OOH media what is it

First, let’s take a step back and define out-of-home media. Often called outdoor media, out-of-home advertising reaches consumers when they are outside their homes.

First, let’s take a step back and define out-of-home media. Often called outdoor media, out-of-home advertising reaches consumers when they are outside their homes. You’ll find it in waiting rooms, airport terminals, public transit platforms, or other places where people spend a lot of time on their phones.

OOH, advertising used to be limited to billboards and print ads, but its footprint is expanding daily with new inventory for advertisers to occupy. Digital screens today can display dynamic content anywhere, including billboards, bus stops, gas stations, airports, mall kiosks, subway platforms, and even the sides of buses and cars. OOH, media opportunities exist anywhere consumers interact with branded content in public.

DOOH media vs traditional outdoor media: what’s the difference?

How is DOOH different from other forms of advertising? Digital out-of-home advertising must have a digital component. The dynamic, potentially interactive nature of the video is increasingly being paired with the ever-present nature of out-of-home media through DOOH.

In the world of advertising, it’s a match made in heaven. The content that is presented to outdoor consumers is often their only option. Billboards don’t have a fast-forward or “close ad” button, so OOH media is fully viewable. In addition, content that isn’t static can catch the attention of users, which results in high engagement.

In 2027, DOOH spending will increase from $6.7 billion to $15.9 billion, so keeping track of industry growth and innovations is crucial.

What are the benefits of OOH media for advertisers?

Location-based data is used in digitally-enabled outdoor media to understand the audiences within view of the advertisement. If a consumer opts to share location information with data providers through an app that requests location information, for example, their location information will be shared. Adverts can then use that data to understand how consumers spend their time and where they spend it.

Similarly, OOH ads are measured this way, though there is no guarantee that someone viewed the ad. Especially if you are trying to drive traffic to a storefront, location data can be used to measure the effectiveness of the ad.

Using mobile IDs that can be converted to IP addresses, ad-tech companies can also correlate location data with online audiences. The ability to geofence allows advertisers to serve additional ads to people within a specific radius, allowing advertisers to retarget consumers.

Is OOH moving in the right direction?

Companies are embracing newer DOOH features, especially regarding OOH innovation.

DPAA CEO Barry Frey sheds some light on how digital is transforming outdoor advertising:

Digital advertising has supercharged the whole advertising industry, and it will do the same for out-of-home advertising. As long as the video is available to consumers and advertisers, they will always favour it. Video is now everywhere, even outside the home, which is why we call our annual conference ‘The DPAA Video Everywhere Summit.’

However, industry sources point out that DOOH advertising is vastly different in the LA and NY markets than elsewhere in the country. DOOH media is capable of achieving great results in both of these locations due to the sheer number of consumers and the congestion in outdoor spaces.

This article shares a lot of examples of innovation from LA and NY. With a smaller population and less emphasis on digital creativity, it’s unlikely that the same level of innovation will be implemented in mass elsewhere.

While DOOH can be associated with places like Los Angeles and New York, where it is highly populated and large, it isn’t limited to them. Gyms, rideshare vehicles, restaurants, and other places people spend daily still host the service.