Product News | October 11, 2021

What is programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH)?

If your agency or brand uses online advertising, you may already know the basics of programmatic ad buying or have even set up a campaign using a demand-side platform (DSP). But even if the technology is similar, a few features of programmatic DOOH are unique compared to other digital formats, and there are certain factors to consider when integrating pDOOH in your omnichannel strategy – especially if the outdoor space is totally unfamiliar to you.

But what is pDOOH, exactly? Programmatic digital out-of-home, also known as programmatic DOOH or pDOOH, refers to the automated buying, selling, and delivery of out-of-home (OOH) advertising – that’s ads on digital billboards and signage.

Sounds simple? In a way, it is. With programmatic DOOH, computers are automating the sale and delivery of ad content in a similar way to what you see with most online advertising. Buyers will set conditions under which they want to buy media; when those conditions are met, ads are automatically purchased.

However, since programmatic DOOH ads appear out in the world and not on personal devices, your approach to building a programmatic DOOH campaign will likely differ from what you’re used to online.

Here’s a closer look at what programmatic DOOH is and how to use it to its full potential.

Jump ahead to:

What is digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising? A quick refresher on why DOOH is great in general

Marketers are increasingly seeing the value of DOOH, and it’s reflected in the continued growth of out-of-home advertising. In fact, one-third of all OOH ad spend in 2023 was directed to DOOH — and it’s projected to grow another 10% by the end of 2024. 

So, what is DOOH media? There’s a lot to love, but here are a few standout details.

  • DOOH ads can offer unmatched size: Big digital screens offer a lot of room to execute visually stunning ideas (see our favourite OOH and billboard ads) in a way you can’t match on personal devices. Even smaller DOOH displays, like digital signage, totems, and displays on bus stops, are going to offer a larger canvas with great visual potential. 
  • DOOH is unskippable and ad-block-proof: If people are around a digital display, they’re going to see it. There are no ad-blockers, no below-the-fold positions, and no issue of users switching over to a different app or tab. That’s partly why nine in ten U.S. adults (88%) notice OOH ads, and nearly 80% have engaged with an OOH ad in the past 60 days.
  • (D)OOH supercharges your other channels: Yes, digital out-of-home and traditional OOH advertising are impactful on their own, but they shine when you pair them with other advertising channels. Research from MRI-Simmons and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America found that using OOH alongside other channels can boost reach by as much as 100%.
  • DOOH drives real-world action: A new Harris Poll study reveals that DOOH is the preferred and most motivating medium compared to other forms of advertising. Notably, 76% of recent DOOH ad viewers reported taking action in response to an ad, highlighting its effectiveness in driving consumer behaviour.

pDOOH vs DOOH: Why programmatic digital out-of-home is even better

So take everything great about DOOH and layer extra data, better targeting, and easy access. That’s what you’re looking at with programmatic DOOH. Let’s dig into that in a little more detail.

Programmatic DOOH is DOOH improved by data

  • Programmatic DOOH uses data analytics to provide detailed insights into campaign performance, including audience engagement and effectiveness. 
  • Traditional DOOH campaigns typically rely on less granular data, such as general traffic patterns and location demographics, limiting the ability to tailor and optimize campaigns effectively.

While traditional DOOH relies on more general metrics and lacks the granular data needed for in-depth analysis, programmatic DOOH uses data analytics to provide detailed insights into campaign performance, including audience engagement and effectiveness. This helps advertisers optimize their strategies and improve ROI.

The key to understanding programmatic DOOH is this: programmatic transactions allow you to set specific conditions based on external data that will trigger a DOOH ad slot purchase. The fun thing is that there are virtually no limits to the kinds of data that can be used to trigger content.

There are simple options, like having different creatives delivered based on the time of day. There are also slightly more advanced options, like the weather, daily market performance, or the ongoing results of a sporting event. You can even use live audience information to trigger content that is ideal for the majority of people at a location at any given time.

And, of course, you can use multiple triggers based on multiple data sources to get really granular with your targeting.

This all leads to great things. Using one or more data triggers to drive a programmatic DOOH campaign can open the door to creative and memorable campaigns. Better still, it helps ensure your audience sees your ads at the most relevant times.

Example: See how foodora used weather, time of day, and location data to drive a creative, effective, and very relevant programmatic DOOH campaign.

Programmatic DOOH is faster and more flexible

  • Programmatic DOOH allows advertisers to purchase ad space in real-time through automated bidding platforms, allowing advertisers to adjust their campaigns based on performance, availability, and changing conditions.
  • Traditional DOOH often requires pre-booking ad space, limiting flexibility and responsiveness.

