What Is DOOH Advertising? Definition, Benefits, and How It Works

TL;DR: What Is DOOH?

• Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is defined as advertising delivered through digital signage in public, high-traffic areas.
• DOOH advertising offers better targeting, flexibility, and dynamic creative capabilities than traditional static billboards.
• US DOOH ad spending is projected to grow nearly 35% from 2025 to 2029, significantly outpacing traditional OOH.
• DOOH seamlessly integrates with omnichannel marketing strategies, driving higher engagement and improving cross-channel attribution.
• AI-driven advancements, retail media, and CTV advertising are turning DOOH into a proven performance marketing channel.

Today’s digital advertising primarily focuses on connecting with consumers across all their devices. But not every part of your day is spent in front of a screen. Maybe you drive or take the subway to work. Sometimes, you might hit up a convenience store midday for a snack. After work, you may go to the gym, grab food at a grocery store, or attend an event or restaurant with some friends.

DOOH advertising aims to capture your attention during these offline moments, helping marketers reach the right audience at the right place and time, even when they’re away from their computers or not actively looking at their personal devices.

In doing so, DOOH advertising effectively bridges the gap between online and offline experiences, ensuring brands stay top-of-mind throughout consumers’ daily routines by reaching them in the physical world.

In this blog post, we’ll define DOOH, share some of its key advantages over traditional outdoor advertising, and explore a few ways you can leverage it as part of an omnichannel strategy to improve the performance of your digital campaigns.

What Is DOOH Advertising?

DOOH advertising is a modern form of advertising that uses digital displays to deliver DOOH ads to audiences in high-traffic areas, such as shopping malls, bus stops, airports, elevators, and other public spaces. It provides marketers with the flexibility, efficiency, and precision of digital advertising with the viewability, scale, and reach of traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising.

What Is the Difference Between Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) vs. Traditional Out-of-Home (OOH)?

DOOH shares many similarities with traditional OOH advertising: both aim to reach large audiences in public spaces, capture attention with visually compelling messages and imagery, and enhance brand visibility and awareness.

However, unlike traditional outdoor advertising, DOOH is highly adaptable. It employs digital screens, such as LED displays, interactive kiosks, and digital billboards to deliver ads that can be updated and dynamically adjusted in real time. The types of locations where ads are displayed—like gas stations, gyms, and public transit—are mostly the same, but how they’re delivered is entirely different.

DOOH advertising also leverages geofencing, data analytics, and advanced targeting to reach the right consumers with relevant content based on location, time of day, local weather conditions, and more. This makes it a powerful channel for marketers to engage with consumers during transitional moments throughout the day when they’re on the go or away from personal internet-connected devices.

Because of its increased programmatic capabilities, improved measurement, and ability to serve multiple ad creatives in a single placement through dynamic ad rotation, the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) says that DOOH advertising is becoming “an increasingly attractive option for major brands,” providing them with more flexibility than traditional static billboards.

What Are the Benefits of DOOH Advertising?

According to Steve Nicklin, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Analytics at the OAAA, DOOH is the “largest driver” of OOH ad spending.

Despite only 10% of US brand and agency marketers citing OOH and DOOH advertising as an investment priority in 2025, EMARKETER reports that 40% of agency professionals worldwide expect their clients to increase their OOH spending. 

As a result, US DOOH ad spending will grow from $3.38 billion USD in 2025 to $4.56 billion USD in 2029—representing a 34.9% increase—while traditional OOH spending will remain mostly flat during that same period.

Although traditional OOH advertising still accounts for the majority of ad spend, DOOH is increasingly used by marketers to connect with consumers due to the many benefits of DOOH advertising, including:

