Product News | October 11, 2021

The next chapter of OOH: Insights from Broadsign’s Burr Smith and Ari Buchalter

At this year’s Independent Billboard Operators (IBO) panel discussion, one theme emerged consistently throughout the conversation: the next phase of OOH growth will depend on making the medium easier to buy, sell, and measure for operators of all sizes.

Broadsign CEO Burr Smith and Chief Strategy Officer Ari Buchalter shared their perspectives on the forces reshaping OOH advertising, from automation and programmatic transactions to audience-driven buying and measurement, while also discussing what those shifts mean for independent operators navigating an increasingly digital and data-driven landscape.

Out-of-home is entering its next evolution

The global advertising market is now roughly $1 trillion, with OOH accounting for approximately $50 billion worldwide and programmatic transactions representing a fast-growing portion of that spend. Throughout the panel, Ari emphasized that the industry may be approaching a tipping point, as improvements in automation, measurement, and accessibility continue attracting greater interest from major omnichannel buying platforms and advertisers.

That opportunity is driven by many of the qualities that have long made OOH valuable: strong real-world audience connection, proximity to the point of purchase, high visibility, and immunity from the bot fraud that plagues many digital channels. At the same time, advances in data, automation, and audience-based measurement are making the medium more flexible, measurable, and accessible to advertisers.

As campaigns become more dynamic, data-driven, and omnichannel, many OOH transactions still rely on fragmented planning, buying, and operational workflows that create friction across the campaign lifecycle. Simplifying those processes is becoming increasingly important as advertisers expect the same speed, flexibility, and interoperability they experience across other digital channels. For independent operators, that evolution could help reduce operational complexity and make it easier to participate in audience-based and programmatic buying environments.

Programmatic DOOH is accelerating that shift. While still early in its maturity compared to broader digital advertising, adoption continues to grow as more transactions move through DSPs and programmatic platforms. As a result, OOH has an opportunity to capture a larger share of media budgets while giving independent billboard operators greater visibility within national and regional media buys alongside larger networks.

“Our objective at Broadsign is to try and unify, automate, and simplify that entire $50 billion slice of the market, because if we make OOH as simple to buy as other media channels, with the same efficiency, transparency, and visibility into audiences, we should be able to grow that $50 billion market to capture more share,” says Burr. “There are certain aspects of OOH that are much better: it’s closer to purchase, there’s less fraud, and there are inherent strengths in the medium if we do what we need to do.”

Building a more connected ecosystem with Broadsign and Place Exchange

A recurring theme throughout the IBO panel was that OOH’s continued growth will depend on stronger collaboration across the ecosystem. As advertisers increasingly expect unified workflows, audience-based buying, and easier access to inventory, operators, platforms, and buyers all play a role in modernizing OOH transactions.

That broader industry shift is reflected in the combination of Broadsign and Place Exchange. While Broadsign has long focused on the infrastructure and operational side of OOH, including content management, ad serving, and campaign management tools, Place Exchange brings expertise in programmatic transactions, SSP capabilities, and established buy-side relationships, particularly in the US market. Together, the companies support a more connected workflow spanning inventory management, campaign delivery, programmatic monetization, and audience-based activation.

For independent operators, that broader ecosystem creates new opportunities to participate in programmatic DOOH and access regional and national demand flowing through programmatic platforms. While larger operators may integrate directly with SSPs and buying platforms, smaller media owners can work through aggregators such as Screenverse, Vengo, Adkom, and Billboard Planet, to collectively expand their reach and make inventory more accessible to buyers.

The discussion also reinforced that independent operators remain a critical part of OOH’s broader ecosystem. Their local market expertise, unique inventory, and community presence continue to offer meaningful value to advertisers seeking more contextual and geographically diverse ways to reach audiences.

“I got into out-of-home because I was excited not just by the power of the channel as an advertising medium, but by its growth potential and its ability to leverage data and technologies like programmatic to grow beyond the relatively small share of advertising spend it represents today, roughly 5% globally and only 2% in the US,” says Ari. “That remains our North Star. We’re focused on OOH at a time when many competitors are shifting toward areas like CTV and search. That focus on OOH defines who we are.”

