What is Digital Out-Of-Home and does it work?

Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) is reaching people when they are off-line going about their daily business (shopping, dining out, getting gas, at an ATM, in an elevator, at a movie).  It’s about getting your message to people wherever they are and whenever, across public digital screens, on a local level.

Key takeaways from this article:

• DOOH is an advanced version of traditional Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising that leverages digital screens in public places. It offers dynamic, real-time content updates and is highly effective at reaching consumers in their daily routines.

• DOOH advertising is projected to grow at a 49.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2024 to 2028, showing its increasing popularity.

• DOOH ads have the highest favorability of any advertising medium.  73% of consumers view DOOH ads favorably, and 76% take action after seeing them, demonstrating its effectiveness in driving engagement.

• DOOH ads can be displayed in a vast range of locations, including airports, gas stations, grocery stores, gyms, restaurants, and even military bases. 

Why does Digital Out-of-Home matter? No media is immune to the disruptive force that is the internet. Some are just disrupted later than others. The real question here is not in the headline, it’s…do you want to skate to where the puck is, or where it is going?  Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising is forecasted to grow at a 49.4% compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2028, according to BIA’s 2025 Local Advertising Forecast.  That tremendous growth show the faith that local advertisers have in this digital medium.

Do you know when the first billboards were monetized for advertising purposes? It was in the 1830s by Jared Bell in New York. Bell used the large, colorful posters to advertise the Barnum & Bailey Circus.  I find it interesting that in 2025 we are talking about technology disrupting a legacy media, like Out-Of-Home, and the first monetization of that medium took place almost 200 years ago, advertising something most of us still recognize today, P.T. Barnum. And what worked for P.T. Barnum can work for you – with a digital twist!

DOOH advertising is out-of-home ads on steroids—it’s a powerhouse, driving real consumer action. It’s the same out of home we have known for over two centuries but with more placement variety, size, targetability, favorability and action among consumers! The Out-Of-Home Advertising Association of America study conducted by The Harris Poll in 2024 found that:

• 73% of consumers view DOOH ads favorably.
• 76% take action after seeing a DOOH ad.

Unlike traditional Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising, DOOH leverages digital screens to provide dynamic content that can be updated in real time. DOOH is a modern way to reach audiences outside their home through digital screens in public places, in just the geographies you want.

We place across all types of venues, not just a few. Here are some of the venue placements that can be included:

• Airports
• Buses
• Taxi & Rideshare TVs
• Taxi & Rideshare Tops
• Subways
• Train Stations
• Ferrys
• Fueling Stations
• Convenience Stores
• Grocery Stores
• Liquor Stores
• Malls
• Cannabis Dispensaries
• Pharmacies
• Parking Garages
• Billboards
• Urban Panels
• Bus Shelters
• Military Bases
• Post Offices
• Gyms
• Salons
• Spas
• Doctor’s Offices
• Veterinary Offices
• Schools
• Colleges and Universities
• Office Buildings
• Recreational Locations
• Movie Theaters
• Sports Entertainment Centers
• Bars
• Casual Dining Restaurants
• Quick Service Restaurants
• Hotels
• Night Clubs
• High-end Dining
• DMVs
• Banks
• Apartments and Condos

How do we target your Digital-Out-Of-Home Ads?

1. Define the Geography
   • This can be DMAs, cities, zip codes, a radius around a location, or political districts.
2. Set your Venue Targeting parameters
   • You’re not able to pick and choose types of venues where your ad appears, but you can exclude venues. Selection is determined by targeting the people who are in your specified geography in whichever formats are available.
   • Your ads will be a mixture of the following and can be display or video.

Large format: billboards, urban panels and transit shelters.

Place-based: malls, gas stations, restaurants, taxis, gyms, hotels, sports complexes, salons, movie theaters, parking garages, and offices.

Point-of-purchase: convenience stores, grocery stores, and retail stores.

3. Set your Weather Triggers, if applicable
   • You can select a weather event you are interested, such as temperature, rain, snow, thunderstorms, etc. When the weather event happens, your ad is triggered to run in the geographic targeting area you have selected.
   • Weather Trigger Campaigns could run all at once or not at all depending on the weather event chosen and the geo. Ads are served when the weather event happens – not when it is forecasted. You can choose more than one Weather Trigger.