• Advanced targeting: DOOH provides precise and flexible targeting, allowing advertisers to cast a wide net or go super granular with their targeting and tailor messaging based on the location, time of day, and which demographics will likely see an ad.
• Flexibility: With DOOH, you don’t have to send someone to tear down a poster or install a new billboard when you want to make a change. Advertisers can use a programmatic advertising platform to swap out creatives and adjust campaigns in real time without stepping foot on-site.
• Dynamic capabilities: Unlike traditional OOH, which is static, DOOH can use videos, animations, and other interactive elements to engage consumers. A 2024 study found that over one in five DOOH ads on video-capable screens were video ads, many of which were originally connected TV (CTV) ads, making it easy to repurpose creatives.
• Viewability: Because DOOH ads are often larger than display or CTV ads and are shown in public spaces, they’re harder to ignore. Adblockers don’t work in the real world, and the only way to skip them is by looking away from them, making DOOH ads more likely to gain viewers’ attention.
• Privacy-friendly: Unlike other types of digital channels, DOOH doesn’t rely on personal identifiers to deliver relevant messaging. Instead, it uses contextual signals—like weather conditions and nearby local events—to target ads. This privacy-first approach makes DOOH a smart choice for brands looking to engage audiences, especially in our increasingly cookieless future.
• Favourability: According to a study by the OAAA, 73% of US consumers view DOOH ads favourably—that’s higher than video (50%), social media (48%), online (37%), audio (32%), and print (31%) ads.
• Actionable: DOOH ads are particularly effective at driving foot traffic. In a study, 51% of people who noticed a DOOH ad with directions to a nearby store visited the business, and 93% of those who visited completed a purchase.

DOOH Ad Formats and Inventory Types

There are three main formats to consider when deciding which type of DOOH ad is best for your DOOH campaign.

Large Format

Due to their sheer size and scale, large-format DOOH ads are known for building brand awareness by reaching as wide an audience as possible in high-traffic areas.

When you think about large-format DOOH ads, the first thing that probably comes to mind is a gigantic billboard in Times Square, Picadilly Circus in London, or Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. 

But aside from downtown cores in major cities, large format DOOH ads are also commonly found on:

• Billboards along the side of highways.
• Bus shelters and other transit waiting areas (for example, a subway or train platform).
• Walls on skyscrapers and other buildings.

Large-format DOOH ads are effective for generating broad brand awareness, major product launches, or any campaign that requires a large canvas to convey its message and leave a lasting impression.

Need proof? In particular, spending on transit ads rose 8.3% YoY in the latter half of 2024, representing the highest gain of any segment—proving that large format DOOH remains a powerful tool for capturing attention in high-traffic, commuter-heavy environments.

Here’s an example of a large-format DOOH ad designed by StackAdapt’s in-house Creative Studio team:

Place-Based

Much like real estate, place-based DOOH ads are all about location. They’re strategically placed in venues or environments that are contextually relevant to the target audience.

These include:

• Gyms
• Shopping malls
• Gas stations
• Office buildings
• Restaurants and bars
• Colleges and universities

The main goal of place-based DOOH ads is to increase purchase intent by tailoring and targeting ads that are relevant to each specific location, boosting brand awareness and the likelihood of a conversion.

For example, a DOOH ad at a gym would be a great location to market workout apparel and health and wellness products, such as a new running shoe or electrolyte mix. 

Meanwhile, a DOOH ad at an EV charging station would be the ideal place to promote scheduling a tuneup at a dealership or grabbing a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant. 

Because place-based ads appear in settings where consumers are often likely to spend a significant amount of time, they’re an effective tool for highly-targeted campaigns and brand storytelling.

Point-of-Purchase

These DOOH ads appear in real-world locations like grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, gas stations, and big-box retailers. True to their name, these ads are generally placed near points of purchase, encouraging customers to pick up an item before heading to checkout. These include:

• Store entrances
• Checkout aisles
• End caps and shelving

Because point-of-purchase DOOH ads appear in-store, they’re generally most effective for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands that want to sway customers towards impulse buys and last-minute purchases.

DOOH Targeting and Capabilities

Although DOOH advertising takes a one-to-many approach to reach a wider audience, it still provides targeting capabilities similar to other forms of digital advertising, ensuring marketers only serve ads where they’re contextually relevant.

Location-Based Targeting

Geotargeting, geofencing, and proximity-based targeting are all location-based advertising strategies that can be used for increasingly granular targeting.

For example, retail marketers could use geotargeting to target ads highlighting regional sales to cities in particular states. Another example could be a B2B marketer using geofencing and proximity-based targeting to serve ads on billboards near or within a specific radius of an industry conference.

