DOOH advertising: What it is, how it works, and why brands are investing

The shift from static print to digital screens gave outdoor advertising something it never had before: real-time content updates, data-informed audience targeting, and programmatic buying. For media owners, this turns out-of-home from a fixed-placement channel into a controllable digital inventory. 

Digital out-of-home marketing (DOOH) has evolved into a measurable, data-driven advertising channel. Now, programmatic technology transforms the adtech domain, opening even broader horizons for DOOH.

This post explores what DOOH marketing is and how it is changing the game for advertisers and brands through programmatic technology. 

What is DOOH (digital out-of-home) advertising?

Let's start with DOOH meaning. Digital out-of-home advertising is an advanced version of outdoor advertising. It displays dynamic, captivating content on digital screens. DOOH also allows brands to update digital screens in seconds, ensuring ads are relevant.

DOOH creates an opportunity to engage customers through either visually stimulating displays in urban environments or interactive kiosks for commuters using public transportation. Interactive formats can encourage users to scan QR codes, visit nearby stores, or continue the customer journey online. 

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) vs. traditional out-of-home (OOH)

After learning what DOOH advertising is, it’s time to review the differences between this type and traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising. 

1. OOH uses static formats like printed billboards, posters, and banners. DOOH relies on digital screens that display dynamic, animated, or rotating content.

2. When dealing with OOH, you need to take the time and effort to update content. Meanwhile, with DOOH, content can be updated in real time.

3. Conventional out-of-home advertising targets large audiences. DOOH, on the other hand, enables specific targeting. DOOH ads can be instantly changed based on time, weather, and audience demographics.

4. OOH ads are usually static. DOOH ads enable interactivity through touch screens, QR codes, or AR integrations.

5. DOOH offers analytical potential, as its campaign metrics are often integrated with data analytics tools.

6. DOOH often requires higher media costs than OOH but provides greater flexibility and optimization opportunities. 

The table below illustrates the DOOH vs OOH differences more vividly. 

How does programmatic DOOH work?

With programmatic DOOH, all outdoor advertising can be purchased automatically using automated buying workflows similar to other programmatic channels. Advertisers don’t have to negotiate individual placements manually. Here’s how it works:

• The advertiser sets campaign parameters in the DSP: target locations, screen types, budget, schedule, audience signals, creative format, and bid limits.

• The DSP looks for matching DOOH inventory across connected ad exchanges and SSPs that represent screen owners or digital out-of-home networks.

• The SSP sends bid requests with available screen data.

• The DSP evaluates the opportunity and places a bid when the screen matches the campaign logic.

• In auction-based buying, the winning bid is selected, and the approved creative is sent to the screen’s content system.

• The ad appears on the digital screen, while delivery, impressions, and performance signals feed back into reporting.

Advertisers typically access DOOH inventory through DSPs that support DOOH supply. Screen owners need SSP access or their own SSP infrastructure to expose inventory, control pricing, and manage how demand reaches their screens.

[Check out our recent article for more insights on the promises of programmatic advertising!]

Benefits of DOOH advertising

There’s a substantial list of DOOH benefits. After all, digital advertising allows companies to leverage the newest technologies to enhance their campaigns. The list of the main DOOH benefits includes the following:

• Flexibility and reach: Brand campaigns can be adapted to suit variables such as location, target audience, weather, and time of day. This is what Uber did. They used this technique in Brazil in their pDOOH campaign, using variables such as weather, temperature, and location to target their advertisements. The results are impressive: Uber generated 33.7 million impressions.

• Higher visual potential: High-quality dynamic digital displays capture our attention with their colorful, interactive content. According to research, 73% of American adults aged 18-64 preferred DOOH advertisements over other advertisement formats.

• Interactivity: DOOH incorporates touchscreens, QR codes, and augmented reality. ​​This research found that 74% of mobile device users reported taking action on their phones following recent exposure to DOOH ads.

• Real-time campaign adjustments: There may be a time when you realize your campaign isn't performing as expected, and you need to make adjustments as soon as possible. DOOH allows you to do just that. For example, this study shows that 81% of respondents find ads with product offers related to current weather conditions highly relevant and useful.

• Data-driven insights: In addition to measuring what happens after a campaign is executed, DOOH offers advertisers other benefits, including in-flight pacing, served impressions, attribution, brand lift, footfall, store visits, and first-party data-driven results.

• Sustainability: DOOH can reduce printing waste and the need for physical replacements. 

DOOH ad formats: Types, locations & best use cases

DOOH marketing offers rich potential for diverse advertising formats. As long as digital screens can be placed almost anywhere, there are great opportunities for diversity in DOOH formats. Let's explore the most common DOOH media. 

[Learn about the best places to advertise online.]

Targeting and capabilities of DOOH advertising

By identifying such capabilities and exploring appropriate targeting practices, you can drastically enhance the efficiency of your DOOH media campaigns. So, these are the most important capabilities and targeting types of digital out-of-home ads.

