We Spent a Day with Digital Out-of-Home Advertising

Have you ever walked down the street and thought, “What my life really needs right now is a bright, cheerful screen telling me what to buy my significant other for Valentine’s Day”? Well, congratulations, because DOOH advertising has entered the conversation!

We're excited to announce that Optimum Media now offers Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising as part of our comprehensive marketing solutions. These screens can be found in a variety of places, including roadside billboards, city bus shelters, office lobbies, retail shops, transit stations, and much more.

Everywhere you go, your day is sprinkled with vibrant messages on these sleek screens — the kind that somehow manage to catch your eye without feeling pushy, like the friend who casually mentions they’ve found the world’s best taco place, and now you have to try it. These screens deliver bright, appealing content in bite-sized chunks, and before you know it, you’re hooked. 

DOOH is booming for its dynamic, targeted messaging in high-traffic areas, extending campaign reach to whenever and wherever target audiences are. DOOH ads are growing at an annual rate of 6.7% from 2024-29, with 39% of U.S. advertisers planning to increase their DOOH investment in the next 18 months, and it’s no surprise why.

From the moment you step out of your apartment, fueled by a hot coffee and your favorite morning TV news station (which, of course, is News 12), the city comes alive with its unique mix of charm and chaos; these digital screens are the city’s tour guides, playing a vital role in cultivating that bustling appeal, a quintessential part of big city life. 

Right outside your building, a digital sidewalk screen casually informs you that your favorite bar is hosting live music in two days. What timing! Down the subway, another digital screen breaks the earth-shattering news that a baby penguin was just born at the zoo. Obviously, this is the cutest thing you’ve heard all week, and you’ve decided to follow yet another baby penguin on Instagram.

Once tapped in and awaiting your train into the city center, you wait patiently and watch as the liveboard platform screen cycles through the daily ads, one of which perfectly exhibits the gleam of a high quality custom watch, assembled by a local brand. You pull out your phone and scan the QR code because your current watch looks like it came free with a flip phone and a mixtape.

Morning at the office flies by uneventfully until a coworker mentions spotting a digital ad for a new bistro down the block. A quick search on your phone reveals glowing five-star reviews, and before long, you and a group of intrigued coworkers decide to check it out for lunch. The verdict? Best steak fries you’ve ever had. Like, “tell-your-grandkids-about-them” good.

According to the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), around 88% of U.S. adults notice out-of-home ads, and 76% of consumers take an action, like doing an online search for the business, visiting the store, or checking out its social media afterward. Local advertisers are also seeing great success in leveraging directional DOOH ads that literally point potential customers in the right direction: 30% of consumers noticed them, 51% visited the location after seeing the ad, and 93% completed a purchase once there. That’s a lot of wins for one well placed screen.

After work, you swing by the supermarket to prep dinner for a visiting college friend. As you’re standing in the checkout line, eyeing the impulse-buy candy racks, a small digital screen with an ad for an optometrist just a few streets away catches your eye. Instantly, you think of your gym buddy who’s been battling work headaches. You send a quick text with the optometrist’s info, earning yourself the prestigious title of “Friend Most Likely to Forward Ads.”

Now, close to home, you hail a taxi, noticing the digital screen perched on the roof, boldly advertising a comedian performing at the city concert hall next week. You’ve never heard of them, but you’re already Googling their name by the time the cab door closes. Once inside, the headrest screen hypes an action movie currently smashing box office records.

That evening, as your friend arrives and you sit down to enjoy a luxurious, home-cooked meal, they share a story about a digital billboard they saw on the drive into the city. The ad featured a hamster sprinting furiously on a wheel, paired with the caption: “Your internet shouldn’t run like this. Switch and upgrade your service for speeds that actually keep up.”

The hamster wheel, labeled “powered by competitors’ Wi-Fi,” has you both laughing so hard you nearly choke on your chicken teriyaki stir fry, picturing the tiny, overworked hamster. It’s marketing genius at its finest.

You finish up dinner and discuss evening plans. Your friend suggests catching a movie, and the action movie you were served an ad for earlier comes to mind. Your friend loves the idea, and you close out the day with a late-night movie at the local theater. 

Conveniently, as you approach the theater, the digital street sign outside tempts you with another ad — a sparkling diamond necklace on sale at your local jeweler, like it’s straight out of a rom-com proposal scene. Suddenly, it clicks — Valentine’s Day! This is your golden (or diamond?) opportunity to look like you planned ahead. Voilà, the perfect gift, courtesy of a well-placed street sign and the magic of DOOH advertising.

You pose for a selfie inside the theater with your friend, satisfied and delighted at how the day turned out. The event is captured forever on your public Facebook page, featuring a glowing movie recommendation and an incomprehensible number of emojis.

At Optimum Media, we’ve always been committed to helping you connect with the right audiences, whether through traditional TV, streaming their favorite shows or sports, and through their mobile devices. Now, we’re expanding that reach even further. With digital out-of-home advertising, we add another layer to your multiscreen campaigns, reaching your customers wherever they are, at the perfect moment, and on the right screen. From TV to mobile to digital displays, we’ve got you covered with messages that are contextual, memorable, and truly resonate, keeping your brand top of mind and enhancing your campaigns’ effectiveness.

Now, if only there was a digital screen to remind you that your anniversary was, in fact, yesterday.