Weather-Based Targeting

This targeting strategy allows advertisers to adjust their ad content and placements based on the current or forecasted weather conditions in a particular location where an ad appears.

For example, a winter tire brand could target areas about to experience their first heavy snowfall of the year. On the other hand, an alcohol company could use triggers to show ads only when a location reaches a specific temperature that signals the start of summer.

Listen to this podcast to learn more about weather targeting.

Time-Based Targeting

Also known as dayparting, this targeting strategy involves segmenting the day into different parts (or “dayparts,” such as the morning, afternoon, evening, and night) and targeting specific ads to audiences that are most likely to be receptive to certain messages during those times.

For example, a DOOH ad promoting a nearby coffee chain would be more effective during the early morning commute than after dinner when most people are getting ready for bed. Similarly, a DOOH ad directing consumers to a nearby bar for a nightcap would do better in the evening than at the crack of dawn.

Omnichannel Integrations

DOOH seamlessly integrates with digital marketing channels like social media, mobile, and CTV advertising, increasing overall campaign effectiveness.

A study found that 47% of consumers search for social media handles featured on OOH ads after seeing them, and 40% share related content online—making DOOH ideal for driving online engagement and fuelling retargeting across other digital channels.

For example, StackAdapt client Octopus Energy used native and display ads to retarget users who viewed their DOOH ads, generating nearly 3 million impressions and over 1,000 conversions.

DOOH Measurement and Analytics

Historically, traditional OOH advertising relied on imprecise data to gauge the impact of campaigns. 

However, because DOOH advertising is connected to the internet, advertisers can measure DOOH ads with a higher level of accuracy. Many DOOH platforms use built-in sensors that track the number of unique devices passing by an ad to create accurate estimations on reach (how many people saw a DOOH ad) and impressions (how many times an ad was seen).

Another way to measure the impact of a DOOH campaign is through a brand lift study. In a brand lift study, both an exposed group (people who have seen an ad) and a control group (those who haven’t) are surveyed, and their responses are compared. The difference between the two groups is used to understand the “lift” generated by the DOOH campaign. 

Brand lift studies are particularly helpful for measuring ad recall, brand awareness, consideration, and purchase intent. For example, UK-based agency MOBSTA partnered with StackAdapt on a DOOH campaign for their client Michael Kors Jewelry, targeting shoppers in two of Germany’s biggest cities. The campaign generated over 14 million impressions and accurately measured an increase in brand awareness by 13% and 39%.

Advertisers can also use footfall attribution, which tracks and analyzes foot traffic in real-world locations like brick and mortar stores using device IDs and other data, to tie in-person visits back to specific DOOH campaigns and understand the impact of offline advertising.

In the future, DOOH measurement will become even more sophisticated. 

Speaking with EMARKETER, Anna Bager, president and CEO of the OAAA, said that “attribution models will evolve to better account for the impact of OOH advertising on overall marketing goals, providing a clearer understanding of its contribution to sales and conversions.”

An Example of DOOH Advertising in Action

Now that you understand how DOOH advertising works let’s consider a hypothetical scenario that ties together everything we’ve learned. 

For example, let’s say you’re a travel marketer promoting a ski resort.

First, you could choose an ad you’re using for your CTV marketing strategy and repurpose it for your DOOH travel campaign.

Next, you want to choose where and when the ads are displayed. 

Going to a ski resort can get pricey, so you want to target areas where you know people have a certain level of disposable income. You also want to target people most likely to resonate with an ad campaign promoting fun and relaxation in the great outdoors.

With that in mind, you could target office workers in downtown cores, displaying your DOOH ads in high-traffic areas like bus stops, subway stations, and airports. Your DOOH ads could also be timed to display during the evening commuter hours at the end of busy workdays when a trip to a ski resort would seem even more enticing.

Because travellers like to book their vacations three to six months in advance, and January and February are generally considered the best months to hit the slopes, you probably want your DOOH campaign to begin between July and December of the previous year.

Finally, you want to measure the results of your DOOH campaign. You could use a brand lift study through a demand-side platform (DSP) to measure its effectiveness at increasing brand awareness for your target audience and gauge the likelihood of them booking a stay.

