In the attention economy, standing out is about more than being seen; it’s about achieving meaningful outcomes. As part of broader digital marketing trends, programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH)—the automated buying, selling, and delivery of DOOH advertising—has emerged as one of the most powerful tools.
A new white paper, From Glance to Growth: how programmatic DOOH converts attention into action, co-created by Displayce and Happydemics, explores how ad players are using pDOOH to build on impressions and influence what really matters: awareness, consideration, and intent.
The white papers is based on a report that is the result of a collaboration with Displayce—a global OOH platform. Displayce operates a leading platform for buying and optimizing DOOH inventory, giving advertisers access to over 1.2 million screens across 80 countries.
Their technology enables advertisers to activate dynamic, context-driven campaigns in premium environments—from city centers to airports and shopping malls.
About the Research: A Global View of DOOH
For this research, we analyzed data from more than 7,600 of our Brand lift studies in 64 countries from April 2021 to May 2025, including 1,320 DOOH campaigns from 36 countries. These large-scale insights allow for robust post campaign analysis and cross-market comparison.
To assess ad effectiveness, we use mobile-first, platform-agnostic surveys, which measure ad impact in real time.
The Methodology
Happydemics’ methodology is people-centric. We measure ad campaign effectiveness measure ad campaign effectiveness through survey-based Brand lift measurements, using short, mobile-first questionnaires delivered on apps and websites without relying on panels or incentives.
This ensures natural, unbiased feedback from real consumers. Respondents are shown an ad and asked whether they recall seeing it on a specific channel – providing foundational campaign performance metrics such as ad recall and message attribution. This enables us to create two groups: those who recall the ad and a control group.
We ask both groups a series of questions to assess upper- and mid-funnel KPIs—such as awareness, preference, and consideration. Depending on the KPI, we measure uplift by comparing the two groups, or the responses of the ad recall group are analysed to provide a creative diagnosis.
This approach ensures consistent, comparable insights from Zero Party Data across formats, regions, and media strategies. An approach perfectly suited for advertising without cookies, where advertisers need privacy-compliant, people-first measurement.
DOOH in 2025: An Overview
DOOH has become a core part of advertising campaigns—offering large-scale visibility in real world environments where large groups of people are receptive to images and messaging. It’s regarded by many people as the least intrusive form of advertising.
Building on these strengths, there have been major developments in DOOH in the past decade. The medium has evolved from static screens to dynamic, data-driven displays that adapt to their environments.
It’s pDOOH that’s made this possible—adding targeting, flexibility, and measurability to OOH’s existing strengths: location, visibility, and impact.
What is pDOOH Advertising?
pDOOH—or programmatic digital out of home—advertising is the automated buying, selling, and delivery of ad space on digital billboards and screens in public spaces.
It’s been a game-changer because traditional OOH planning cycles were dependent on manual bookings that had to made weeks—or even months—in advance.
It allows brands, media agencies, and ad techs to:
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Bid for impressions in real time.
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Improve ad targeting using data sources like mobile movement.
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Deliver creatives static or video creatives that adjust based on time of day, weather, and audience behavior.
Imagine a digital billboard on a sunny morning. Using pDOOH, it could display an ad for sunscreen, sunglasses, or a refreshing ice cold drink—delivering messaging that are most relevant to you at that moment.
Key Brand Lift Findings: DOOH Delivers Measurable Brand Impact
We observed that—as well as being an evolving and growing channel—DOOH consistently outperforms other media on several KPIs.
On average, DOOH campaigns saw:
An uplift in specific brand image compared to the average score for all other media. This refers to the favorable perception of the brand/the product. DOOH is the best-performing channel for this KPI.
An uplift in specific intent—willingness to take action related.
Preference: DOOH is also the second-best performing media
Consideration: DOOH is the second-best performing media.
These results demonstrate the strength of DOOH when it comes to capturing attention and translating it into brand growth.
We saw impressive results when we looked at our Brand lift data for several campaigns from Displayce’s clients, including pDOOH campaigns for luxury hotel brand Sofitel, outdoor apparel company Columbia, and global insurance and financial services provider Allianz.
The full details of our findings—including the campaign objectives, strategies, and impact on KPIs—are available in the report.
How to Make the Most of DOOH Ads
To maximize the performance of DOOH advertising, it’s essential to align three key elements: the audience, the context the ad is delivered in, and the creative approach.
Our data reveals how each contributes to ad recall, attribution, and interest—three critical drivers of campaign effectiveness and reliable post campaign analysis. The tone and clarity of the creative significantly impact how consumers perceive and remember ads in DOOH environments:
Ad recall is highest when the creative feels authentic and is delivered in a minimalist, straightforward style. Creatives that are dream-inspiring and leave a pleasant impression are particularly memorable.
Attribution is the ability to link the message back to the brand. It improves with the same clear and authentic style, and it’s especially strong when the message feels resilient, suggesting strength and reliability.
Interest peaks with creatives that are heartwarming and friendly, using clear visuals and uplifting messages to emotionally engage viewers.
In short, simplicity, positivity, and emotional tone are the pillars of strong DOOH creative execution.
A Look Ahead at the Future: pDOOH and AI
AI in DOOH is moving from experimentation to industrial-scale application, driven by the rise of autonomous AI agents that manage and optimize campaigns in real time.
These agents use contextual data, predictive models, and direct platform integrations to personalize messaging, adapt strategies on the fly, and boost efficiency—transforming the DOOH workflow from planning to delivery.
Natural language processing will turn briefs into media strategies, while AI improves audience modelling, footfall prediction, and ad targeting. Creatively, it will generate adaptive content and optimize it live based on predicted attention and performance.
Even campaign planning and buying are evolving, with AI tools turning plain-language briefs into dynamic, responsive media plans.
To make the most of this transformation, industry players will need to connect systems, invest in skills, and preserve the creative and contextual power that sets DOOH apart. AI won’t replace the human touch; it will amplify it.
At Happydemics we aim to offer an interactive tool that lets simulate campaign scenarios by adjusting inputs like sector, media, tone, claim, or budget, and immediately visualize the projected impact across their KPIs. “Predict” will serve as a strategic compass in the creative and media planning phases, guiding brands toward choices that are more likely to deliver tangible impact
For more in-depth insights and real-world case studies, download the white paper.
Interested in learning more about how we can help measure ad effectiveness and brand KPIs across all media—online and offline—including fast-growing ones such as CTV, DOOH, and OLV?
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