Product News | October 11, 2021

Broadsign’s Sell-Side AI Agent Joins With Global Netherlands and Draft Digital to Deliver First-Ever End-to-End Agentic AI-Powered OOH Campaign

Collaboration paves the way to faster, more automated, and data-driven OOH buys

MONTREAL (May 27, 2026) – Broadsign, the leading global platform for managing and monetizing out-of-home (OOH) media, today announced that its sell-side AI agent and digital marketing agency Draft Digital’s buy-side agent, planned, booked, and executed the first-ever fully agentic AI OOH ad campaign. The agentic AI solutions enabled the end-to-end media buy for Lot of Happiness on premium OOH inventory in collaboration with media owner Global Netherlands.

Agentic AI powered the buy from beginning to end, using the brand’s campaign goals to inform audience and venue targeting, media selection, campaign setup, creative workflow and approvals, and execution. The AI agentic solutions used the AdCP protocol and Broadsign’s industry-leading OOH sell-side technology and data infrastructure. Moving beyond chatbots layered over existing tools, the collaboration proved the power of agentic AI in enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of OOH campaigns from start to finish. Together, the buy and sell-side agents rapidly coordinated complex tasks across parties, with human oversight and guardrails.

With the largest global OOH media supply – including the largest aggregation of video-enabled displays, in-store media, and on-screen cinema inventory – Broadsign’s goal with this campaign is to unlock the power of agentic trading for OOH. The company is committed to bringing greater scale, data, and efficiency to buyers and opening up more demand for sellers.

“Agentic AI allows us to double down on our value proposition of leveraging technology to support media owners in achieving their business goals,” explained Bryan Mongeau, CTO, Broadsign. “Overlaying AI atop our global static and digital OOH supply, in concert with advanced data and execution capabilities, such as screen-level audience indexes, dynamic creative, guaranteed in-advance buying, and more, sets the stage for a paradigm shift that will transform the OOH business. This innovative collaboration is only the beginning.”

“A number of us at Draft Digital were early adopters of programmatic DOOH years ago, so being first to move on this next leap, fully agentic OOH, is genuinely exciting. Agentic advertising lets us build true multichannel experiences for our clients, backed by first-party performance data and a much cleaner ecosystem,” shared Aliks Röling, Digital Marketing Consultant, Draft Digital. “It pushes us into tighter collaboration with quality publishers and partners and ultimately delivers sharper strategic impact for brands like Lot of Happiness.”

As a growing charity lottery with around 100,000 participants and over €50 million donated to good causes, Lot of Happiness is always looking for smarter ways to expand its reach. Without the media budgets of larger lottery players, the organization relies on creativity and innovation to fuel its growth. “As a growing organization, we have to be creative and find efficiencies that larger players simply take for granted. Agentic DOOH is one of those opportunities where we want to be at the forefront, and we’re excited to see where it takes us.” Leo Nijs, Online Marketer, Lot of Happiness

“In today’s competitive media landscape, digital out-of-home must be as easy to discover, plan, buy, and measure as any other channel, and this collaboration proves it’s possible,” said Mink Zwolsman, Business Development Director, Global Netherlands. “What excites us most is that no single party could have done this alone. By combining Broadsign’s infrastructure with buy-side intelligence, Draft Digital’s ambition and our diverse digital out-of-home offering, we’ve shown that outdoor can be planned, bought, and activated with the same speed and data-driven precision as any digital channel. For Global Netherlands, this is a meaningful step toward making our inventory more accessible to buyers who want seamless, omnichannel campaigns and we’ve only just begun to uncover the advantages.”

Marketers and media owners looking to learn more about Broadsign’s sell-side agentic solution can get in touch with the company.

