Source: Campaign Middle East

W Group launches global first real-time AI programmatic DOOH platform

W Group Holding transformed the advertising landscape this week in Dubai, launching a real-time, audience-targeting programmatic Digital Out-of-Home (pDOOH) platform during their 25th anniversary celebration. The company created a global first with this AI-powered technology, named AiOO, which will usher in a new era for outdoor media by enabling unprecedented levels of dynamic targeting.

W Group leadership unveiled the platform during an event at the Theatre of Digital Art (TODA), presenting it as a preview of our future. AiOO redefines precision in Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising by adapting ad delivery based on real-time audience traits and behaviour.

The company built AiOO’s core capability around real-time audience intelligence. The platform leverages proprietary Audience Eye data solution and the AiOO X Programmatic Exchange, employing advanced audience analysis to detect traits and movement behaviour, then adjusts content to enhance relevance.

Importantly, the developers built this technology with a privacy-first approach. They explicitly avoid facial recognition, instead delivering a privacy-compliant solution that adheres to data protection standards.

W Group positions this innovation as a major strategic leap forward for the group and the industry. The platform powers intelligent, data-led media at scale and advances how companies buy, measure, and optimise out-of-home campaigns, helping brands connect with audiences more intelligently.

Hypermedia, W Group’s DOOH company, has already begun deploying the AiOO platform across the UAE through its extensive screen network. The company extends its ambition globally, scaling the technology internationally via DXTA, the group’s digital arm. This expansion provides agencies and advertisers with enhanced precision across various markets.

Habib Wehbi, Chairman and Group CEO of W Group Holding, emphasised the platform’s importance: “Tonight, you witnessed a preview of our future: a real-time audience targeting breakthrough that redefines precision in Digital Out-of-Home. This innovation transcends product status – it represents a strategic leap forward for W Group and the industry. We built it to power intelligent, data-led media at scale, marking the beginning of a new era in programmatic DOOH, starting here in Dubai and expanding globally. It reflects our belief in bold ideas, our confidence in local innovation, and our commitment to shaping what’s next in media.”

The launch event itself demonstrated the development’s significance, bringing together industry leaders and key representatives from government entities such as the Dubai Media Council, Mada Media, and the Department of Economy and Tourism.

The event also featured a panel discussion with prominent figures from organisations, including IAB MENA and the World Out of Home Organisation, highlighting the broad implications of this new platform for the global advertising landscape. This unveiling marks a pivotal moment, bringing sophisticated, real-time, and privacy-aware targeting capabilities to the physical space of Digital Out-of-Home advertising.

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