OOH Advertising Coming to EV Charging Stations

Broadsign, a platform that helps companies manage the buying and selling of out-of-home media, is ready to get brand OOH advertising in front of eco-conscious consumers. It’s technology is being used by a German firm to power a network of OOH ad inventory at charging stations for electric vehicles such as cars, e-bikes, and scooters.

Numbat GmbH, and Broadsign announced their collaboration today, through which Broadsign technology will help Numbat build, power, and scale advertising capabilities across its EV-charging stations in Europe, with Numbat’s goal of having 600 charging-station screens in place by year’s end.

Numbat plans to have double that number of screen units at Numbat chargers across Europe by the end of 2024.

Broadsign is one of several companies that provides the technology to manage content across EV charging screens, and the number of those screens is growing.

Numbat started with about 20 charging EV charging stations in the parking lots of supermarkets in Germany two months ago, and multi-location marketers are sizing up the inventory. Once the EV charging infrastructure is in place, Numbat plans to expand OOH inventory by deploying new charging stations with screens to hospitals, health clinics, car dealerships, and gas station parking lots.

Numbat stations promise attention-grabbing displays that make its screens and chargers stand out, and its technology can serve contextual messaging for consumers in the immediate vicinity of the chargers. Ad content can be delivered within the context of time, day, temperature, or any other situation relevant to EV charging locations.

To be clear, Broadsign does not own EV charging or OOH inventory but develops the technology that helps EV charging and other OOH networks located throughout the world manage their advertising display inventory and content.

Broadsign works with many of the largest OOH companies in the US and worldwide, including EV charging providers like Numbat, who own their own screens, and OOH network operators who own EV charging station inventory in addition to other OOH signage (roadside, transit, wayfinding kiosks, retail, etc.). Broadsign also engages with customers in the U.S. who are deploying its technology to power advertising displays on EV chargers.

For its part, Numbat stations provide sustainable fast charging for batteries for electric mobility. It claims a patented climate protection technology to deliver efficient energy management.

The length of time it takes drivers or riders to charge their vehicles’ batteries using Numbat stations depends on how much juice the battery already has on it and the vehicle model. Owners of electric vehicles tend not to charge batteries more than 80% to avoid damage. The higher the amount of power already on the battery, the quicker the recharge.

Each of Numbat’s charging stations can support up to 300 KW of charging power, enabling charges in about 15-20 minutes. The displays are 75” displays and can store solar energy.

In a statement, Martin Schall, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Numbat GmbH, said, “Our goal is to establish [EV charging] as a new DOOH sector in Europe. Broadsign is a proven leader in both the programmatic and EV advertising technology spaces with a significant global footprint.”

Besides Numbat, Broadsign works with OOH companies including ChargeEuropa, Clear Channel Outdoor, JCDecaux, Swiftmile, PodPoint, and Outfront.

The European market for EVs is growing faster than that of the U.S. According to estimates from Statista, by 2026, “there will be 4.4 million EVs sold in E.U. countries, compared to just 1.9 million in the United States – that equates to 997 and 556 vehicles per 100,000 people (using 2022 population figures), respectively.

From 2016 to 2019, the U.S. was actually ahead in terms of adoption, but Europe rapidly became the pacesetter. Statista estimates EV revenues in the European Union to amount to $120 billion in 2022, compared to just $35 billion in the U.S. By 2026, revenues in the E.U. are set to surpass the $300 billion mark. In contrast, in the same year, the U.S. should break the $100 billion barrier for the first time.”

Frank Vallenga, VP of SaaS Sales, at Broadsign, said in a statement, “Numbat is revolutionizing the EV charging space in Europe, just as retailers, advertisers, and business owners are beginning to uncover the possibilities of the convergence of mobility, sustainability, and DOOH. They’re driving new growth for this emerging DOOH medium, solving common infrastructure bottlenecks with sustainable, high-power EV charging stations featuring dynamic displays that are easy to deploy and maintain.”