Picture this – it starts raining, and suddenly your ad for roofing repair leaks pops up on digital screens in that area. With Weather Triggered DOOH, ads run only when specific conditions occur—rain, snow, extreme heat, you name it, within the local geographic area you specify up front.  If PT Barnum were here, I think he would introduce this razzle dazzle advertising tactic as, “Mother Nature, meet marketing! Buy before we sell out!”

The combination of high visibility, geotargeting, and venue targeting Vici offers along with flexible messaging makes DOOH an essential tool in a marketer’s arsenal.

Because DOOH is a relatively new product, let’s address frequently asked questions.

Does our DOOH have fraud protection?

Yes! All of our DOOH is integrated with DoubleVerify, a sophisticated technology we use across all digital buys, that filters out invalid traffic and checks for brand safety protection, offering an added layer of security for advertisers.

Do I have to run both video and display?

You can run video, display, or both.  Running both will get you the largest inventory.

Do we create the normal digital ad sizes for DOOH display?

No, DOOH has its own display creative sizes that you need to provide. The most common ad sizes are:

• • 1920×1080
  • 1080×1920
  • 1280×960

But if in addition to that you also give us the following it opens inventory including billboards & movie theaters:

• • 1400×400
  • 840×400
  • 1000×400
  • 1600×400
  • 1200×400
  • 600×600
  • 990×495
  • 806×390
  • 3840×1080
  • 1024×576

What length video do I provide for DOOH?

We must have either a :15 (preferred) or :30. You can also provide :6s, :8s, :10s, and :60s to reach additional inventory.

What if my client doesn’t want to run in a particular type of venue, like bars?

We can “blacklist” a type of venue and exclude it, as long as that leaves enough inventory available to serve.

Can I run Restricted Verticals with DOOH?

Yes, but not in all venues.   Often Restricted Verticals (cannabis, fireworks, adult content, gambling, political) run in bars, cannabis dispensaries, and casual dining. Venues available change by state law. Here are the common restricted verticals:

• • Beer, wine, hard liquor – Yes
  • Cannabis and CBD – yes
  • Tobacco – needs pre-approval
  • E-cig – yes
  • Casinos – Yes
  • Gentlemen’s clubs – needs pre-approval
  • Guns, Weapons, Fireworks – NP
  • Supplements – yes
  • Weight loss – yes
  • State lotteries – needs pre-approval
  • Political – yes
  • Medical procedures – yes
  • Short term or high interest loan – needs pre-approval
  • Housing, real estate – yes
  • Recruitment – yes
  • Cryptocurrency – needs pre-approval
  • Loans and credit – yes
  • Bail bonds – yes

What does reporting look like for DOOH?

• • Ads served – performance by day, week, and month
  • Creative performance – file names, and types, display vs video, etc.
  • Venue type performance – breaking out impressions served by venue
  • Geo performance – breaking out impressions served by zip codes or cities. You can request exact locations of the venues where impressions were served as well.

DOOH Success Stories and KPIs

Brands across industries are seeing the benefits of DOOH, from retail to entertainment to tech.

• Retailers leverage DOOH for in-store promotions, driving foot traffic.
• Streaming services use it for dynamic countdowns leading up to big releases.
• Car dealerships place ads at gas stations, catching potential buyers at just the right moment.
• Restaurants & coffee shops use DOOH for time-based promotions—imagine seeing a fresh burger ad just as your lunch break starts.

How to Get Started with DOOH

1. Define Your Goals: Are you driving brand awareness? Promoting an event? Boosting local foot traffic?
2. Choose Your Locations: While you can’t pick exact screens, you can select target areas and exclude certain venue types.
3. Design Your Creative: Make sure your visuals are high-contrast, easy to read, and tailored for DOOH formats.
4. Consider Dynamic Triggers: Weather-based triggers, time-of-day shifts, and location-based targeting make your ads more relevant.
5. Launch & Optimize: Our team of professional experts will monitor your campaign’s performance, make weekly optimizations and reach out for adjustments to messaging as needed.

