One of the biggest criticisms of OOH has always been measurement.
With AI, geofencing, mobile data, and attribution models becoming more advanced, do you think we're getting closer to accurately measuring the impact of billboards, transit ads, and outdoor campaigns?
Or is OOH still fundamentally a branding channel that can't be measured the same way as digital?
One of the biggest criticisms of OOH has always been measurement.
With AI, geofencing, mobile data, and attribution models becoming more advanced, do you think we're getting closer to accurately measuring the impact of billboards, transit ads, and outdoor campaigns?
Or is OOH still fundamentally a branding channel that can't be measured the same way as digital?
Most D2C brands used to scale by targeting entire cities or states.
Now I’m seeing brands focus heavily on smaller pockets, specific metro routes, residential sectors, office hubs, even apartment clusters.
Feels like lower CAC + stronger recall.
Are hyperlocal campaigns outperforming broad targeting now?
I genuinely used to think billboards and outdoor ads were almost impossible to measure properly compared to digital campaigns. You put up a billboard, people see it, and that was basically the end of the conversation. But recently I’ve been reading more about how brands are using things like geofencing and mobile location data to understand movement patterns, repeat exposure, and even store visits around certain ad locations. It’s interesting because it feels like the gap between offline advertising and digital analytics is slowly getting smaller. Obviously, it’s not as exact as click tracking, but it does make me wonder whether marketers will start evaluating outdoor advertising very differently over the next few years.
I genuinely used to think billboards and outdoor ads were almost impossible to measure properly compared to digital campaigns. You put up a billboard, people see it, and that was basically the end of the conversation. But recently I’ve been reading more about how brands are using things like geofencing and mobile location data to understand movement patterns, repeat exposure, and even store visits around certain ad locations. It’s interesting because it feels like the gap between offline advertising and digital analytics is slowly getting smaller. Obviously, it’s not as exact as click tracking, but it does make me wonder whether marketers will start evaluating outdoor advertising very differently over the next few years.
One of the most interesting shifts in advertising right now is how OOH campaigns are becoming measurable through geofencing and mobile data.
A few years ago, outdoor advertising was mostly seen as “awareness-only” media.
Now brands can actually understand:
Feels like the line between physical advertising and digital performance marketing is getting smaller every year.
Do you think this changes how marketers should evaluate OOH campaigns going forward?
Sat in traffic today and noticed something odd.
Everyone was physically there, but mentally somewhere else.
Almost all on their phones.
Got me thinking… brands fight hard for attention inside screens, where everything competes.
But outside? In traffic, on roads, attention just sits there, unused.
Do you still notice things around you anymore, or is it all background now?
This might sound a bit odd, but I’ve been noticing something lately.
The more polished and “perfect” an ad looks, high production, clean design, everything on point, the less I trust it. It just feels like the brand is trying too hard to sell. On the flip side, slightly messy ads like a basic video or a rough-looking billboard somehow feel more real. Like, there’s less selling and more honesty.
I’ve seen this a lot with D2C brands, too. Some of their best ads look super simple, almost like they weren’t overthought.
So now I’m wondering if brands are overdoing the polished look to the point it hurts trust? Or are we just tired of seeing the same kind of ads everywhere?
Curious if others feel this too, or if it’s just me.