The billboard has been around for a very long time.
Maybe not as long as marketing itself, but very, very close. It survived radio, television, the internet, smartphones, social media, streaming…(and let’s not forget the 47 billion declarations and counting that traditional advertising is DOA).
Now, instead of disappearing, it's getting smarter.
Digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) has taken one of advertising's oldest ideas (put a message somewhere lots of people will see it) and added targeting, automation, dynamic creative, better measurement, and programmatic buying.
In DOOH, we have a channel that looks considerably less like the billboard business of 20 years ago, and considerably more like the rest of digital advertising.
That hasn’t gone unnoticed: U.S. out-of-home advertising generated a record $9.46 billion in revenue in 2025. By Q2 2026, DOOH revenue was growing 18.5% year over year and accounted for 38.4% of total OOH revenue.
The billboard isn't dying. It just, like everything else, learned some software.
What Is Digital Out-of-Home Advertising?
Digital out-of-home advertising is advertising displayed on digital screens in public spaces.
That includes the enormous digital billboard you pass on the interstate, but the category stretches much further.
DOOH inventory can appear on screens in airports, transit stations, gyms, office buildings, shopping centers, gas stations, restaurants, entertainment venues, elevators, taxis, and other places people spend time away from home.
The screen itself isn't the interesting part. What advertisers can do with it is.
Unlike a traditional billboard that may display the same creative for weeks, digital inventory can change quickly. Advertisers can adjust messaging according to time, location, weather, events, audience patterns, inventory, and other data signals. And increasingly, those placements can be purchased programmatically.
1. Programmatic DOOH Is Moving Into the Mainstream
Programmatic advertising has already transformed how marketers buy display, video, audio, and connected TV.
DOOH is next. Programmatic DOOH allows advertisers to buy eligible digital out-of-home inventory through automated platforms rather than arranging every placement through a traditional direct media buy.
That changes the practical possibilities considerably. For example, you might have a restaurant chain that wants ads running near its locations during the afternoon and evening but doesn't particularly care about paying for impressions at 7:00 a.m.
Or a retailer that wants to increase DOOH activity around stores when certain audience or geographic conditions are met. Or a tourism campaign that wants different creative running in Chicago, Denver, and Atlanta without managing three completely separate traditional billboard campaigns.
Programmatic buying makes those strategies considerably easier to execute. And adoption is moving quickly. Industry forecasts cited by OAAA project programmatic's share of total DOOH spending could rise from 24% in 2024 to approximately 65% by 2029.
2. DOOH Targeting Is Becoming More Audience-Driven
Traditional outdoor advertising has historically been heavily location-based.
Want to reach people driving into downtown? Buy the billboard on the highway.
Want to reach travelers? Buy airport inventory.
Location is still extremely important, but DOOH targeting increasingly considers the types of audiences likely to be present in a location rather than treating every person who passes a screen as interchangeable.
Audience and mobility data can help advertisers understand patterns around particular locations and identify inventory likely to reach desired audiences.
That changes the planning question. Instead of simply asking: Where can we put this ad?
Marketers can ask: Where is our audience likely to be?
Those sound similar, but believe us: they aren't.
The first starts with available inventory, and the second starts with the customer. Generally, that’s a far better place to begin.
3. Digital Out-of-Home Creative Is Becoming Dynamic
Traditional billboards aren't particularly famous for their agility. Once you've printed a 48-foot advertisement and attached it to a structure beside the interstate, changing the headline because it started raining is somewhat impractical.
DOOH doesn't have that problem. Dynamic creative can change based on predefined signals such as weather, time of day, location, events, traffic conditions, or other contextual information.
A coffee brand might emphasize iced drinks when temperatures spike, while a sports-related advertiser can adjust creative around a major game.
None of this means advertisers should change an ad every six minutes simply because they can. Nobody asked for a billboard having an identity crisis. But contextual relevance can make a very broad advertising medium feel specific and perform exceptionally well.
4. Measurement Is Getting Better, and More Important
Traditional outdoor advertising has long been the punchline of forward-looking marketers’ jokes, especially when it comes to measurement.
“How many people saw the billboard?” “Well, approximately a lot.”
No longer is that the case. Modern DOOH measurement can incorporate impression estimates, audience data, exposure modeling, foot traffic, website activity, app behavior, store visitation, brand lift, and other signals depending on the campaign and technology involved.
But the industry's growing measurement capabilities have created another problem: everyone needs to agree on what they're measuring. The IAB released its Digital Out-of-Home Measurement Guide in 2025 specifically to address inconsistent measurement practices across the industry. The framework covers areas including audience measurement, attribution, programmatic buying, data collection, and campaign evaluation.
Advertisers increasingly expect DOOH to sit beside other digital channels in a media plan, and that framework can help immensely. Once you're sitting at the digital table, “trust us, people probably saw it” isn't going to cut it.
5. DOOH Is Becoming Part of Omnichannel Campaigns
Consider how many ads someone might encounter between breakfast and bedtime. They pass a digital billboard on the way to work, see a video ad while streaming something over lunch, encounter the brand again while reading the news, and finally Google the product a few days later.
Which ad gets credit for the sale? Often, it's the last one.
