Niney-eight percent of respondents can’t be wrong

I’ve been happily involved in the OOH business for over twenty-five years. With that much time served, I’ve seen all sorts of trends come and go, watching us chase digital dollars, fumble programmatic, and argue over acronyms that would confuse a NASA engineer. When I suggest to you that a new research report stopped me mid -strong black coffee this week, it’s not something that happens often. My strong black coffee is sacred.

The OAAA and Winterberry Group just dropped a study called “The Power of Proximity: OOH Media and its Evolving Role in Connected Commerce.” They surveyed one hundred and six enterprise marketers and agency executives, the big peeps who write the checks, and the numbers are by far the best data points I’ve seen for the OOH industry in a long time.

Here’s the headline: 98% of respondents now view OOH as either core or supporting to their connected commerce strategies. Ninety-eight percent. Not a typo. That’s basically everyone except the person who accidentally clicked the wrong box. Maybe it was me?

Eighty-six percent said they’re “extremely focused” on building integrated, cross-channel engagement models. Not “somewhat interested.” Not “thinking about it at next year’s offsite.” Extremely focused. Enterprise-level priority. That’s C-suite language for “we’re spending money on this”, and money does the talking.

What’s the Catch?

There’s always a catch. You didn’t think I was just going to hand you good news and call it a day, right?

The same study found that while brands are all-in on the idea of OOH in connected commerce, they’re still wrestling with three big barriers:

67% cite limited availability of the OOH inventory, while 60% say budget constraints are holding them back, not because they don’t want to spend, but because the monies are already committed elsewhere. And 53% point to measurement gaps. They can’t prove impact the way they can with digital or CTV, and their CFOs aren’t signing off on faith.

There’s that darn measurement issue again.

Sound familiar? It should. We’ve been talking about measurement in OOH since I was selling 30-sheet posters in downtown Baltimore. The difference now is the brands are telling us exactly what they need, and it’s specific: 59% want integration with retail partner sales data. 53% want advanced audience segmentation. 51% want foot traffic measurement. These are far from abstract wish-list items. They’re roadmaps.

The Programmatic Door Is Wide Open

Here’s the part that caught my attention most, especially given what many of us are into every day here at Moving Walls.

62% of brand marketers said the single biggest thing that would advance their ability to capitalize on OOH is integrating it into programmatic media buying platforms. That’s an important statement. The biggest hurdle isn’t better creativity; it’s not more billboards. It’s making OOH as easy to buy as the rest of their media stack.

They also said that 54% also said they want OOH planning and production built into their existing media tech tools. 49% want creative production support for dynamic, location-specific content. While they’re not asking for a revolution, they are asking us to plug into the systems they already use.

Why This Matters More Than Usual

I’ve read plenty of industry research, perhaps too much.  An awfully large amount of it is self-congratulatory noise designed to make us feel better about ourselves. However, this study is different as it came from the buy side. These are the brands and agencies telling us in their own words what it’ll take to move more money into OOH.

Isn’t more money what we’re pushing for?

What they’re saying lines up perfectly with where the industry is headed: proximity-based targeting, digital formats that support dynamic creative, and measurement that connects exposure to actual sales outcomes. Digital billboards 65%, in-store POP screens 63%, and digital promotional displays 57% are the formats brands value most for connected commerce. That’s where the money wants to go.

There’s that word again. Money.

86% plan to increase their OOH spending over the next two years. 37% are projecting growth of 15% or more. That’s not incremental. That’s a step change. That, however, depends only if we, the operators, the platforms, the sales teams, the ad tech companies, complete our part.

What We Should Be Doing

The report identifies three keys to unlocking OOH’s future: measurement and attribution standards, addressability across all formats, and programmatic integration. That’s not news to anyone in the OOH world. Conversely, having it validated by one hundred and six enterprise decision-makers in a third-party study? That’s powerful ammunition.

May I politely suggest that you print this report, absorb it, then place it in your pitch deck while referencing the stats in your next client meeting. When a media planner hits back that they are unable to justify OOH spend because they can’t measure it, show them that 56% of their peers say improved measurement is the number one driver of increased investment.

Then offer them a path to get there. We must give them something back.

This certainly isn’t about any one company; instead, it’s about the whole OOH industry stepping up. Allow me to say this: here at Moving Walls, we are proud to be a founding sponsor of this research as the findings reinforce exactly what we’ve been building: a platform that brings measurement, programmatic buying, and media activation together under one roof.

We put our money where our mouth is as we believe the data backs the direction.

The brands are telling us what they want. We should strongly consider accepting that hint as we listen intently.