The Future of DOOH

As technology evolves, expect even more advancements in DOOH:

• Programmatic Buying: Automated, data-driven ad placements will continue to improve targeting and efficiency.
• More Interactive Screens: Expect touchscreen capabilities and even AI-driven content adjustments.
• Augmented Reality (AR) Integration: Some brands are already testing AR-enabled DOOH for immersive experiences.
• 5G Expansion: Faster data speeds will make real-time updates and high-res video ads even more seamless.
• Personalized DOOH Experiences: AI-driven customization will allow ads to adapt to real-time audience demographics.

Source:  https://www.smartbrief.com/original/future-of-dooh-predictions-for-2024-and-beyond

The Bottom Line on Digital-Out-Of-Home

DOOH is just as big and bold as the PT Barnum days with new efficiencies and better targeting. It reaches consumers in high-traffic areas, drives engagement, and leverages smart targeting like weather-based triggers.  So, if your brand is still stuck in the online only ad game, it’s time to step outside. Literally. And if you don’t, your competitors definitely will.

The post What is Digital Out-Of-Home and does it work? appeared first on Vici Media Inc..

Digital Advertising Terms You Need To Know

In the world of digital advertising, there are a lot of buzzwords, acronyms and just plain jargon.   Sometimes it can seem challenging or overwhelming to keep up to date and stay on top of all of these terms.   The good news?  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  It doesn’t have to be difficult.  We’ve prepared a list of the terms we think are most important to understand.

Key Takeaways from this article:

• Understand Digital Advertising doesn’t need to be complicated

• Learn some new terms that can help you understand some of today’s buzzwords

• Have an easy to access guide that you can always come back and reference if you need support

No matter what industry you’re in, there are ways to break it down for someone who isn’t in the industry.  For example, as a mechanic, they could tell you that you need a new oil filter changed out.   Or, they can tell you that changing the oil filter is important because it removes contaminants from engine oil to keep the engine running smoothly and efficiently.  The latter, keeps it clear and easy to understand the importance of changing the oil filter (even if you’re like me and don’t know anything about cars).

Digital Advertising is the same way.  And, at Vici, one of our core goals in educating people about digital, is to make things as simple as possible to understand.  If you understand digital advertising, you’ll be able to see how it can benefit your business or your client’s business.

Here are the some of the top Digital Terms that we feel are important for you to understand:

Programmatic Ad Buying

The use of automated technology for media buying.  Programmatic advertising encompasses multiple ways of buying and placing digital ads through a marketplace rather than directly from a publisher of a website or app. This is how Vici buys digital advertising.   It includes things like Real-Time Bidding (RTB) and Private Marketplaces (PMPs).

Real-Time Bidding (RTB)

Real-time bidding (RTB) is an automated process where ad buyers can place bids, in real time, for specific ad placements. RTB is a programmatic process, but not all programmatic advertising takes place through RTB technology.

PMP (Private Marketplace)

Advertisers can only access a private marketplace with an invitation. Typically, top publishers (websites and apps) do this and offer their ad inventory to highest bidders among the select advertisers with whom they’ve done deals, granting access to inventory not available on open auctions and premium access at a lower price.

Geo-Targeting VS Geo-Fencing 

Geo-Targeting is the geographic area (“Geo”) in which you want ads to be served to users.  This might be a city, state, zip codes or a large radius around a location (ex: 15 miles around a business), and you layer in targeting strategies such as Behavioral Targeting, Keyword Targeting and/or AI Targeting, etc.

Geo-Fencing is a TIGHT RADIUS around a location (like a competitor), less than a mile usually, no Targeting Strategies layered in, and as tight as 500 feet.  We use Mobile Conquesting for most of our Geo-Fencing.

Marketing Funnel 

Also called the Sales Funnel, it is the process of guiding potential customers through stages of awareness, consideration, and decision (conversions).

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

A marketing metric that is total ad spend, divided by revenue generated by that ad spend, expressed as a ratio.

For example, a company spends $2,000 on an ad campaign in a month. The campaign results in revenue of $10,000 (client would need to track this). Therefore, the ROAS is a ratio of 5 to 1 (or 500 percent) as $10,000 divided by $2,000 = 5.

For every dollar that the company spends on its advertising campaign, it generates $5 worth of revenue.

What’s a good ROAS?  3:1 ratio is considered a good ratio.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

A metric that represents the total revenue from a customer over the duration of their relationship with the business.