But that search didn't happen in a vacuum. Each earlier exposure helped build the familiarity that eventually turned into action. That's why advertisers are increasingly planning DOOH alongside connected TV, paid search, social, display, video, and audio instead of treating it as a standalone awareness play.
Programmatic buying and better measurement make those connections easier to see. DOOH can introduce the brand in the physical world, other channels can reinforce the message, and search can capture the demand when someone is finally ready to act.
6. Physical Context Is Becoming an Advantage
Digital advertisers have spent years getting exceptionally good at following people around screens.
DOOH offers something different: context.
An advertisement at an airport reaches someone while they're traveling. An ad near a stadium reaches people around an event.
With DOOH, the environment is part of the creaitve opportunity.
And there's another increasingly valuable distinction: DOOH doesn't depend on someone clicking a link, accepting a cookie, opening an app, or handing over an email address to see an advertisement.
Sometimes a person simply looks up. It’s as uncomplicated as that.
7. Technology Brands Are Spending Heavily on OOH
One of the more interesting contradictions in advertising right now is that some of the most digital companies on Earth are spending significant amounts of money advertising in the physical world.
In 2025, technology and digital-first brands accounted for 28% of the top 100 OOH advertisers. Apple ranked first among U.S. OOH advertisers, while Amazon was ninth. Companies including OpenAI, Stripe, and DoorDash were among the emerging brands increasing their investment.
Then things accelerated. In Q2 2026, spending from the Computers, Software & Internet category increased nearly 150% year over year.
Why would companies built around screens want giant ads outside those screens?
Simple: because digital audiences are fragmented.
Consumers can skip ads, block them, scroll past them, subscribe around them, or simply develop an impressive ability to ignore them. A 40-foot digital display in the physical environment plays by different rules.
8. DOOH Is Growing While Traditional OOH Stays Relevant
Digital growth doesn't mean every traditional billboard is headed for the scrap heap. Printed OOH continues to generate substantial advertising revenue.
But the growth trajectory is clearly favoring digital. In Q1 2026, DOOH revenue increased 12.9% year over year and represented 36% of total OOH revenue. By Q2, its share had climbed to 38.4%, with revenue up 18.5% from the previous year.
The larger OOH market is growing, too. Q2 2026 revenue reached $3.16 billion, the first time quarterly U.S. OOH revenue surpassed $3 billion.
So this isn't simply advertisers swapping one kind of billboard for another. They're putting more money into the category.
What Do Digital Out-of-Home Advertising Trends Mean for Marketers?
DOOH is becoming harder to classify as “traditional media.”
The screens are physical, but the buying certainy isn't.
Campaigns can be audience-driven, programmatic, dynamic, measurable, and coordinated with other digital channels, which creates an interesting opportunity for advertisers who've spent years dividing their budgets into neat little boxes labeled “digital” and “traditional.”
Those boxes aren't particularly useful anymore.
The better question is what combination of channels reaches the right audience in the right context and contributes to the campaign objective. Sometimes, that might be paid search. Others, connected TV. And sometimes it’s just a giant screen over a busy intersection. Frequently, it’s all of these things working together.
The Billboard Grew Up
The basic premise of out-of-home advertising hasn't changed much: put a compelling message somewhere people will see it. What's changed is nearly everything that happens behind that message.
We can now make smarter decisions about which screens to buy, when ads should run, which audiences we’re trying to reach, what creative should appear, and how DOOH contributes to a larger campaign.
That's why the most interesting digital out-of-home advertising trend isn't bigger screens or flashier creative, but is integration.
DOOH is becoming another data-driven, programmatic component of the modern media mix, except this one happens to exist in the physical world.
At Kinetic319, we build media strategies around audiences and business objectives rather than forcing every campaign into the same channels. From programmatic DOOH and connected TV to paid search, display, video, and audio, we help brands determine where their customers are, and which media deserve their advertising dollars.
Talk to Kinetic319 about building a media strategy that reaches your audience on their screens, off their screens, and everywhere in between.
FAQ
What is the difference between OOH and DOOH advertising?
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising includes advertising people encounter outside their homes, such as billboards, transit ads, street furniture, and place-based advertising. Digital out-of-home (DOOH) uses digital screens within those environments, allowing advertisers to change creative more easily and use capabilities such as programmatic buying and dynamic content.
Can DOOH advertising be purchased programmatically?
Yes. Programmatic DOOH allows advertisers to purchase eligible inventory through automated advertising platforms. It can make campaigns more flexible and allow marketers to apply audience, location, timing, and other criteria to media buying.
Can you target specific audiences with digital out-of-home advertising?
Yes, but DOOH targeting works differently from one-to-one online advertising. Advertisers can use geographic, contextual, mobility, audience, timing, and other data signals to identify screens and locations likely to reach particular audience groups.
How is DOOH advertising measured?
Measurement varies by campaign but can include estimated impressions, audience exposure, foot traffic, store visits, website activity, conversions, and brand lift. The IAB has developed industry guidance intended to create more consistency around DOOH measurement.
Is digital out-of-home advertising effective for local businesses?
It can be. Geographic targeting makes DOOH particularly interesting for businesses trying to reach consumers within specific markets or near physical locations. The right approach depends on audience size, campaign objectives, available inventory, budget, and how DOOH fits with the rest of the media strategy.