Getting Started with DooH Advertising Integrations

Revel Digital integrates with three leading programmatic Digital Out-of-Home (DooH) platforms — Vistar Media, Place Exchange, and Vengo — enabling you to monetize your digital signage network by serving programmatic advertisements alongside your regular content.

This guide walks you through the onboarding process, how to add DooH content to your playlists, and best practices for maximizing revenue while maintaining control over your brand experience.

What is Programmatic DooH?

Programmatic DooH is the automated buying and selling of advertising on digital screens through real-time bidding. When your screens have available ad slots, these platforms connect your inventory to a global pool of advertisers (brands, agencies, and ad exchanges) who bid to display their content on your screens. You earn revenue for every impression served.

The key players in a programmatic DooH transaction are:

• Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) — technology that connects your screen inventory to programmatic demand from advertisers. All three of Revel Digital's DooH partners function as SSPs.
• Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) — platforms advertisers use to buy screen inventory (e.g., The Trade Desk, DV360, Yahoo DSP). You don't interact with DSPs directly; the SSPs handle this connection.
• Ad Server — the technology that selects and delivers the winning ad creative to your screen. Depending on the provider, this may be handled by the SSP or by a separate component.

Supported DooH Providers

Vistar Media

Vistar Media is one of the largest global providers of programmatic DooH technology, owned by T-Mobile. Vistar operates both a DSP and SSP, giving them access to one of the broadest pools of advertiser demand in the industry. They also offer a mediation layer that can run unified auctions across multiple SSPs to maximize yield.

Best for: Networks seeking maximum demand coverage and advanced yield optimization.

Website: vistarmedia.com

Contact: Reach out to Vistar Media directly to set up a publisher account and obtain your integration credentials.

Place Exchange

Place Exchange is a leading independent SSP for programmatic out-of-home media, now part of the Broadsign family. Place Exchange focuses on connecting media owners to demand from omnichannel DSPs using industry-standard OpenRTB protocols. Their PerView measurement solution provides reach, frequency, and impression measurement across your network.

Best for: Networks that want access to broad omnichannel demand from major DSPs while keeping full control of their CMS and content stack.

Website: placeexchange.com

Contact: Contact Place Exchange / Broadsign to establish a publisher account and obtain your integration credentials.

Vengo

Vengo is a DooH software company operating a network of 65,000+ programmatically-enabled screens across the United States. Vengo provides a turnkey ad server integration along with a dedicated programmatic sales team that actively markets your screen inventory to buyers. Their network is especially strong in retail, grocery, bars, gyms, and convenience store environments.

Best for: Networks looking for a managed, turnkey approach with an active sales team promoting your inventory to buyers.

Website: vengolabs.com

Contact: Contact Vengo to discuss onboarding and receive your integration credentials.

Prerequisites

Before setting up a DooH integration in Revel Digital, you'll need:

1. An active Revel Digital account with at least one registered device.
2. A publisher account with your chosen DooH provider(s). You must contact Vistar, Place Exchange, or Vengo directly to establish your account and complete their onboarding process. This typically involves providing details about your screen network (number of screens, locations, venue types, screen resolutions, and estimated traffic/impressions).
3. Integration credentials from your DooH provider. Once your publisher account is approved, the provider will supply the credentials or configuration values needed to connect your Revel Digital account.

Note: The DooH provider onboarding process is separate from your Revel Digital account setup. Revel Digital provides the CMS integration layer, but each provider has their own publisher approval process, revenue terms, and compliance requirements.

Connecting Your DooH Provider

Once you have your credentials from your chosen DooH provider, follow these steps to connect the integration in Revel Digital:

1. Log in to your Revel Digital account at as1.reveldigital.com.
2. Navigate to Account Settings > Integrations.
3. Locate your DooH provider (Vistar Media, Place Exchange, or Vengo) and click Configure.
4. Enter the integration credentials provided by your DooH partner.
5. Click Save to activate the connection.

Once connected, DooH ad sources become available as playlist content types in your account.

Adding DooH Content to Playlists

DooH advertisements are added to your playlists just like any other content source. This allows you to seamlessly blend programmatic ads with your own branded content.

