Why it looks like a good year for OOH

Buying options

pDOOH platforms continue to evolve rapidly. From enhanced programmatic guaranteed (PG) offerings; to the launch of Broadsign’s advance-booking system for DOOH inventory, In-Advance; more OOH buying features; and the introduction of new deal types, the DOOH booking experience is closer to that of online, mobile, and other digital channels. These developments are unlocking new flexibility to secure guaranteed and non-guaranteed OOH inventory from one platform.

While there are many benefits to leveraging real-time bidding (RTB) in OOH, which doesn’t guarantee inventory, there are cases where advertisers need specific premium screens in certain locations at set times, for example, in close proximity to a stadium before a World Cup match. This kind of transaction used to largely be executable via direct, guaranteed buys, often requiring weeks of manual back and forth with multiple media owners.

Advancements in programmatic tools, such as PG and In-Advance, are enabling buyers to guarantee inventory as they would with a direct campaign from the same platform where they buy through RTB, or non-guaranteed deals. With both buy types more easily executable from one platform, buyers will be able to choose the best approach or mix thereof to achieve their campaign goals.

This flexibility is setting the stage for a new way of thinking about OOH buys that can ensure more cohesive omnichannel campaigns. It will make the medium easier to buy alongside other channels like CTV. This will be crucial as the worlds of CTV and OOH converge with the rise of CTV OOH, which delivers streaming content and advertising to displays in public areas.

This year at CES, we saw DIRECTV Remote, a dedicated network of CTV OOH inventory, become available programmatically for the first time. In 2026, we only expect more innovations like this to surface, making it easier to plan, reserve, and execute traditional CTV ads alongside CTV OOH ads. As OOH tools continue to mature, we’re going to see them break down previous buying silos and a more connective tissue emerge across the buy and sell sides of the business.

Dynamic creative

More media buyers have warmed up to the idea of using dynamic creative optimization (DCO) in DOOH to maximize relevance, impact, and engagement, especially as media owners and technology platforms grew support for it last year. We’ve already seen DOOH campaigns, many with seven-figure budgets, leverage data to dynamically adapt ad creative to promote everything from popular rideshare brands to quick-service restaurants (QSRs). The executions thus far have been all over the map, with location, weather, sports score, and time- and product-based data all feeds used to serve up more relevant creative.

But anyone who’s executed a DOOH DCO campaign knows it’s no easy feat compared to other digital channels. It often requires buy-in and work from all sides of the transaction, and there must be an understanding that approval of different creative variations will be needed, even though a lot might not change, because the creative shifts versioning on the backend. The level of sophistication we saw with DOOH DCO campaigns in 2025, and the results they delivered, proved the strategy is worth its weight in gold.

This year, the industry will move further beyond DCO experimentation into an era where it’s a more deliberate planning consideration, regardless of budgets. A broader range of buyers will get familiar with DCO and its range of applications, and the technology backing it will only become easier and more cost-efficient to execute. This will ultimately transform the perception of OOH as a platform for single-use applications, such as promoting a product launch, into an investment that can be used to rotate products and offers over a longer period.

AI innovation

AI is becoming impossible to ignore. Brands and agencies are leaning into the technology, experimenting with new tools to enhance omnichannel campaign planning and execution. At the same time, more media owners are building proprietary AI tools. Major OOH players launched AI tools last year, built to enhance everything from how we categorize, review, and approve OOH ads to how we measure them.

Compared to other channels, the medium has only just begun to realize AI’s full potential, and there’s still a lot of work needed to unlock its full value in OOH to solve longstanding challenges. In the next year, I think we’ll see more buyers tap AI to make incremental changes in OOH campaign planning and execution. It might also start to help speed up decisions, like where campaigns should run based on performance.

There’s so much data that exists today from measurement studies that can provide a solid training base for AI to help determine which facets of a campaign can help drive the ideal outcome. As OOH finds its AI stride, there’s not just an operational efficiency play, but the potential for it to transform every aspect of the business, whether using AI agents to help plan campaigns or analyze data to make stronger targeting and dynamic creative decisions. With these changes, however, it will be vital to ensure the industry doesn’t lose sight of the importance of the human touch.

If OOH isn’t already an omnichannel planning consideration, there’s never been a more perfect time to start exploring the possibilities, as it’s only going to get better from here on out. More flexible, automated OOH campaign planning tools, expanded DCO capabilities, and AI innovation will make OOH easier to buy, sell, execute, and measure alongside other channels, enhancing its appeal.