Out-of-home (OOH) has long been prized for its scale, impact and creative power. But as audiences grow more dynamic and marketing becomes increasingly data-driven, the channel is evolving fast. Programmatic digital out-of-home now plays a critical role in driving smarter, more accountable campaigns. The most effective advertisers aren’t choosing between direct and programmatic; they’re blending both to plan with precision and deliver amplified results.
As the OOH industry continues its digital transformation, programmatic is becoming a core strategy for advertisers seeking both efficiency and impact. Yet despite growing adoption, some still treat DOOH as a supplemental channel rather than a strategic one.
That’s starting to shift. Marketers are recognising that programmatic fills critical gaps— reaching audiences in real time, in high-attention environments, and in moments that matter. When combined with the scale and visibility of traditional OOH, it powers a more adaptive, responsive and performance-oriented media mix.
Direct OOH delivers unmatched scale, placing brands in high-traffic, high impact locations that drive broad awareness. Programmatic adds flexibility, expanding reach into diverse environments like gyms, universities, office buildings, and shopping centres, while enabling real-time targeting, data-driven decisioning and mid-flight optimisation.
Used together, they’re more effective like either one alone. Hybrid strategies consistently outperform siloed approaches:
Every campaign mix will look different, but there are clear scenarios where programmatic can and should be the driving force. Whether it’s a need for speed, more sophisticated audience targeting, or greater flexibility, programmatic gives marketers the tools to respond to real-world conditions in real time. It’s also ideal for test-and-learn strategies, enabling fast creative swaps, location optimisation and performance-based adjustments without long lead times or production delays.
As marketers become more fluent in programmatic’s capabilities, many are leaning into higher allocations to maximise agility, efficiency and results.
Campaigns that blend direct and programmatic aren’t just efficient—they’re effective. Across markets, we’ve seen hybrid strategies drive:
It’s proof that the combination of mass visibility and precision targeting delivers tangible business outcomes.
In one recent campaign, a leading health insurance brand used programmatic to complement a large-scale direct OOH push—unlocking 44% higher conversion rates with just 10% of the budget allocated to pDOOH. The result? Greater impact with smarter spend. See the full results in the case study.
OOH planning is no longer a choice between broad reach or precision targeting. Today’s most effective campaigns use both—leveraging the brand-building power of direct OOH with the agility and intelligence of programmatic. The marketers leading the charge aren’t picking sides; they’re building smarter, integrated strategies that deliver across every metric that matters.