Unlike classic or directly purchased DOOH, pDOOH allows advertisers to buy inventory in near real-time without needing upfront commitments or predefined schedules. This provides a high degree of flexibility and responsiveness, minimizes lead times, and makes optimizing ad placements and adjusting spending on the fly easier. 

Survey results from IAB Australia’s 2024 Attitudes to Programmatic DOOH report show that just over half (52%) of advertisers see programmatic DOOH as a significant or regularly considered part of their activity, and a further 36% have experimented with it. Flexible buying is a key factor, with 68% of agencies and 55% of brand marketers and advertisers citing programmatic flexibility as a major driver for usage. 

Strictly speaking, programmatic doesn’t enable anything that can’t be accomplished with a direct buy. The difference programmatic makes is in terms of speed and efficiency. You can deliver relevant messaging much more quickly and without making repeated direct buys.

In the foodora example above, audiences were delivered different messages at lunch and around dinnertime. They were prompted to go for a nice walk to pick up their food if it was sunny and to treat themselves to delivery when it was raining. The restaurants suggested to them differed depending on where they were located when seeing the ad. All of this was accomplished without additional input from foodora once the campaign had been set up.

Programmatic can help you accomplish similar results for whatever conditions you want to set. As soon as the time is right, you can automatically deliver the right message to the right screen to reach your audience, whoever they are.

Programmatic DOOH is easily accessible through leading DSPs

More and more DSPs are getting on board with programmatic DOOH. It’s making adding DOOH to multichannel campaigns much more straightforward, and we’re already seeing buyers use this opportunity significantly. 

Existing content can often be easily adapted to suit a digital out-of-home display. The medium’s support for dynamic DOOH and adaptive HTML5 formats, in particular, can greatly help buyers reuse existing content from an online and/or mobile campaign in a programmatic DOOH campaign.

As a bonus, programmatic allows you to buy across multiple publishers simultaneously. It’s much quicker and easier to build a programmatic campaign targeting screens across various networks than reaching out to each business individually to coordinate your buy.

As more DSPs begin to support programmatic DOOH and more buyers start incorporating the medium into their campaigns, the format will likely become an integral part of most mainstream media buys.

Measuring the effectiveness and ROI of programmatic DOOH campaigns

Many brands approach DOOH expecting a measurement standard equivalent to the online impression or gross rating point (GRP). However, DOOH media is different. It spans a variety of display types, not just browsers, TVs, or apps, which presents challenges in creating fully standardized metrics. 

Another key difference is that ads are served in a one-to-one environment when you load a web page, so ‘one ad served’ equals ‘one impression.’ By contrast, DOOH advertising is served in a one-to-many environment. A single DOOH ad has the potential to achieve hundreds of impressions. But how can we really know that? And what does a DOOH impression look like anyway? 

Fortunately, several reliable and rigorous measurement methods are available to help make a strong case for DOOH, and these have been bolstered even further in recent years through the growth of programmatic transactions in the DOOH space. 

Key performance metrics to measure the success of pDOOH

OOH is fundamentally a brand awareness medium. There’s lots of evidence that OOH campaigns can have a significant positive impact on metrics such as brand awareness and brand recall. However,  marketers likely also want to measure the impact of adding DOOH to their other channels. 

Technological advancements are now making it possible to obtain reliable, trustworthy, and privacy-compliant data to analyze campaign performance. Understanding which specific metrics you want to track and measure ahead of time will make it easier to design and evaluate the campaign’s overall success.

Some of the top measurement solutions for direct attribution include:

  • Brand lift: Often conducted via surveys broadcasted in geo-locations within a specific zone of the exposed DOOH screens, brand lift studies seek to measure a DOOH campaign’s effect on overall brand metrics like ad recall, awareness and perception, consideration, and intent.
  • Foot traffic attribution: Commonly used by brands with physical locations to measure a lift in store visits post-DOOH exposure, foot traffic studies provide insights into immediate attribution by mapping audience travel patterns before and after they pass specific screens or points of interest.
  • Mobile retargeting/mobile ID passback: Including mobile retargeting in your omnichannel strategy is one of the best ways to amplify your campaign. Data experts specializing in device ID passback capture device IDs when audiences enter defined location boundaries. This data is then analyzed and translated into qualified audience profiles, which can later be retargeted with mobile ads via your DSP. Capturing exposed device IDs can enable additional measurement of how your DOOH campaign impacted other media channels.
  • QR code attribution: QR codes on DOOH ads offer an interactive and accurate way to measure engagement by tracking the number of codes scanned and sequential offers delivered based on interactions. They also allow for A/B performance testing and help measure converted sales that can be directly attributed to each campaign. 

