?
That’s like trying to review a movie trailer you might have seen while you were checking your phone. Or rating an Uber ride you think you took last Tuesday. The math just doesn’t add up.
The Way Forward
Imagine a world where proof of delivery in advertising is as automatic as your phone’s software updates – you know, the ones that always seem to happen right when you need to make an important call.
We can track a pizza from dough to doorstep, and we can track whether an ad posted in the subway or played on a screen.
The technology and the data are there, sitting like that gym membership you swore you’d use this year. We just need to be proactive and make detailed proof of delivery the industry standard.
Remember: You can’t measure what you can’t verify. And in today’s digital age, verification should be as automatic as your coffee maker’s 6am brew cycle – you know, the one that’s probably tweeting about its morning routine right now.