About Broadsign

Broadsign develops the leading global platform for managing and monetizing out-of-home (OOH) media. The company, which also operates Place Exchange by Broadsign, the largest independent SSP for Digital OOH, empowers media owners, media buyers, and retailers to harness the power and reach of out-of-home to connect with audiences in ways unlike any other advertising channel. More than 2.8 million static and digital signs along roadways and in airports, shopping malls, grocery and convenience stores, health clinics, transit systems, and more run on Broadsign. https://broadsign.com

About Draft Digital

At Draft Digital, we are setting the new standard in marketing and media. We believe that standing still is falling behind; an organization that isn’t growing is already losing. Built on a foundation of relevance and trust, we guide clients through a digital journey that never ends. We are leading the transition to Agentic Advertising, where intelligent Agents handle the operational burden of media buying. This shifts our focus from execution to pure strategy and innovation. By merging classic marketing theory with AI, we deliver scalable creativity and perfected measurement. We are not just service providers; we are the architects of digital growth.

About Global Netherlands

Global is a media operator and market leader in the (Digital) Out-of-Home sector, offering advertisers the opportunity to advertise in high streets, supermarkets, shopping centres, at railway stations, petrol stations and along motorways. With a nationwide digital network, Global meets advertisers’ needs to reach their target audience at precise times and locations. Thanks to these exclusive concessions across these diverse networks, advertisers can reach the masses or, conversely, target specific audiences very precisely in a wide variety of locations.

About Lot of Happiness

We believe in a better world for everyone. Charities, both big and small, drive this mission, they all deserve our support. By playing in our lottery, we together contribute to their missions. Playing = impact. You choose which charity receives half of your contribution. We are flexible: you decide how often you play and with what amount. This makes Lot of Happiness the lottery where your voice counts and your impact is big. And you can win fantastic prizes, from €1 million in the bank to a brand-new electric cargo bike. A true win-win.

Product News | October 11, 2021

How Osmow’s achieved a 33.9% lift in restaurant visits with programmatic DOOH

To support its next phase of national growth, Osmow’s, a leader in the Canadian quick-service restaurant (QSR) space, launched a high-impact programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) campaign to reach its target audience at scale. Specializing in modern Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, the brand sought to strengthen its position as a category leader and drive measurable foot traffic to restaurant locations across the country.

Objective

The campaign aimed to increase brand awareness and category share for Osmow’s, leveraging three tailored executions to support its diverse product offering. A core objective was to drive in-restaurant visits across urban, suburban, and rural markets, while positioning the brand as a value leader during the competitive post-holiday period.

Strategy

Osmow’s partnered with Involved Media and Broadsign to launch a data-driven programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) campaign, activating premium inventory across 4,912 screens. The campaign leveraged a diverse mix of placements, including large-format billboards, transit shelters, and campus screens, to deliver broad reach and sustained frequency.

Using the OutMoove DSP, the campaign employed programmatic triggers to engage consumers at high-intent moments throughout their daily routines. To maximize relevance and efficiency, ads were programmatically dayparted to peak during lunch (11 am–2 pm) and dinner (5 pm–7 pm) consideration windows. By utilizing proximity targeting near restaurant locations across Canada, the campaign ensured that tailored messaging reached audiences at the moment of choice.

Results

Foot Traffic Lift: Achieved a 33.9% lift in visits across 30 restaurant locations compared to the non-exposed control group

Sales Impact: Delivered a 5% contribution to total sales throughout the campaign period

“With over 240 locations, we are always looking for ways Osmow’s can stay top-of-mind while driving traffic to restaurants. Programmatic DOOH gave us the flexibility to do both at once. We were able to maintain a massive presence across the country, but with the additional layer of dayparting and proximity tools needed to reach the right people during the key lunch and dinner windows. It’s been a very effective way to bridge our digital strategy with the physical restaurant locations,” says Effie Ambida, Director Strategy & Planning at Involved Media.

Want the campaign highlights? Check out the infographic below.

Product News | October 11, 2021

Best practices for high-impact out-of-home creative

The out-of-home (OOH) ads that stop people in their tracks, spark awareness, and drive action all share a common thread: they’re built on proven creative principles shaped by real-world testing and what works in today’s evolving OOH landscape.