For more expert insights and campaign planning tips, check out our actionable guide, 6 steps for integrating DOOH in your omnichannel marketing strategy.

Examples of pDOOH in action

Looking for inspiration? Here are two programmatic digital out-of-home advertising examples that show how different agencies and brands have leveraged the medium.

Holt Renfrew: Driving in-store foot traffic & boosting intent

With Nordstrom closing its doors in Canada, Holt Renfrew, the country’s largest fashion and lifestyle retailer, wanted to capitalize on the shutdown of its competitor to regain market share in key customer demographics. More specifically, it wanted to boost consideration and drive consumers to its brick-and-mortar stores nationwide.

The retailer did so by simultaneously launching two large-scale programmatic digital out-of-home campaigns promoting its ‘Holts <3’ sale event, partnering with Havas agency to launch the campaign with Broadsign in major Canadian cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.

WATCH: See how Holt Renfrew’s large-scale programmatic campaign boosted brand KPIs

Read the full Holt Renfrew case study to learn how the luxury retailer drove 400,000 store visits and a +500% lift in purchase intent with its programmatic digital OOH campaign.

Sea-Doo: Increasing Purchase Consideration in Florida

Sea-Doo, a brand of personal watercraft and boats manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), recently sought to strengthen brand recognition, purchase consideration, and share of voice in its primary market of Florida. 

To reach its core audience of personal watercraft, pontoon, and fishing enthusiasts, the brand turned to programmatic DOOH — its first experience with the medium. Launched in collaboration with Touché! agency and Broadsign, the DOOH campaign ran alongside other channels like search and social media and resulted in a +144% lift in purchase consideration. The campaign also provided a major boost in brand perception, creating a +130% lift in positive brand image

WATCH: See the behind-the-scenes of Sea-Doo’s campaign with Touché agency

Read the full Sea-Doo case study to learn how the brand’s first digital OOH campaign increased purchase consideration in key cities like Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa.

Educational resources for programmatic DOOH

Though programmatic DOOH has come a long way, even in the past couple of years, the industry still needs to overcome some challenges.

According to new research from JCDecaux UK, most people buying DOOH advertising programmatically (over three-quarters, or 77%, of UK pDOOH marketers) are always directly involved in planning or buying at least one other channel. That means most teams tasked with buying programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) media today are not made up of dedicated OOH specialists but broader digital buyers who are now including DOOH in their programmatic planning mix.

While these findings indicate the increased accessibility of programmatic DOOH, they also hint at the growing need for integrated omnichannel teams to gain the OOH expertise required to incorporate pDOOH successfully and productively into their cross-channel planning.

We’ve compiled some resources to help you learn more about programmatic DOOH:

Programmatic DOOH is still relatively young, but it’s also an exciting playground for digital newcomers. Take it for a spin and see how it enhances your existing campaigns. You might be surprised by just how much it helps!

Learn how to plan, trade, and succeed in pDOOH in our specialist doohx course designed for those on the buy-side of programmatic DOOH. Upskill your knowledge or build a team ready to take advantage of the latest innovations, technologies, and opportunities pDOOH offers.

Product News | October 11, 2021

How to boost your back-to-school campaigns with OOH advertising

Back-to-school season isn’t just about new notebooks and sneakers—it’s one of the biggest retail moments of the year. In fact, next to Black Friday, it’s the second-busiest shopping event, with sales expected to reach $84.5 billion in 2025. It’s a key moment for brands to drive both in-store and online traffic.

According to the National Retail Federation, 67% of back-to-school shoppers had already started shopping by early July, up from 55% last year and the highest early start since the NRF began tracking it in 2018. The early start is partly driven by economic concerns: 51% of families say they’re shopping earlier this year to avoid potential price increases due to tariffs or inflation.

With shoppers active early but still open to influence, this season presents a key opportunity for advertisers to stay top of mind throughout the entire purchase journey. DOOH advertising helps brands do just that—reaching shoppers in real time with contextually relevant messages near retail locations, on transit routes, and in everyday environments where purchase decisions happen.

With families actively hunting for value and wrapping up their shopping lists, DOOH offers a smart, scalable way to connect with them. Here’s how to maximize your back-to-school campaigns this season.

