How Publimovil is championing the power of DOOH in Latin America

With outdoor ad spend projected to reach $1.59 billion in Latin America by 2024, up from $960 million in 2021 (per Statistica), it’s clear that brands and advertisers have embraced out-of-home as a necessary part of an omnichannel media strategy. With good reason: Few other formats can offer the same reach and impact like out-of-home, connecting with people at key moments of their day. 

Its growth is being encouraged by media owners in the region, like our partners at Publimovil, who are passionate about communicating the value of outdoor advertising to their clients. Originally, Publimovil got its foot in the out-of-home door by installing signage onto pedestrian bridges. Today, the company’s offering has grown considerably and includes multiple different formats beyond the bridges they started with.

Keep reading to learn more about Publimovil and find out how these media owners provide outdoor advertising solutions that engage, inspire, and convert.

Building bridges with out-of-home

For more than 20 years, El Salvador-based Publimovil has proudly served communities in Central America. Today, they are one of Central America’s largest out-of-home companies, overseen by a team of people whose wealth of experience and expertise in outdoor advertising ensures client campaigns are in the best possible hands.

Publimovil was founded in 1999 by Max Novoa. The idea for an out-of-home-focused business came about when Max, who was the general manager of a large distribution company at the time, saw a need to advertise a broad inventory of products entering the market. In addition to buying TV, radio, and print ads, he invested a portion of his budget on small-format totems. This early effort proved successful, leading Max to start exploring out-of-home as a medium before eventually understanding its true value. Shortly after, he launched Publimovil.

The company’s first order of business? Building pedestrian walk bridges with attached signage across busy intersections in partnership with municipalities in and around their hometown of San Marcos. Today, Publimovil’s bridges are located across El Salvador and in neighboring Central American countries. While their competitors offer similar footbridges with signage displays, Publimovil currently boasts an 80% market share in the regions in which they operate. 

Like most out-of-home businesses, somewhere along the way, the team at Publimovil began to see that the traditional out-of-home was less in-demand — in its place, digital signage was making waves. As much of the OOH industry began to digitize, Publimovil did too and invested in their first digital screen in 2011. Now, their inventory of over 3,200 place-based displays which includes assets like billboards, walkways, and bus shelters, all of which reach consumers at different touch points along their journey.

While their digital signage makes up only a slice of their total network, these screens account for 40% of sales come from its digital offering, a testament to DOOH’s and ability to offer a more creative and contextual experience for ad campaigns.

Publimovil’s content mix is varied, running anything from advertising campaigns to charitable organizations throughout the regions in which they operate. They also have a special program in place that offers ad space at a premium rate to entrepreneurs looking to get started and reach mass audiences. 

Strategic thinking on the path to sales 

Publimovil is committed to making out-of-home a compelling option for customers looking to run ads across their network. Their approach differs slightly from competitors. Rather than focusing on ensuring all the maximum amount of ad space is booked up, Publimovil focuses on the strategy and intent behind campaigns. They consider the strategic value that out-of-home can deliver, working closely with customers to devise a strategy that makes sense for campaigns, rather than just filling up the next available slot. Their mission is to ensure customers get a return on their investment and work with Publimovil again in the future. 

Besides that, this is a team that prides itself on innovation. First, Publimovil’s team recognizes the potential in not just digitizing their assets, but behind-the-scenes, they harness digital solutions for everything from sales to content creation, all in an effort to automate their workflow wherever it can create efficiency. They’ve even developed a proprietary software platform to create a more seamless sales experience and client relationship, from campaign creation to performance. The software has an algorithm that maximizes profits, delivering customers the best value for their money, down to the dollar. 

And, to keep their customers feeling as enthused as they do about out-of-home, they’re continuing to invest in the latest tech features such as interactive and 3D-capable displays or geofencing technology to name a few. It’s all about drumming up excitement around what’s capable with DOOH. 

Publimovil and Broadsign

The ambitious team at Publimovil see immense growth on their horizons, especially as they invest in more digital products. But it’s the kind of growth that can’t be achieved without experts by their side. In particular., they needed digital signage software that could support the growth of their network and business, which is why they adopted the Broadsign platform. 

As a company with plans to significantly scale its operations and become the go-to media owner in digital out-of-home in Central America and Latin America, they sought solutions to help streamline sales processes.

One of Publimovil’s missions is to communicate the value of out-of-home to customers, and Broadsign helps to make this aspect of the job a little easier by showing real results that speak to the true effectiveness of a campaign at meeting its targets.

What’s next for Publimovil 

Companies looking to partner with a major player in Latin America should consider the advantage of partnering with the ambitious team behind Publimovil. This team has big plans for where the future of DOOH in the region is headed, and are passionate about finding new avenues for advertisers they partner with.

Eventually, they’re looking to digitize up to 60 to 70% of their network — these plans are expected to unfold over the course of the next few years. To achieve this, they’re looking for other companies to partner with them to be a part of something bigger.

Most of all, they’re excited about what’s possible with their network in terms of growth potential, especially as they continue to invest in more digital screens and content. Not only do they feel optimistic for the future of the industry but so too do their clients, who are interested in the technological advancements that can help them create more compelling campaigns to reach their target audiences. 

Looking to grow your out-of-home network? Book a demo today!