Effective OOH creative relies on bold design, minimal text, and clear branding. But what works on a static highway billboard may not have the same impact on a digital out-of-home (DOOH) screen or a crowded subway platform at rush hour.

That’s what makes OOH unique. It reaches audiences as they move through real-world environments like airports, malls, roadways, and city centres across both static formats and dynamic, data-driven digital displays, offering far more creative flexibility than the medium often gets credit for.

This guide explores the OOH and DOOH creative strategies that consistently deliver results before you plan your next campaign.

OOH creative fundamentals

When developing the creative for an OOH ad, there are core principles to keep in mind.

Define your goals: What does the ad wish to accomplish? Is the aim to drive in-store traffic? Stand out from competitors? Remind existing customers of an ongoing promotion? A firm strategy narrows the focus and clarifies the message.
Be bold: Most out-of-home ads have only seconds to reach audiences. When producing OOH or DOOH creative, employ boldness to stand out.
Keep it simple: A less-is-more approach is typically most effective. Messaging should be clear, direct, and to the point.
Let brand personality shine: Use humour, surprise, intrigue, even edginess to amplify your message.
Context is key: think about how your creative fits into its surroundings. Incorporating messaging that speaks to current events or relates to live data can boost performance and turn your ad from informative to innovative.

Think Design

Great OOH design is built for how people experience it. In fast-moving environments, you have seconds to make an impression, so clarity and visibility matter more than complexity.

At its core, effective design comes down to a few essentials:

High-contrast colours that cut through busy surroundings
Simple, focused layouts that are easy to process at a glance
Bold, recognizable imagery paired with clean, legible type

KFC’s bold, recognizable imagery makes this billboard instantly identifiable

Context matters just as much as design. What works on a roadside billboard viewed at speed won’t translate the same way to a street-level or place-based screen where dwell time is longer. Simpler creative performs better at a distance, while closer environments allow for more detail, as long as clarity isn’t compromised.

And while best practices exist for a reason, they are not rules. Intentionally breaking them can be just as effective when done with purpose.

Get the Specs Right

Even the strongest creative can fall flat if it is not built for the screen. OOH and DOOH formats vary widely across billboards, transit shelters, retail environments, and place-based networks, each with different dimensions, orientations, and file requirements.

A few fundamentals to keep in mind:

Design for both vertical and horizontal formats so layouts translate cleanly across environments
Stick to supported file types like JPG or PNG for static, and MP4 or HTML for digital placements
Keep file sizes within recommended limits to ensure smooth delivery and playback
Always build with the final screen size and placement in mind to avoid cropping or distortion

Below are some of the most common specs for digital and video displays in the US.

Most Common Display Sizes:

1920 x 1080
1080 x 1920
1400 x 400
840 x 400

Most Common Video Sizes (15-Second):

1920 x 1080
1080 x 1920
1400 x 400
1280 x 960

For more guidelines on proper format sizes, read our Best Practices Guide: How to create DOOH campaigns that get results.

Let’s talk about text

It’s not just about what you’re saying, but how you’re saying it: typeface and formatting contribute to how the ad, and its messaging, are received.

Large, bold typeface is easier for people to read, especially from a distance
Avoid thin or serif typefaces, which can be harder to read
Proper spacing between letters, words, and lines will help improve readability and visibility
Keep the copy short and sweet, and limit messaging to five to seven words
Stick to one simple, direct message and call-to-action

Viewing Distance	Minimum Readable Text Height
5’ – 50’	1” – 2” (72px – 144px @ 72dpi)
50’ – 100’	2” – 4” (144px – 288px @ 72dpi)
100’ – 200’	4” – 8” (288px – 576px @ 72dpi)

Virgin Active’s OOH display delivers big impact with minimal text

Video creatives

A recent study found that full-motion video OOH ads drive a 65% increase in “intent to learn more” compared to static creative, along with a 41% lift in perceived relevance, clear indicators of stronger audience consideration.