Strategies for effective back-to-school OOH advertising

Targeted ad placements

Location matters—and when it comes to driving real-world action, proximity pays off. According to the OAAA, 30% of consumers have recently noticed OOH ads providing directions to a business. Of those, 51% visited the business, and 93% made a purchase, highlighting the power of timely, well-placed messaging to convert attention into action.

With 62% of back-to-school shoppers planning to visit two or more physical stores this season, strategic DOOH placements offer a direct way to influence purchase decisions in real time. By meeting consumers where they live, move, and shop—on commutes, in stores, and during everyday errands—advertisers can stay top of mind throughout the entire path to purchase.

  • Urban panels and transit stations reach students, teachers, and parents as they navigate city streets or commute to school and work—making them ideal for building awareness early in the shopping cycle.
  • In-mall screens and big-box retail placements reach consumers at the point of decision, when new clothes, school supplies, and electronics are already top of mind. These locations offer both high dwell time and strong purchase intent.
  • Grocery stores and pharmacies are high-frequency stops for families throughout the season. Placing DOOH ads in these environments helps reinforce messaging around snacks, lunch prep, personal care, and other everyday essentials.
  • Near college campuses, DOOH campaigns can engage students and educators gearing up for the semester, with messaging focused on dorm furnishings, laptops, and classroom supplies.
Tesco’s back-to-school campaign via Clear Channel UK.

Contextual, relevant messaging

Crafting timely and relevant messages for your OOH ads can significantly enhance their impact—especially as inflation continues to influence how households prioritize their spending. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly half of back-to-school shoppers are delaying purchases to wait for better deals, making context-aware messaging more valuable than ever.

DOOH ads tailored to contextual settings or time-specific discounts can help capture a shopper’s attention and inspire action—whether it’s a limited-time offer near a big-box store or a reminder to stock up on supplies during the afternoon commute. You can take that agility even further by incorporating dynamic creative, allowing your messaging to automatically adapt based on real-time conditions.

Thanks to continued advancements in programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH), triggering dynamic ads is easier than ever. Advertisers can activate creative based on factors like weather, traffic conditions, time of day, special offers, or even nearby events. In some cases, ads can even be triggered by inventory status, such as displaying promotional discounts when a store has an overstock of merchandise.

Timing is key—schedule ads during the moments your audience is most likely to engage, like morning and afternoon commute windows, weekend shopping rushes, or after-work errand hours, to ensure your message reaches consumers when it matters most.

H&M promotes the back-to-school season during commuting hours via JCDecaux.

Amplifying digital reach with OOH

OOH advertising is not just about physical presence; it can also drive digital engagement. According to data from The Harris Poll and OAAA, 74% of mobile device users reported taking action on their mobile devices following recent exposure to DOOH ads, with actions ranging from online searches about advertisers to direct visits to advertiser websites and social media platforms. 

Integrating QR codes or short URLs into OOH ads can encourage viewers to visit an online store or follow or engage with a brand on social media to access a promo code for B2S shopping. Social media contests or giveaways with a B2S theme promoted on OOH creative can further drive engagement and increase a brand’s following.

Interested in getting started with DOOH this back-to-school shopping season?

The back-to-school season is a prime time for brands to connect with consumers and boost sales. Incorporating OOH into your marketing strategy is a strategic way to reach parents, students, and teachers where they’re at, increasing brand awareness and prompting them to take action. 

Explore curated audiences in our Retail package here!

Product News | October 11, 2021

Want to scale in-store digital signage the smart way? These costly missteps could undermine long-term growth

As retailers race to meet brand demand and tap into new revenue streams, many are rapidly rolling out digital signage as part of their broader retail media networks (RMNs). But in the rush to scale, it’s easy to make early decisions that quietly erode long-term flexibility, visibility, and control.

The way you structure your network — from how screens are managed to how content is delivered and measured — directly impacts your ability to scale effectively. And when speed is prioritized over strategy, foundational cracks often surface just as brand expectations are rising.

Whether you’re installing your first in-store screens or integrating an existing network into a broader retail media strategy, your setup should serve your business, your partners, and your shoppers without compromise. That’s where Broadsign’s new eBook, Owning Your In-Store Activation: A Playbook for Scaling In-Store Digital Signage Networks, comes in: a guide to scaling smart, staying in control, and building for the long term.

The following insights — pulled directly from the playbook — spotlight three of retailers’ most common missteps when scaling in-store media. Avoiding them early can help you protect long-term flexibility, unlock greater value, and stay in control as your network grows.

Why in-store, why now?