1. Navigate to Playlists and open an existing playlist or create a new one.
2. Click Add Source and select the DooH source type.
3. Choose your connected DooH provider from the available options.
4. Configure the source settings:
   • Duration — The default ad slot duration (typically 10 or 15 seconds, depending on your provider agreement).
   • Fallback content — Optional media to display when no programmatic ad is available (i.e., when there is no demand for your inventory at that moment). If no fallback is set, the playlist will skip to the next source.
5. Click Save to add the DooH source to your playlist.

The DooH source will now participate in your playlist loop. When the playlist reaches the DooH source, the provider's ad server will deliver a programmatic ad in real time. If no ad is available, the fallback content (if configured) is displayed instead.

Scheduling and Content Mix

A well-balanced content mix maximizes both advertising revenue and your brand presence. Most operators find a 70/30 or 80/20 split between their own content and DooH advertising works well.

Example playlist structure:

You can use Revel Digital's playlist scheduling features to vary the content mix by time of day. For example, you might increase DooH ad frequency during peak traffic hours and reduce it during slower periods.

Tips for maximizing fill rate and revenue:

• Ensure your device location and timezone are accurately set in the CMS. DooH buyers target by geography and time of day, so accurate location data directly impacts demand.
• Use descriptive device tags for venue type (e.g., "retail", "restaurant", "lobby"). Some providers use this metadata for audience targeting.
• Keep screens online and playing consistently. Uptime directly impacts your ability to earn revenue — screens that are offline can't serve ads.

Brand Safety and Content Controls

You maintain full control over what advertising appears on your screens. Content controls vary by provider, but generally include:

• Category blocking — Restrict ads from specific advertiser categories (e.g., block competitors, alcohol, political advertising).
• Campaign approval/rejection — Some providers offer the ability to preview and approve individual campaigns before they run.
• Frequency capping — Limit how often the same ad appears on your screens within a given time period.

Work directly with your DooH provider to configure these controls as part of your publisher account setup. Revel Digital will serve whatever ads the provider's ad server returns based on your configured policies.

Reporting and Proof of Play

Revel Digital automatically generates proof-of-play logs for all content displayed on your screens, including DooH advertisements. These logs record the timestamp, duration, device, and content source for every playback event.

Your DooH provider will also have their own reporting dashboard showing impressions delivered, revenue earned, fill rates, CPM rates, and performance breakdowns by screen and time period. Revenue reporting and payments are handled directly by your DooH provider.

To access playback logs in Revel Digital, navigate to Reports > Play Logs and filter by the DooH source type.

Running Multiple DooH Providers

You can connect and run multiple DooH providers simultaneously. This is a common strategy to maximize fill rate — if one provider doesn't have an ad to serve at a given moment, another provider might.

To run multiple providers, simply add separate DooH sources to your playlist for each connected provider. You can also use Revel Digital's playlist conditions and device targeting to assign different providers to different screens or locations based on what performs best.

Troubleshooting

No ads are appearing on my screens

• Verify that your integration credentials are entered correctly in Account Settings > Integrations.
• Confirm that your DooH provider account is active and approved for serving ads.
• Check that your device location and timezone are set accurately — buyers won't bid on screens with unknown or incorrect locations.
• Ensure the device is online and the playlist containing the DooH source is actively scheduled.
• Low demand is normal for new screens. It may take several days or weeks for demand to ramp up as buyers discover your inventory.

Ads are appearing but revenue seems low

• Review your fill rate in the provider's reporting dashboard. Low fill rate means demand is limited for your screen's location or audience profile.
• Consider connecting additional DooH providers to increase the pool of potential buyers.
• Ensure screens are in high-visibility, high-traffic placements.
• Talk to your provider about optimizing your inventory listing (venue type, audience data, screen specs).

Fallback content is showing too often

• This typically indicates low fill rate. The same recommendations above apply.
• Make sure your fallback content is up to date so the viewer experience remains polished even when no ad is available.

Additional Resources

• Revel Digital Getting Started Guide
• Vistar Media — Publisher Information
• Place Exchange — Media Owners
• Vengo — Screen Owners
• DPAA — Digital Place-Based Advertising Association

For additional help configuring DooH integrations, contact Revel Digital support at support@reveldigital.com or call +1-855-738-3534.