Location-based targeting

This digital advertising reaches people at a particular location. A typical example of digital OOH advertising is placing advertisements near shopping centers.

Weather-based targeting

Advertising can be done by taking into account the current weather, including temperature and rain. For instance, you might have seen ice cream advertisements during hot weather. Warm clothing is advertised during cold weather.

Time-based targeting

These advertisements are scheduled to air at specific times of day. Advertisers can, for instance, plan for their restaurant commercials to air during lunch and dinner or their coffee commercials to air during morning commutes.

Audience demographic targeting

Digital out-of-home programmatic systems identify targeted demographic groups (such as men versus women in their early twenties or adults versus children) and use this information to create relevant communication with the audience. This method allows advertisers to tailor messaging to different audience segments.

Behavioral targeting

Data on consumer preferences and habits is the basis of behavioral targeting. For instance, advertisements for exercise equipment may show up in places that gym patrons frequently visit. In the meantime, restaurant advertisements may target tourist destinations or commercial hubs.

Event-based DOOH targeting

Quite often, ads are introduced during specific events, such as sports games or festivals. The key point is to make the ad's message relevant to the event's context. In this regard, there appear to be significant opportunities to tailor ad messages to the audience's needs.

Data integration and retargeting

Using DOOH lets you gather data from external sources such as mobile phones and social media. This information can then be used to create marketing campaigns that seamlessly retarget those who have interacted with your advertiser’s digital ads online. For example, users who interacted with a mobile campaign can later be exposed to DOOH inventory, or vice versa. 

Proximity targeting

These ads can reach people based on the distance from the screen. Just imagine: a café runs proximity-based ads to everyone who walks by, promoting their menu options. Jack In The Box ran an out-of-home campaign for its newest menu item, using the proximity of its stores to encourage passing people to come in. The campaign increased foot traffic by up to 8.8%. 

[Learn more about banner ad monitoring tools in our article.]

How to measure a DOOH campaign: Key metrics

DOOH campaign examples that worked

DOOH advertising practices really work. Here are some notable examples of DOOH network campaigns that inspire marketers globally. While advertisers on this list took quite different approaches to advertising, all the brand awareness campaign examples presented here eventually led their companies to success.

British Airways’ Look Up campaign

The "Look Up" Campaign from British Airways fascinated audiences by using digital billboard advertising to display live flight details from real planes flying overhead. They synchronized real-time flight data with billboard content, delivering an immersive experience. The campaign created over 33 million views on its official YouTube channel within one month, as well as over 17,000 Twitter mentions in that same timeframe.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s DOOH campaign by Perion’s Hivestack

Here is a successful example of a DOOH network campaign primarily oriented toward sustainability. This story serves as a perfect example of the value of programmatic DOOH advertising. Fire and Emergency New Zealand used geotargeting to display DOOH ads in high-risk fire zones. The campaign enabled real-time activation of the iconic “Half Grapefruit” fire-risk visual, driving 85% awareness and 90% compliance with target behaviors. 

Helena Rubinstein's DOOH campaign

As part of promoting their latest cosmetics collection, Helena Rubinstein ran an online digital out-of-home marketing campaign. The ads were strategically placed where their customers would easily notice them. Within 30 days, the campaign resulted in over 2.5 million impressions.

Netflix’s Stranger Things 3D campaign

One of the most popular modern TV series owes much of its popularity to DOOH advertising. To promote the new season of "Stranger Things," Netflix deployed eye-catching 3D billboards in busy urban locations. The displays featured iconic elements and characters from the show. As part of the broader launch campaign, the season generated 59.6 million views at launch, 171% higher than the Season 4 debut. 

DOOH advertising infrastructure by TeqBlaze

Programmatic DOOH relies on the same core technologies that power the broader programmatic ecosystem, including SSPs, ad exchanges, OpenRTB integrations, auction management, and demand routing. Building this infrastructure requires technology that can efficiently connect inventory with demand while giving media owners full control over monetization.

At TeqBlaze, we develop white-label SSP for publishers, media owners, and adtech companies. Our solutions help businesses launch and scale their own advertising ecosystems with configurable auction logic, reporting, inventory management, and demand integrations across multiple programmatic channels.

Explore our Success Stories to see how we've helped clients build custom programmatic platforms, optimize monetization, and scale their advertising infrastructure across different business models.

Final words

Programmatic technology is changing the digital OOH advertising market and the connected TV attribution landscape. DOOH provides greater control over when, where, and how ads appear. Brands can make targeting more specific, provide real-time updates, and deliver immersive experiences to viewers. 

To enter the programmatic DOOH channel, advertisers will need a DSP to access programmatic purchasing of DOOH inventory. Media owners will require either a white-label SSP or their own infrastructure.

If you're evaluating the technical setup for programmatic DOOH, visit our adtech platform development page. We will help you learn what DOOH advertising is, unlock the full potential of programmatic DOOH, and drive measurable success.