Brands tap into digital budgets to boost DOOH spend

Nearly all (95%) omnichannel advertisers plan to maintain or increase digital out of home spend in the next 12 months, with increases driven by bigger budgets, data-driven performance, expanded and better-quality inventory, and improved measurement.

So says the “DPAA UK Omnichannel Decision Makers Study” – sponsored by Alight Media and conducted by research firm Advertising Perceptions – which reveals that, 93% believe that integrating DOOH with other channels improved ROI.

In fact, the digital OOH market makes up two thirds of total OOH revenue, which grew approximately 7.7% in 2024 to £1.4bn, according to GroupM figures.

One of the biggest factors in the growth of the sector is that 88% of advertisers believe DOOH has become less siloed and an integrated part of cross-channel strategies, with 78% managing omnichannel video campaigns by an integrated or hybrid video group (including TV, mobile, online, DOOH).

Conversely, 68% of omnichannel advertisers launched a new DOOH campaign in the past 12 months, while 81% plan to recommend DOOH in the next year and 83% believe digital screens can offer upper funnel marketing value in retail stores.

The top five reasons that brands include DOOH in media plans include to complement a digital plan (43%), the ability to geo-target (41%), the connections made with consumers on the path to purchase (39%), contextually relevant targeting (32%), brand safety and the lack of commercial skipping (tie-31%).

DPAA president and CEO Barry Frey said: “It has become clear that omnichannel planning and buying is the future of DOOH advertising, as silo walls come down, budgets come from overall digital ad budgets, and data and automation place DOOH on a more even playing field alongside its digital peers.

“What’s more, by doubling down on data-driven capabilities for all parts of a DOOH campaign lifecycle, UK brands are seeing greater efficiencies and ROI, increasing relevance along the customer journey, which when including retail media networks, can now include both the path to purchase and point of purchase.”

Additional findings include what the most commonly-used real-time triggers are for dynamic creative, key trends impacting perceptions of DOOH, how brands are using data to inform planning, and the value of continued education of DOOH capabilities and best practices.

Alight Media CEO Matthew Dearden added: “Out-of-home is still the only advertising platform that reaches nearly the entire UK population, and the advancements in digital innovations means brands now can now marry unrivalled reach with creative and targeting flexibilities.

“This study shines a light on what is driving this growth so we can better understand our customers, benefits they see from using DOOH and where can we work with them to fully maximise the platform success.”