It is Average Transaction Size x Number of Transactions x Retention Period.

For example, if the average sale is $500, the average customer buys 4 times a year and the average customer stays for 3 years the CLTV = $6,000 (500 x 4 x 3)

Advertisers will use this number to determine what is a viable Cost per Acquisition they should spend.

CVR (Conversion Rate)

The percentage of users who complete a desired action which is called a conversion (purchase, sign-up) after clicking an ad.

The Conversion Rate is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the total number of visitors to the website, multiplied by 100 to get a percentage.

What’s a good Conversion Rate?

2-5% is the average for non e-commerce businesses.

CTR (Click-Thru Rate)

A metric that shows what percentage of people served the ad, clicked on it.

Clicks/Impressions x 100 = CTR

2,000 clicks/250,000 impressions x 100 = .8% CTR

KPI – Key Performance Indicators 

Specific metrics and goals that help an advertiser to track and measure success.  It should measure what is most important to an advertiser.  Clicks are not a good KPI.  Conversions and Engagement are.

Addressable TV

This is a form of OTT.  It is targeted to audiences, but the targeting categories are much more limited because the data is typically coming from cable companies or satellite providers (Comcast, DIRECTV, and Dish) subscriber lists, so the targeting is limited to the subscription data those companies have access to.  Our OTT categories will be richer and our audiences are not limited to subscribers’ data.

UGC (User Generated Content)

Original, client-specific content created by customers and published on social media, websites or other channels. UGC comes in many forms, including posting images of a product customers bought, videos, reviews, a testimonial, etc.   You should be encouraging your clients to seek out UGC and use it in their advertising because consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view user generated content as authentic compared to content created by brands.

Look Back Window

Each digital advertising platform has its own way of tracking & reporting conversions (including View Thrus which are a type of conversion), which you see in reports, between 7 – 30 days post click or view.  The two main ways are:

Conversions are associated with the impression.  Meaning if a conversion happened April 13th but the impression was served on March 30th, the conversion on the report would be reported as on March 30th, not when the conversion happened. (Mobile Conquesting is this way. Visit Data in Mobile Conquesting tracks visits for up to 14 days post impression)

Conversions are associated with the time they happened.  Meaning if a conversion happened April 13th, it doesn’t matter when the impression was served (as long as within the lookback window), the conversion on the report is April 13th.  Most products’ conversions are recorded this way.

FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television)

FAST is a type of FREE OTT that offers programming (live, scheduled or on-demand) with ads, as an alternative to paid monthly subscriptions. This is the type of OTT inventory Vici buys.  Examples of FAST include Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Xumo, Samsung TV Plus, Crackle and Tubi.

AVOD (Ad-supported Video on Demand)

This is a subset of FAST OTT that just refers to free programming that is on-demand – meaning available whenever the viewer wants to watch it (vs. live or scheduled programming).  For example, Pluto TV and Tubi are FAST platforms that also have AVOD options. Pluto TV has over 200 television channels playing continuously at any time. But it also has a large catalog of on-demand movies and TV shows to choose from.

SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)

Streaming platforms whose content requires a paid monthly  subscription and doesn’t have ads. Examples include Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Paramount.  We can not run ads on these.

Backlinks

Backlinks are when websites place a link on their website to another business’ website.  Backlinks are also called inbound links because they represent another website’s traffic coming to the business’ website.  The quality/quantity of backlinks can help a business rank higher in Google because backlinks are considered an indicator of how popular and reputable that website is.  Backlinks are a part of a SEO campaign.

Machine Learning

A type or category of artificial intelligence. It’s the science of getting computers to accomplish specific tasks by learning from large data sets without programming them to do so directly.  Our AI Targeting refers to this type of machine learning where the longer it runs the smarter it gets as it learns which users are the most likely to engage with the ad.

Zero-Click Marketing

Optimizing content so the business appears in Google’s search results and AI snippets, with information the user is looking for, without them having to click to go to the business’ website.  Almost 60% of Google searches are “Zero Click”.

Ad Fatigue

When users become less responsive to an ad due to overexposure.  Signs of this happening can be when clicks and conversions start to taper off.  Its good to refresh ad creative regularly even if it is just changing colors or backgrounds.  If you use our Social Mirror Creative AI ads, it changes up the colors and call-to-action buttons for you, according to which are engaging the most viewers.

