If You Still Have 2025 Marketing Budget Left, Now’s the Time for OOH
Your unspent marketing budget may not roll over into 2026.
How can you use it before you lose it, while setting yourself up for success next year?
The best way to turn leftover marketing dollars into next-quarter momentum is by testing out-of-home (OOH). When executed correctly, OOH drives awareness where digital cannot and integrates cleanly with account-based strategies.
Why OOH Makes Sense Right Now
Research from our upcoming State of B2B OOH Adoption study shows:
- 46% of B2B companies have already run OOH ad campaigns in the past two years
- 70% would try OOH if they understood how to measure the impact (we show you how)
- Mid-market brands are leading adoption because OOH is now measurable and flexible
If you have 2025 marketing budget left to deploy, a short campaign test now provides data you can use to scale in Q1 2026.
Four Tactical Ways to Use Leftover Marketing Budget
1. Event-Driven OOH for Field Marketing Success
If your team already has conference or field marketing spend committed, layer in OOH activation to dominate that moment.
- Airport digital screens at arrival terminals for attendees specific to probable airlines
- Rideshare wraps or shuttle signage on main routes to the venue
- Hotel lobby displays and elevator panels where attendees stay
- Street-level posters or mobile trucks near the venue
This ensures your brand is visible before, during, and after the event, multiplying the return on your event budget.
2. ABM-Focused Placements
OOH ads can now be targeted to the commute paths and neighborhoods of high-value accounts.
- We use mobility data from hundreds of data sources to map top accounts and place transit or roadside ads on the commute paths of your target buyers
- Test proximity buys around competitor events or HQ locations
- Keep the creative short, bold, and easy to recall for decision makers
These hyper-local buys help accelerate deals that are already in pipeline.
3. Pilot a Digital OOH Advertising Test Market
Digital OOH lets you run short flights to test messaging and placements before expanding spend.
- Run a short pilot campaign in a few secondary regions to measure against those not exposed to your creative campaigns
- Rotate the creative to see which message performs best
- Use branded search lift, website visits, and pipeline velocity in that region as KPIs
This approach proves ROI quickly and informs a broader 2026 rollout.
4. Plan Measurement Up Front
Define what success looks like before you buy media.
- Brand Lift: measure branded search and direct traffic in markets where OOH runs versus control markets
- Pipeline Influence: compare meeting volume and deal velocity for accounts in OOH markets versus those without exposure
- Tradeshow Marketing Impact: track scans, meeting set rates, or leads from OOH-exposed locations during conferences
Having a measurement framework in place is the difference between a pilot that gets cut and one that secures future budget.
Follow These OOH Creative Rules To Deliver Ad Recall
Many B2B OOH campaigns fail because the creative blends into the background.
Follow these basics when thinking about the messaging and creative execution:
- Use large fonts and no more than seven words of copy
- Put the brand name or logo top-left or top-right where the eye lands first
- Make it visually bold and contextual to the location or event
- Test your creative with colleagues who have never seen it and ask what they remember after five seconds
A solid plan with OOH placements is half of the equation; great creative is what converts impressions into brand memory.
Final Takeaway
Do not let your unspent 2025 marketing budget go to waste.
A focused OOH advertising pilot in Q4 creates visibility in the real world where your buyers travel, builds momentum going into Q1, and gives your team hard data on what works.
Start small. Tie it to a specific event or region. Define your metrics before launch.
If you want to end the year stronger and head into 2026 with a channel that keeps paying off, we’re here to help.