Franck Vidal, director, Southeast Asia sales & partnerships of ATS Singapore 2025 event sponsor Vistar Media, looks at why programmatic is a constant in a constantly moving marketplace…

Uncertainty is becoming the new normal. From shifting global supply chains to fluctuating consumer confidence and unpredictable geopolitical tensions, brands across Singapore and the broader region are being forced to make difficult decisions with less clarity than ever before.

Marketers are trained to plan. To map out quarters. To forecast performance. To allocate budget across channels that deliver measurable results. But what happens when the assumptions that underpin our plans keep shifting?

This is where programmatic out-of-home (OOH) offers a powerful solution. It gives brands both flexibility and control, without sacrificing scale or impact.

When certainty is a luxury

During periods of uncertainty, we often see a knee-jerk reaction. Freeze the budget. Pause the campaign. Shift spend to channels that feel lower risk or easier to measure. But that approach does not always reflect what consumers are experiencing.

In Singapore, for example, foot traffic to malls and transit stations remains strong, even as online media consumption becomes more fragmented and cluttered. Consumers are still outside – commuting, shopping, and making purchase decisions in real life.

Beyond daily commutes, high traffic areas like Tampines, Jurong East, and hangout areas such as Bugis & Rochor continue to draw large crowds. Community events, from hawker trail festivals to school holidays and National Day celebrations – also see significant spikes in outdoor activity. In these moments, outdoor environments provide brands with a rare combination: consistent audience presence, emotional engagement and transactional proximity, factors that digital platforms increasingly struggle to replicate.

Programmatic OOH lets marketers meet consumers in those environments, with digital-era tools that enable real-time adjustments. Whether it is pausing and reactivating campaigns based on changing market signals, adjusting messaging by time of day or weather conditions, or reallocating spend across venue type (environment where the screen sits) and locations, programmatic delivers both efficiency and resilience.

Turning agility into advantage

In unpredictable environments, timing is everything. The ability to activate quickly, or pull back without penalty, has become a key advantage.

Using flexible and granular creative abilities, brands are now able to adjust their campaigns in response to foreseen and unforeseen changes in the landscape. For example, a brand may need to pivot their messaging mid-flight due to regional economic developments. 

Or, a beverage brand might trigger drink promotions when a heatwave strikes, aligning with weather conditions in real time. Retailers can spotlight flash sales or special promotions tied to events like Singles’ Day 11.11. Travel brands can pivot their messaging to promote last-minute getaways ahead of public holidays. Dynamic creative makes it possible to align messaging with consumer mindsets as they evolve, improving relevance and impact with minimal waste.

This kind of agility is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. In a media ecosystem where algorithms and third-party data are becoming less reliable, having control over where, when and how your message is delivered is more valuable than ever.

Accountability without compromise

There is a common misconception that OOH, even programmatic, is not accountable in the same way as digital channels. That could not be further from the truth.

Programmatic OOH offers detailed reporting on impressions, audience segments and performance, all anchored in verified real-world behaviour. Mobility data, aggregated from anonymised device IDs, allows brands to understand true footfall patterns and campaign impact, while third-party studies provide additional independent validation.

At Vistar Media, for example, we are helping brands in Singapore not only optimise campaigns in real time but also prove their ROI after the campaign ends. An example of this involved a prominent gallery in Singapore looking to increase foot traffic from both local and tourist audiences. To do this they launched a DOOH campaign using a mix of indoor and outdoor screens across urban hubs such as train stations, malls, and office buildings. 

By tapping into Vistar Media’s partnership with Foursquare, the campaign targeted millennial and gen Z art enthusiasts and achieved a 70% lift in visits, with 77% of ad-exposed users visiting the gallery within three weeks. The campaign delivered 12 million impressions, collected 576,000 device IDs, and used Vistar Media’s passback solution to re-engage audiences and promote future exhibitions.

Planning for a smarter tomorrow

The temptation in volatile times is to pull back. But history has shown us that brands who invest strategically during downturns often emerge stronger.

The key is to invest in the right places. To prioritise channels that allow for smart, data-driven decisions and real-time course correction. That is what programmatic OOH enables.

In times of uncertainty, the most powerful move a brand can make is to stay visible while staying flexible. To engage consumers where they are, with messages that matter, at moments that count.

And for that, there is no smarter solution than programmatic OOH.

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