Route Picks Ipsos and Adwanted for New OOH Solution

Route, the UK's JIC / currency provider for out-of-home (OOH) media, has awarded contracts to Ipsos and Adwanted to collect, process and output audience data. A new, collaborative approach will deliver a synthetic dataset representing the travel habits of the population and their journeys for every day of the year.

Route's research is governed by outdoor IPA members, ISBA and Outsmart vendors, and its reports are published quarterly, providing audience data for c.400,000 posters and screens in Great Britain.

The contract award for OOH follows a 24-month tender process, and the new solution will feature proprietary generative AI and machine learning. Route data will now use a custom-built app to understand mobility alongside the existing multi-sensor tracking devices, and tap detailed mobile operator data to understand the connectivity between local areas. The system will categorise journeys over 365 days by different activity types such as commuting, retail and leisure, and to and from specific points of interest.

The resulting dataset will be 82 times larger than its predecessor, and will report audiences for new inventory within a month of being built. Route says this constitutes the most advanced OOH measurement system worldwide, using similar techniques to those adopted in markets including Australia, France and Norway, but for a larger and more complex market.

From April this year two major contracts will operate:

• Primary data collection, data modelling and processing by Ipsos, and
• New API design and data delivery tools by Adwanted.

CEO Denise Turner (pictured) comments: 'We're delighted to build on our existing partnerships with both Ipsos and Adwanted and look forward to working together with them to now deliver this vision'. Kelly Beaver, CEO at Ipsos UK and Ireland says: 'Ipsos has been involved in OOH audience measurement since 2006 when we first worked with Route. For the past 40 years, we have designed audience measurement solutions across many media sectors. We are delighted to work with the Route team and look forward to collaborating with Adwanted to further enhance the gold standard of OOH audience data in Great Britain'. Adwanted Chief Exec Greg Grimmer adds: 'We are excited to work with Route and Ipsos on this innovative development and cement our position in OOH tech solutions. While the new dataset(s) pose significant technical challenges, the team is already working with new technologies to build tools to ensure this important data gets used by more people, more often'.

Web site: www.route.org.uk .