This blog is adapted from the ebook, The next media frontier: Where digital meets the real world.
Media trends are often hard to quantify— until the data tells a story you can’t ignore. That’s exactly what’s happening with programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH).
To put it into perspective: CTV took 12 years to surpass 1% of ad spend across major Australian TV networks after emerging as a category in 2007 (source: SMI). Programmatic DOOH reached that same milestone in just three years, following its first notable appearance in 2018.
Since 2020, programmatic DOOH in Australia has grown at an average annual rate of more than 180 percent. This rate dramatically outpaces the peak growth years of connected TV, which averaged closer to 40 percent.
But growth alone does not tell the full story. The market is fundamentally rethinking the role of this channel, and the surge in programmatic DOOH is being driven by three key shifts shaping the industry.
- Expanded programmatic access: Media owners are enabling a growing share of their inventory for programmatic use. The test-and-learn phase is well and truly over, with programmatic DOOH now reserving between 10–40% of any given ad loop, ensuring buyers can access premium screens at scale.
- Rising buyer adoption: Buyer investment is accelerating and diversifying. More than 1,000+ brands and agencies in Australia are now running campaigns through programmatic DOOH platforms, spanning everything from global marketers to performance-focused independents. The channel is seeing growth in both volume and sophistication as adoption broadens.
“Just like CTV transformed how we think about video and clients’ broader screens strategy, bringing targeting precision, dynamic flexibility, and measurable outcomes to a traditionally broad-reach channel; pDOOH is doing the same for out-of-home. At PHD, we’re leading the way in integrating pDOOH as a core channel within our wider omnichannel planning, using it as a strategic lever to reduce media wastage, layer data signals for improved contextual relevancy, and elevate campaign measurement. Our approach ensures brands can do more with less, delivering impact where it counts and unlocking the full potential of OOH in a data-driven media ecosystem.”
— Mikeah Irving | Media Implementation Account Director, PHD Sydney - Programmatic infrastructure growth: Media owners are investing in the technology needed to set their networks up for long-term programmatic success. By adopting integrated ad platforms and content management systems built for the world of programmatic, they are increasing ad request volumes, improving execution and unlocking new revenue opportunities.
Programmatic is not just winning share, it is bringing new advertisers into the OOH category, unlocking budgets that previously sat elsewhere in the digital mix.
The difference in this shift is not just the pace of adoption, but the pace of change. As technology improves, media owners digitalize more screens and measurement becomes more refined, the channel is becoming both more accessible and effective. Now is the time for brands to rethink what OOH can offer, not as a standalone channel but as an integrated part of a digital strategy. The screens may be familiar,but the way we use them needs to transform.
Discover the strategies brands are using to capitalise on programmatic DOOH’s momentum in the full ebook.
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