That’s just one idea. Like everything in programmatic advertising, the options are seemingly endless.

The Future of DOOH Advertising

Along with its record-breaking growth, DOOH as a medium is also undergoing a major shift due to recent advancements in the industry. Based on recent trends, here’s where we see DOOH heading in the future.

AI Improves Measurement

AI is impacting everything in marketing, from customer segmentation and personalization to building creatives. But one of its most promising uses is understanding and quantifying the audience in front of a DOOH ad.

Audience estimates often rely on mobile phone signals, GPS data, camera sensors, and other information to estimate the number of people around a DOOH ad and who saw it at any given time.

AI can significantly improve DOOH planning, forecasting, and analysis by offering real-time, accurate audience size and behaviour updates, leading to more effective and efficient DOOH campaigns.

DOOH Increases Engagement and Attribution With Mobile

There are countless examples of innovative DOOH ads that think outside the box, from coughing billboards with built-in smoke detectors to mind-bending 3D experiences that cause you to do a double-take.

But, it doesn’t have to be that complex. 

The OAAA’s SVP of Marketing & Analytics recently told EMARKETER that the humble QR code will play an increasing role in DOOH ads, providing consumers with information on products and services while giving advertisers data they can leverage for future campaigns and reporting.

“Out-of-home is big screens driving consumers to small screens,” he said. “What those devices also really open up and allow is measurement of audience movement and patterns.”

Advertisers looking for deeper insights can tap into the added layer of interactivity that mobile engagement brings. Scannable QR codes and similar mobile touchpoints allow brands to capture 1st-party data, track engagement, and understand how many consumers interact with a DOOH ad after exposure. This data can then be aggregated to inform future creative, optimize targeting, or be integrated into data platforms to enhance measurement and performance across other marketing channels.

Retail Media Drives the Next Wave of DOOH Growth

Retail media is poised to become a significant force in the future of DOOH advertising, especially as brands look for ways to engage shoppers at the point of purchase.

In-store retail media ad spending is set to make up nearly one-fifth of total ad spending by 2027, and in-store retail media ad spending will comprise 55.9% of total DOOH growth between 2025 and 2029.

Digital signage in retail environments helps brands and advertisers reach high-intent shoppers at critical decision-making moments, enhancing brand engagement and increasing conversion at the point of sale.

Retail DOOH ads not only influence immediate purchase decisions but also create opportunities for brands to capture valuable consumer insights that can help them refine their messaging and build brand loyalty through contextually relevant in-store experiences.

The Line Blurs Between CTV and DOOH

Digital screens and DOOH software are increasingly being installed on gas station pumps, airplane seat headrests, and in restaurants and retail stores, allowing marketers to engage audiences in public spaces with the same level of targeting, personalization, and engagement as CTV advertising.

Whether you call it OOH TV advertising, CTV OOH advertising, DOOH advertising, or something else entirely, these ads look and feel just like the types of CTV ads you’d watch while streaming Disney at home, but often come at a lower price than traditional CTV ads.

Part of that has to do with the amount of scale and inventory available. Unlike traditional CTV, scale and targeting are limited, with ads appearing in fewer locations and seen by fewer people compared to ads served through streaming services. But this limitation also creates a valuable opportunity to hyper-target based on context and location, making it perfect for highly relevant messaging in specific physical environments.

For example, ads served on airplane seat screens during flights to sunny vacation spots could feature local tourism activities, hotel deals, or car rentals at the destination.

Programmatic DOOH Grows In Popularity

In the past, advertisers had to either deal directly with media owners using traditional insertion orders or use DOOH-specific DSPs to get their ads on digital billboards.

Now, platforms like StackAdapt simplify the process by bringing everything together under one roof, making it easier for advertisers to launch, adjust, and track the impact of DOOH ads and multi-channel campaigns.

With programmatic DOOH ad spending forecasted to grow 22.6% in 2025 and reach $1.35 billion USD by 2027, the future looks promising for advertisers and consumers alike.

Ready to experience the power of StackAdapt’s programmatic DOOH advertising solutions? Request a demo today.

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