That’s why incorporating motion into your digital content is such a powerful way to capture attention. In most environments, videos should run no longer than 10-15 seconds; however, longer videos can be impactful for audiences in specific venue types with longer dwell times, like gyms, doctors’ offices, or bars.

Note: Place Exchange by Broadsign can seamlessly adapt social media and in-app vertical video creatives for portrait-mode screens, so you can get maximum value from a single video.

Creating personalized and dynamic content

When vying for a consumer’s attention, optimizing a digital out-of-home campaign with Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) can be the x-factor in reaching target audiences.

DCO means adjusting and optimizing DOOH ads for real-world contexts and environments, pulling data to deliver ads in response to current events or trends, such as the weather, sports scores, financial markets, audience profiles, or other nearby events or relevant information.

With DCO, ads can deliver more personalized experiences and stronger audience relevance. In fact, according to the OAAA and The Harris Poll, 81% of respondents exposed to weather-triggered ads featuring relevant product offers found them valuable. Thinking about where your ad will live along the consumer’s journey, and in what context, is an opportunity to create a high-impact ad that resonates with your target audience.

To create a high-impact ad, thread in creative that responds to live signals like time of day, weather, audience demographics or current events for a more targeted activation that reaches audiences at key moments.

Some ideas include:

Modify messaging based on relevant data inputs (e.g., weather, sports scores, etc.): Entice customers on rainy days to pop by for a warm cup of coffee, or advertise air conditioning units on extremely hot days, display sports scores during high-ticket events.
Schedule time-sensitive or product-specific promotions
Incorporate daily countdowns for popular movies or big events with universal appeal

McDonald’s weather-triggered OOH campaign in Qatar

Tracking and measurement

Knowing how your current campaign performs is crucial for planning the next. Use ID markers like QR codes, SMS messages, short-link URLs, hashtags, emails, or phone numbers to track and measure your ad’s performance. Adding a Call to Action (CTA) to your creatives can enable you to directly track “click-through” response to your OOH creative.

The winning formula for an out-of-home ad that gets noticed and delivers on ROI is to combine brand-safe creativity, outside-the-box thinking, and contextual relevance. With these OOH creative best practices in your toolkit, you can successfully create an ad that stands out.

Ready to launch a high-impact, creative out-of-home campaign that delivers results? Browse our inventory catalog to see the complete network of high-impact digital screens available.

Product News | October 11, 2021

De’Longhi drives 121% lift in brand preference with programmatic DOOH

To strengthen its position as a leader in premium home coffee experiences, De’Longhi partnered with Broadsign to launch a programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) campaign across Poland during the competitive holiday shopping season.

Objective

The campaign aimed to move audiences from brand awareness to purchase intent, positioning the Eletta Explore as the preferred choice for holiday gifting in a competitive retail landscape.

Strategy

In collaboration with agency partner Salestube PL, the campaign used the OutMoove DSP to activate premium pDOOH inventory across major Polish markets, focusing placements exclusively within high-traffic shopping mall environments.

Indoor screens in major shopping malls reached consumers in high-intent environments close to the point of purchase. By concentrating on mall inventory, including spectaculars, concourse screens, and food court displays, the campaign captured the attention of gift-seekers while they were actively browsing and shopping.

Dayparting aligned ad playouts with peak shopping hours, ensuring strong visibility during periods of elevated foot traffic throughout the holiday retail season.

Creative

The campaign featured cinematic video creative starring global brand ambassador Brad Pitt, accompanied by the localized copy: “To nie tylko idealny prezent. To Perfetto” (“It’s not just the perfect gift. It’s Perfetto.”).

By combining a recognizable ambassador with motion-driven creative across high-traffic placements, De’Longhi established a memorable presence during the year’s busiest retail window.

Results

121% Lift in Brand Preference: The campaign achieved a significant increase in brand preference, successfully strengthening De’Longhi’s positioning against key competitors in the premium coffee category.

190% Lift in Intent: The campaign effectively influenced consumer behaviour, delivering nearly a 3X lift in consumer intent to interact with the brand or visit the De’Longhi website.