Crossing the tipping point: What’s next for programmatic OOH?
Opinion
The IAB estimates that programmatic will account for 16% of all OOH by 2027. Vistar Media’s Karan Singh believes the prize could be much bigger.
The UK market for programmatic digital out-of-home (prDOOH) advertising has reached a tipping point. After eighteen months of concentrated effort, we’re seeing unmistakable signs that the channel is ready to scale and grow meaningfully. This isn’t hubris; it’s a conclusion drawn from hard data and real-world collaboration across the industry.
When we set out on this journey, we faced three familiar hurdles that every media channel encounters on the path to programmatic maturity: market education, inventory access and flexibility. We have focused intensely on overcoming these challenges.
Education, education, education
Market education became our priority. We needed to educate the market on why you would add programmatic to the mix and how it complements direct buying across different groups.
The education piece has been fascinating. It’s not just about explaining what prDOOH is; it’s also about answering deeper questions: Is it determined by who’s doing the buying and planning? Does it vary by buyer? Where does programmatic add value when you’re adding data to the mix?
We discovered that part of this education was around access itself. When building a marketplace, you need access so buyers can secure budgets, but you also need to ensure deliverability. If something goes wrong the first time, buyers don’t come back.
We wanted to ensure access was as seamless as possible – by educating partners on how programmatic complements their direct business and why they should open up, potentially ahead of revenue, with a long-term view of what that could drive for them.
Collaborative marketplace
Media owner engagement has proven essential to inventory access, and we’ve built strong relationships not only with minor partners but also with omnichannel DSPs.
The marketplace approach is driving growth across these omnichannel platforms, and we’re seeing it become a larger part of their business.
Independent agencies are viewing prDOOH as an opportunity to differentiate themselves, while holding companies are leveraging the channel as part of their broader programmatic plans.
Some of our larger partners have developed their own data propositions, using programmatic as their front-and-centre USP to drive business.
Catalyst for growth
Several catalysts are driving this momentum. Media diversification is playing a significant role, with brands and agencies actively seeking quality over cheap reach. The headwinds and overspend into other programmatic channels have fuelled growth in our space.
We’re also witnessing a return to creativity, with programmatic breaking out of the performance box and becoming a vehicle for creative expression. Notably, 74% of all UK campaigns we run utilise our studio services, demonstrating that creativity and programmatic aren’t mutually exclusive.
PrDOOH unlocks media quality and precision. It’s the perfect channel to rediscover the true value of programmatic, offering personalisation without intrusion on a premium, public canvas.
It’s a place for creativity and brand-building, not interruption. This combination of precision targeting and creative impact sets the channel apart.
The speed and scale capabilities are equally impressive. We recently launched a monumental campaign that delivered over £2m in 24 hours, spanning six geographies, 46,000+ screens, 98 media owners, and 50+ creative variations. It demonstrates programmatic’s ability to execute complex, large-scale campaigns with unprecedented efficiency.
Looking ahead, the IAB estimates that programmatic will account for 16% of all OOH by 2027. However, we believe the prize is far larger. If we look at where budgets are coming from, embrace diversification and collaboration, and build a strong, holistic programmatic campaign, we can far exceed this estimate.
The convergence of education efforts, collaborative partnerships, proven performance metrics and growing advertiser confidence signals that programmatic DOOH isn’t just approaching its moment; it has arrived.
The question now isn’t whether the channel will scale, but how quickly we can collectively seize the opportunity before us.
Karan Singh is VP revenue EMEA at Vistar Media