DOOH: An Untapped Marketing Channel 

Christine Viera, Chief Growth Officer

Marketing headlines these days are dominated by AI and predictions of how it’ll change digital marketing strategies. For many, it has us looking for ways to improve the way we target, reach and serve potential buyers. It has the potential to become core to many strategies that personalize and customize content for relevance. However, AI isn’t the only strategy that we can embrace to reach buyers in these mercurial times. As you plan your 2026 marketing budgets, you may want to add Digital out of Home (DOOH) advertising to your spending mix.

Power of DOOH to Target Hard-to-Reach Buyers

What’s most frequently overlooked as a marketing channel are the spaces where people work and play. Different types of spaces attract specific demographics that may be a great target for your brand.

What is DOOH Advertising?

First, a short primer for CMOs who want to reach the professionals who work in commercial real estate, retail shopping centers, medical office building spaces and hospitals.

Digital Signage used in buildings and public spaces go hand-in-hand with DOOH Advertising because:

1. Advertising can be delivered programmatically and measured. In short, you buy space on screens in your target “spaces”. Your ads get injected into the content stream. In return, you get Proof of Play and data on the impressions reach of your network.

2. DOOH reaches a wide variety of venues that serve both B2C and B2B marketers. From Office and Medical buildings to Retail Malls, Luxury Residential and Hospitality spaces—your ads can surgically pinpoint specific groups of consumers where they work and live.

3. Advanced ad delivery techniques keep viewers engaged. With networks like TouchSource, we intermix the advertising with the content from the property, wayfinding, directory listings and infotainment so that we attract viewers to the screen.

Stats on the Reach & Impact of DOOH Advertising

If you’re new to the DOOH concept, here’s the research on size of that marketing channel and advertiser confidence in it.

1. Spending on DOOH Advertising: $9.1 billion in 2024, a 4.5% increase from the previous year. This is the first time OOH advertising revenue has exceeded the $9 billion mark in the history of the medium. Source: OAAA

2. Effectiveness of DOOH: 73% view DOOH ads favorably. Source: OAAA Research Study

3. Impact of DOOH: 76% have recently taken action after seeing a DOOH Ad. Source: OAAA Research Study

4. Multichannel Reach of DOOH: 74% of mobile device users reported taking action on their mobile devices following recent exposure to DOOH ads. OAAA Research Study

5. In-Store Digital Advertising: Digital in-store advertising increases the likelihood of customers purchasing advertised products by an average of 8.1 percent. Source: Invidis

6. Advertiser Confidence: DOOH’s continued growth, combined with programmatic capabilities and improved measurement tools, has made DOOH an increasingly attractive option for major brands. Source: eMarketer

Location. Location. Location.

Strategically located digital signage delivers premium audiences to advertisers. By strategic, I mean locations that attract hard-to-reach consumers in urban centers and regional hot spots. Furthermore, the placement of signage within the flow of foot traffic is also essential. Last, size matters. The bigger the wall display or indoor/outdoor kiosk, the more it’ll attract views and usage. As a potential advertiser, you’ll want your ad agency to place your ads on networks that have the expertise on digital signage impact and national placements to deliver the results you need. That’s why you should talk to your ad agency about these types of “venues”:

Office Buildings

Take office buildings for example. When someone is waiting in lobby or looking at a digital wayfinding directory, they’re a captive audience. Content on those displays also reaches both Passive Viewers (they see it as they’re walking by) and Active Users (they’re using the unit to search for something). It’s a chance to build your brand and get your message across in a more targeted way than online digital advertising where we hope impressions lead to return visits and click throughs.

TouchSource is the largest DOOH Provider in Office Buildings and delivers 490M+ monthly impressions and growing. We add more buildings every month. It enables marketers to influence working professionals and decision makers via 1000+ digital directories and screens in Class A and Class B office buildings in premier locations throughout the United States.

Retail Shopping Centers

Retail spaces attract broader demographic types. That’s why DOOH in retail centers wields high potential to impact shopper spending. TouchSource’s retail urban panel inventory is strategically positioned throughout premier retail outlets, malls, and shopping centers in DMAs such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Our specialty is intertwining visitor experience with easy wayfinding, store search and local events with constantly persistent advertising. All of that attracts the attention from shoppers that gains you impressions.

Outdoor Urban Panels

These are an elite category of larger-sized digital displays in outdoor malls, open spaces and tourism hot spots with central positioning that command a very high level of impressions each day.

Nobody Goes to Work or Play to Watch DOOH Ads…and Yet

Let’s face it, all digital screens attract attention. It’s human. People can’t help but look. Especially if there’s a bit of movement on the screen. Eye-tracking studies (multiple sources including Nielsen/OAAA) show that digital displays hold attention significantly more than traditional media channels: 63% longer gaze, 47% more fixations, and 55% recall. Surprisingly, some popular channels maximum recall amount is close to the minimum starting point of DOOH. e.g. Online Desktop maxes out at 48% recall according to Solomon Partners’ research. But DOOH recall starts at 46% and ranges up to 86% recall.

Good content still rules. But how you deliver it matters. As a company that designs digital content daily, we’re expert on gaining and keeping attention. Our DOOH network intermixes ads with entertainment and practical information so that we serve visitors while serving advertisers. Short form content that’s timed well and artfully blended on the screen delivers maximum impressions. In the case of larger digital units, advertising can be persistently shown. For example, large retail kiosks typically offer wayfinding to help visitors find stores. When the screen is not in use, ads can be full screen. When the unit is in use, ads move to screen real estate at the top of the unit. It matters since you gain impressions from passive viewers as they walk by–regardless of whether the unit is in use.

Exploring DOOH

Compared to the standard mix of marketing tactics, it’s a largely underutilized untapped channel. Early adopters have been increasing their spend over the last couple of years. If you’re curious about the potential of DOOH, have your advertising team ask your ad agency about TouchSource and Screenverse (our DOOH partner). We can work with you on targeting the right buildings and urban panels with the right content to reach your ideal audience demographics.

➡️ Ask your ad agency about TouchSource and Screenverse (our DOOH partner).