Last year was another strong year for OOH and the current year will be even more focused on growth and innovation. This media segment continues to evolve and consistently delivers exceptional creative, data-driven tactics and technology-driven results for advertisers.

With global OOH revenues expected to reach as much as US$41.82 billion in 2025 - and digital OOH (DOOH) expected to grow by 8.44% to reach US$22 billion - further expansion is on the horizon, driven in large part by increased investment and the growing adoption of programmatic OOH (prOOH).

As OOH evolves, its direction has several key priorities. These include leveraging econometrics to maximize ROI, aligning DOOH with media networks to improve the path to purchase, and leveraging artificial intelligence to increase efficiency and creativity. These priorities will ensure that OOH remains a key player in the advertising ecosystem.

The year 2025 is defined by these 6 major trends that will shape the future of OOH:

• a network of real connections creating micromoments
• continued growth of prOOH
• data-driven OOH will become the anchor of omnichannel campaigns
• supporting sustainable marketing strategies with OOH
• OOH credibility builds consumer trust
• connecting experience and OOH

1. A network of real connections creating micromoments

In a world saturated with digital interactions, consumers crave authentic connections and spend a lot of time away from home. They seek depth, authenticity and sensory richness in their experiences.

They want to "engage" in a real way and find experiences that connect them to their surroundings. Accenture has called this "social rewilding" - an effort to recreate social connections in the real world and to channel technology in moments that bring people joy and well-being.

In 2024, according to Kantar's research, 48% of people frequently spent time outdoors, 47% socialized with friends, and 46.9% shopped at physical grocery stores. OOH advertising puts brands at the centre of this because the medium is well 'implementable' into people's everyday lives.

Using audience-centric planning and real-time data in OOH to deliver highly contextual and targeted messaging is mainstream this year. This approach allows brands to create campaigns that act as personalized one-to-one connections.

Personalization in OOH is changing the way brands engage audiences - from real-time, such as location, weather and time of day, to dynamically tailoring OOH campaigns to their environment.

This enables highly relevant and impactful messages that bridge the gap between broad reach and personal response. For example, ads for children's sunscreen on digital OOH during sunny weather placed where parents are more likely to see them. Similarly, a protein coffee promotion that runs on commuter routes and programmatically displays to people who are more likely to go to the gym.

81% of consumers appreciate brands that surprise and delight them with personalised messages
48% of Gen Z and Millennials recommend products they see in OOH ads

81% of consumers appreciate brands that surprise and delight them with personalised messages
48% of Gen Z and Millennials recommend products they see in OOH ads

2. Continued growth of prOOH

PrOOH will continue its rapid growth as more and more brands take advantage of its accuracy, flexibility and real-time capabilities across a wide range of applications.

By combining the flexibility of digital platforms with the unparalleled reach of OOH, programmatic enables advertisers to refine their media plans and buy and optimize ad placements in real-time and in line with the audience. This precision enables brands to deliver highly relevant messages to targeted audiences at the right time and in the right place.

In the UK, spending on PrOOH will continue to grow, estimated to increase from £86.8 million in 2024 to £105 million in 2025. We will see more advertisers using PrOOH, with an estimated 36% of media plans including PrOOH and an average increase in spend on PrOOH campaigns over the next 18 months of +29%.

90% of marketers agree that prOOH offers the most opportunities for innovation, up 9 percentage points from the previous year, outpacing social media (83%) and display (81%).

source: VIOOH, State of the Nation 2024

3. Data-driven OOH will become the anchor of omnichannel campaigns

OOH, which is the link between physical and digital touchpoints, will play a key role in multichannel marketing strategies in 2025.

OOH acts as a link between consumers' digital footprints and their experiences, delivering holistic campaigns. By creating connections between screens, OOH empowers brands in consumers' everyday lives and connects campaigns across mobile, social and in-store. Linking between screens increases engagement and improves brand memorability.

By syncing OOH with digital channels such as social media and mobile ads, marketers can achieve a cohesive message that resonates across touchpoints.

Campaign effectiveness is up to 23% higher when the same content is activated across digital OOH and social media

source: VIOOH, State of the Nation 2024

4. Supporting sustainable marketing strategies with OOH

Sustainability is becoming a top priority for consumers and businesses, and OOH advertising continues to take steps to reduce its environmental impact.

Sustainable practices such as DOOH powered by green energy and recycled conventional poster materials are now commonplace. Compared to all other measured media, OOH accounts for 3.3% of total advertising energy consumption and <3.5% of the UK's total carbon footprint.

Consumers increasingly value brands that prioritise sustainability, and OOH can meet this expectation while maintaining the scale and impact needed to influence public perception.

5. OOH credibility builds consumer trust

In an era of digital misinformation, OOH is proven to build trust. It remains a stable and trusted medium for authentic brand communication, and unlike digital platforms where content credibility is often questioned, OOH offers a physical presence that reinforces trust in the real world.

62% of respondents say that trust is an important factor for them when deciding to work with a brand.
60% are more likely than before to doubt the authenticity of online content
59% of Generation Z trust OOH (compared to 36% trust for online banners and 45% trust for social media)

source: Accenture, Life Trend 2025, Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey

6. Connecting experience and OOH

OOH and experiential channels will increasingly converge, blurring the line between static media and live brand experiences. As consumers crave immersive, memorable interactions with brands, OOH will evolve to include more experiential elements, turning physical spaces into interactive scenes where audiences can actively engage with content.

We see physical spaces re-imagined as experiential scenes that combine OOH creativity with interactivity. From game billboards to immersive art installations, experiential OOH campaigns invite audiences to engage directly with the brand. Tactile, sensory-driven experiences not only increase brand memorability, but also foster emotional connections that make the consumer feel part of the story, and OOH becomes a leader in creating meaningful interactions.

41% of respondents said the most enjoyable experience of the previous week was the physical experience
74% of consumers believe experiential activations improve their brand perception

source: Accenture, Life Trend 2025, EMC Outdoor

Source: TalonOOH.com