Programmatic OOH: What It Is, Why We Like It, and Why We Don't

You’ve probably seen the ads: “Be on a billboard for less than a cup of coffee.”

Sounds amazing, right?

That’s programmatic OOH.

While the pitch is catchy, it’s not quite the whole story. Those low-cost placements often come with zero context on location, audience size, or effectiveness. And when you dig into what you’re actually getting, the value doesn’t always hold up.

In some cases, the math just doesn’t math.

Let’s start with the basics: what is programmatic out-of-home?

Programmatic out-of-home (OOH) is exactly what it sounds like: outdoor advertising bought and served programmatically. Think digital billboards, taxi toppers, place-based media like screens in bars or gyms, and even ads on ATMs or elevators.

Rather than negotiating these placements directly with vendors, programmatic OOH lets you bid on this inventory in real time, just like digital display ads.

More and more OOH inventory has shifted from static to digital. So now, instead of locking in a four-week flight with a single vendor, you can target locations, timeframes, and audiences with more flexibility.

You can even serve ads during specific hours (dayparting), geofence around specific areas, and trigger ads based on real-world signals like weather, traffic, or local events.

But wait, who’s actually using this?

The funny thing is, not a lot of clients are actively asking for “programmatic OOH.”

Most aren’t familiar with the term. They’re familiar with out-of-home and they’re familiar with programmatic, but putting them together causes some confusion.

Sometimes what clients are really asking for is just digital OOH—not necessarily programmatic. So part of our job is explaining the difference.

That said, we do recommend programmatic OOH in very specific situations:

• When vendor pricing is ridiculously high and we can get better rates programmatically

• When we want to run ads by the hour or the day (e.g. only during lunch hours)

• When vendors say a location is sold out but we know remnant inventory is available on exchanges

• When we want to tie ads to external triggers like weather (e.g. promoting AC units during a heatwave)

• When it gives us access to hyper-targeted areas that a traditional buy can't touch

Examples when programmatic OOH really worked

We’ve used it to run highly localized campaigns around NFL game days, knowing traffic—and therefore dwell time—would be incredibly busy near the stadium. This allowed us to focus spend on high-impact moments instead of paying for 24/7 coverage.

We once ran a campaign to target people interested in a specific university. Programmatic OOH allowed us to concentrate spend on a very narrow geography using a mix of digital billboards and place-based screens—something we couldn’t have done efficiently with a traditional buy.

And in another instance, a vendor quoted us sky-high CPMs for a direct buy, so we went programmatic instead. The next time we ran in that market, the vendor came back with more reasonable pricing—so it worked as both a short-term win and a negotiation tactic.

But, let’s be honest—there are downsides

First off, the cost. Programmatic OOH CPMs are often higher than what we can negotiate directly. That’s because there are more middlemen.

It’s the same as buying from a programmatic platform instead of going direct to a publisher—convenient, but not always cost-effective.

Also, vendors often offer perks you won’t get programmatically: like added value placements (aka bonus), custom extensions, or flexible terms.

One of the biggest losses is proof-of-performance photos. With direct buys, you get photos of your billboard in the wild.

Clients love these. They're great for internal visibility and also a confidence boost that the media actually ran. With programmatic? You usually get a mockup.

The lack of transparency doesn’t stop there. Most programmatic OOH vendors still can’t deliver proper reporting on reach and frequency.

Some even pitch self-serve options to small businesses with lines like “be on a billboard for less than a cup of coffee”—but they offer no info on actual impressions or context. The math doesn’t math.

Place-based media: more buzz than bite?

Programmatic gives you access to tons of place-based inventory: screens in gyms, bars, elevators, convenience stores, and even ATMs. It sounds amazing in theory, but here’s the reality: many of these environments are noisy, crowded, and full of distractions.

Yes, people are physically there, but that doesn’t mean they’re paying attention.

We’ve seen clients overpay for screens that are tucked into corners or above eye level. Some point-of-sale screens at grocery stores barely get seen at all.

So while it’s true you’re getting “eyeballs,” attention is a whole other story.

Creative matters (maybe more than ever)

Another mistake brands make? Expecting one billboard to do too much. We’ve had clients come to us with creative that tried to squeeze in multiple logos, a brand message, and an app CTA—on one unit.

In those cases, we advised them to go back and revise the creative, because when you expect too much from one billboard, it ends up doing none of it well.

Out-of-home needs to be big, bold, and legible.

And yes, that includes contrast. We’ve seen butter-yellow boards with white text that were completely unreadable. We’ve seen digital units that appear blue instead of white. The environment matters.

A billboard that “looks cool” in a deck may fall totally flat IRL.

Static still wins (sometimes)

People assume digital is better, but static OOH still has its place. One huge advantage? Frequency. A static board shows 24/7. A digital board rotates among multiple advertisers, so you might only get 1/8 of the time.

Static also allows for creative extensions—3D builds, lighting effects, and other high-impact executions that digital just can’t replicate.

Measurement & expectations

Measurement in OOH is never perfect—programmatic or not. Everyone uses Geopath as the source of truth, and while it has limitations, it’s the best we’ve got.

That said, OOH still gets unfairly judged by performance marketers who are used to click-based attribution. It’s just not built for that. But when you run holdout/target market tests, the impact becomes very real.

So, is it the future?

Not exactly.

Programmatic OOH is a valuable tool, but it’s not the future.

It’s one more buying method—and it’s best when used strategically.

We love it for flexibility and micro-targeting. But we hate the reporting gaps, inconsistent pricing, and how easily it can be oversold.

Final Advice

Thinking about using programmatic OOH?

Talk to a media planner—someone who doesn’t have skin in the game. Because vendors, platforms, and self-serve tools all have an incentive to make it sound amazing.

A good planner will tell you the truth: when it makes sense, when it doesn’t, and how to get the most out of it.

Because sometimes, the billboard you can get for the price of a latte … isn’t worth a latte.

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