First-Party Data Strategy

With privacy laws tightening, businesses are leveraging customer data collected from their own websites, loyalty programs, and CRM systems to fuel advertising.  We can utilize first party data to run Custom Audience Matching and Lookalike ads where we upload a business’ customer or lead list and find those people when they are browsing online and serve them an ad.

3^rd Party Cookies Phase Out

Google has reversed course and won’t phase out third-party cookies tracking people in Chrome as previously planned, saying that they are developing a new approach that gives users more control.

Google Analytics Events

An event in Google Analytics 4 allows you to measure a specific interaction or occurrence on your website. You can use an event to measure when someone loads a page, clicks a link, scrolls to the bottom of a page, clicks a form, completes a purchase, clicks a button, plays a video, searches for something on your website and more.

Customer Journey Mapping

Analyzing the steps users take before making a purchase. This can be done by tracking specific conversions on a website and by using Google Analytics “events”.

Dark Posts

Also known as Dark Ads, refers to a type of social media advertising where the content is not published on the advertiser’s main timeline or feed. Instead, these posts are targeted to only show to specific segments of users based on their demographics, interests, behavior, or other targeting criteria.

Rich Media Ads

Ads with interactive elements like video, animation, or sound. Common formats are mp4, html5, and .gif. These types of ads typically get more user interaction.

Contextual Ads

Contextual advertising refers to placing ads on web pages based on the content of those pages. As a result, advertisers can create targeted, relevant ads for users based on the content they are viewing. We refer to this as Keyword Targeting.

Optimize A Digital Ad Campaign

• Check on pacing weekly – how many impressions have been served to date vs. how many impressions we should have served to date
• If under-pacing/over-pacing, make necessary changes to get us back to even pacing
• Remove any underperforming websites/apps
• Adding more relevant categories (if running behavioral targeting)or keywords (if running keyword targeting) to expand our inventory
• Trying to increase conversions on a campaign if running conversion strategies
• Excluding underperforming devices (Desktops, Tablets, Mobile)

Tracking Pixel

A small piece of code placed on a website that allows the website owner (or us!) to gather information about visitors on a website—how they browse, what type of ads they click on (to determine behaviors), device, browser, IP Address, or to track conversions or serve Retargeting ads.

Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager is another name for a Container Tag which is a tool that enables us to install, store, and manage multiple tracking pixels (also called “tags”) without modifying website code on a business’ website. It “contains” all the tracking pixels we use for Retargeting, Conversions and Live Chat.

DSP (Demand Side Platform)

A technology platform that allows buyers to manage, purchase and optimize programmatic inventory from multiple ad exchanges and Supply Side Platforms (SSP) through one interface. Inventory is purchased through real-time bidding.  Vici uses many different DSPs according to what type of ad product we are buying.

SSP (Supply Side Platform)

A technology platform that allows publishers (websites and apps) to manage and  sell programmatic inventory for advertisers to bid on. SSPs connect to multiple ad exchanges and DSPs at once to maximize the opportunity to sell inventory.

MAID (Mobile Advertising Device ID)

A unique, anonymized string of numbers and letters that identifies every individual smartphone or tablet in the world.
It reveals specific user behaviors which helps with targeted advertising and conversions. If a client has MAIDS for us to run, you can use them for Mobile Conquesting campaigns.

Linear TV

Traditional broadcast television viewing. In order to watch a show, the viewer must tune in (or DVR) a specific channel on a television at an appointed time. Viewers access linear TV via cable or satellite or through over-the-air broadcasts.

As you can see there are a lot of Digital terms and acronyms out there.  And, the list above doesn’t include all of them.  Just some of the most common ones that any business owner/marketing professional should be aware of.  When it comes to Digital, we want to be the true educators out there.  We want you to understand something that maybe, up to this point, you haven’t understood so far.  An educated marketing professional and an educated business owner are the ones that can go much further, and that’s our goal!

Easy Access Glossary Guide

You have two options when it comes to accessing the above info:

• You can bookmark this page and reference whenever you need to, or have a question about what something means when it comes to digital advertising

• You can download this glossary as a pdf by clicking here

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Digital Advertising Objections? Bring ‘Em On!

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