Retail media is one of the fastest-growing channels in advertising — and the physical store is its most underleveraged asset. While ecommerce has historically commanded retail media budgets, over 80% of U.S. retail sales still happen in-store. That’s a massive opportunity to engage shoppers at the point of purchase.

That momentum is building fast:

To capture that value, more retailers are turning to digital signage. With screens, contextual triggers, and access to first-party customer data, they can now deliver targeted, measurable campaigns right where buying decisions are made. From dynamic digital displays to mobile integrations and real-time content delivery, in-store environments are becoming high-impact media assets.

But unlocking that value — and making it work to your advantage — takes more than tech. It takes a strategy that puts you in control.

Retailers that act now, building scalable infrastructure and aligning their networks with long-term goals, will be better positioned to drive revenue, strengthen brand partnerships, and elevate the in-store shopping experience.

What in-store retail media looks like today

Modern in-store retail media is fast, flexible, and measurable. Gone are the days of static signage and lengthy campaign rollouts. Today’s in-store environments are powered by:

  • Endcap and shelf-edge displays for real-time, context-driven promotions
  • Checkout and kiosk screens to deliver targeted, personalized offers
  • Mobile integrations (e.g., dynamic QR codes, NFC) that bridge physical and digital touchpoints

The real power lies in data. With insights from loyalty programs, real-time signals like inventory or weather, and behaviour-based triggers (e.g. motion sensors, dwell time), retailers can automatically serve relevant content when it matters most — increasing engagement and conversion.

Common missteps that undermine retailer control

Before you scale, avoid these all-too-common traps, which can limit your flexibility, erode shopper trust, and ultimately impact your bottom line.

1. Prioritizing speed over strategic control 

Turnkey solutions from third-party platforms can be appealing. They promise fast deployment, minimal lift, and a steady demand pipeline from brand advertisers. But this speed can come at the cost of flexibility. These models often involve rigid contracts, limited customization, and closed systems that don’t integrate easily with your existing operations. Those early decisions can box you in as your network scales, restricting how you deliver content, leverage data, or monetize your screens.

“The best long-term value comes from owning the data and being the front door for how retail media is bought,” says Troy Townsend, CEO of Zitcha. “This is about building enterprise value.”

2. Letting fragmentation create friction

Retailers often launch in-store media programs without standardized systems or shared goals across internal teams. The result? Fragmented networks that are hard to manage and even harder to measure. According to the Path to Purchase Institute, consumer goods companies now work with an average of six retail media networks, a number that’s expected to nearly double by 2026. That fragmentation creates a real challenge for retailers: proving performance and standing out to advertisers.

In-store adds even more complexity. Factors like screen location, shopper flow, and dwell time vary from store to store, making it hard to compare results without standardized reporting. To scale effectively, you need more than screens. You need a connected ecosystem, a unified measurement strategy, and a clear operational playbook.

3. Letting content chaos dilute the shopper experience

You’ve invested in digital screens — now what do you show on them? This is where many retailers hit a wall. Without a coordinated strategy across teams (media, marketing, merchandising, store ops), everyone competes for screen time, leading to:

  • Conflicting messages
  • Missed opportunities for targeted content
  • Visual overload that confuses shoppers and weakens campaigns

Media campaigns are often treated like old-school packages — booked by week or location, with no real audience targeting or dynamic scheduling. That approach might fill screens, but it fails to align with shopper context or brand expectations.

“That lack of screen- or audience-level targeting creates real operational challenges,”
says Jorge Bueno, CEO of Shoppermotion. “Without the right infrastructure, the only option is to run the same ads across all screens at once.”

The result? A disjointed experience that under-delivers for everyone.

Own your growth — before someone else defines it for you

These pitfalls aren’t just operational challenges — they’re symptoms of a deeper issue: giving up too much control over how your network runs, scales, and delivers value.

Taking back control doesn’t mean building everything yourself. It means:

  • Choosing partners who align with your goals
  • Building infrastructure that supports flexibility and interoperability
  • Retaining ownership of the data, processes, and strategy that shape your success

Retailers that define these boundaries early are better equipped to scale their networks purposefully and turn their in-store footprint into a long-term competitive advantage.

Ready to take back control?

Owning your in-store activation doesn’t mean doing it all alone. It means making smart, strategic decisions about your infrastructure, partners, and operations — and building a network that works for you, not the other way around.

Download the complete Owning Your In-Store Activation playbook to explore the key decisions that shape in-store success and learn how to structure your network for long-term, scalable growth.