If 2024 was the year OOH re-entered mainstream marketer conversations, 2025 was the year it proved it belonged at the center of the marketing mix. Creativity surged, new entrants flooded the space, and interest from both buyers and investors hit new highs. Yet behind the momentum, the industry grappled with fragmentation, murky measurement, and an influx of new technologies still finding their footing.
As we look ahead to 2026, one thing is clear: OOH is entering its most pivotal and most transformative era yet.
We sat down with OneScreen.ai’s Chief Customer Officer and Co-Founder, Greg Wise, and Director of Customer Strategy, Hannah Leary, to unpack what shaped 2025 and what will redefine the industry in the year ahead.
2025 Recap: The Year OOH Broke Its Own Rules
OOH pushed creative boundaries and marketers followed.
Hannah: “In 2025, we saw the boundaries of OOH expand in ways the industry hasn’t seen in years. Eye-catching, experiential advertising stunts fused with traditional billboard placements; OOH integrated seamlessly with digital marketing and social media sharing; and brands used physical space to create buzz, emotion, and connection.”
One of the clearest signs of the shift? B2B brands finally joined the innovation wave.
Campaigns like Ramp’s January wrecking ball + crushed car spectacular campaign we executed proved that B2B doesn’t have to be boring and that bold, real-world creativity moves markets.
Measurement was everywhere, yet nowhere.
The biggest pain point of 2025 wasn’t demand or interest; it was the explosion of competing measurement methodologies.
Greg: “Every OOH vendor, DSP, and partner had their own version of measurement attribution. Literally everyone. Marketers didn’t know which signals to trust, and honestly, we questioned some as well. OOH was measurable in 2025, but not consistently.”
This fractured landscape set the stage for one of 2026’s defining shifts.
AI companies led the charge into premium OOH.
Small-but-mighty AI startups emerged as the breakout buyers of 2025.
Hannah: “We’re seeing AI companies with 15 employees buying billboards on the 101 in San Francisco next to Apple and Google. They’re using OOH to punch far above their weight, to instantly look like category leaders.”
Beyond AI, two other categories that leaned into seeing OOH as a growth driver for marketing ROI:
- Mid-market SaaS companies moving upmarket.
OOH became their enterprise trust signal – the visual marketing execution that makes a 200-person company feel like a 2,000-person company. - D2C and CPG brands burned by rising CAC.
Performance-only strategies hit diminishing returns, leading brands like Caraway and HexClad to return to brand-building—and to OOH.
Programmatic OOH advertising entered its “serious era.”
Two major acquisitions – Vistar and Place Exchange – signaled a fundamental shift.
Greg: “Programmatic advertising started cleaning up a lot of the garbage: low-quality networks, shady inventory. Not fully cleaned up, but we’re getting there. The acquisitions validated the pipes, the infrastructure, the marketplace mechanics.”
Programmatic isn’t just a delivery mechanism anymore; it’s becoming the flexible connective tissue around premium OOH buys.
What Surprised Us Most About 2025
The biggest surprise wasn’t about marketing spend on OOH, technology, or inventory.
It was speed.
OOH accelerated faster than almost anyone expected: creatively, operationally, and perceptually. The industry matured a decade in about 18 months. And marketers who once treated OOH as “nice to have” now see it as a strategic necessity.
2026 Predictions: The Most Transformative Year in Modern OOH
Below is a synthesis of Greg’s and Hannah’s predictions, along with the soundbites CMOs will be quoting all year.
1. Incrementality Becomes the New Currency
If 2025 was chaos in measurement, 2026 will be clarity.
OOH will finally be held to the same standard as other channels: incremental lift.
Greg: “2026 is the year incrementality becomes the industry minimum standard. It’s not a premium feature, it’s table stakes.”
OOH will be measured against control groups, enabling marketers to answer:
- Did branded organic search increase in exposed markets?
- Did we see a spike in LLM search in marketers we had billboards?
- Did website traffic or demo volume rise?
- Did pipeline move faster?
- Did we see revenue lift where OOH ran?
This is how OOH wins over the CFO.
“OOH finally rises above the minutiae and proves its value at the CFO level.”
2. Premium OOH Inventory Scarcity Becomes a Crisis
2026 will be the year marketers realize premium OOH is no longer an unlimited resource.
Top-tier static units, transit dominations, city takeovers, and event-adjacent screens will become increasingly difficult to secure last minute.
Greg: “Inventory scarcity is real. You can’t wing it anymore. The era of ‘let’s get a billboard for the World Cup’ starting in April is over. San Francisco is already slim pickings in February because of the Super Bowl being played there.”
Advice for 2026:
- Plans must be made earlier.
- Internal buy-in must happen sooner.
- Brands need clearly defined outcomes before they buy anything.
- If you have the chance to secure a permanent billboard in a location you love, do it.
“Plan now, or be locked out.”
3. Programmatic OOH Finally Grows Up
Post-consolidation, the programmatic OOH ecosystem will:
- Become cleaner
- Become more transparent
- Become more trusted
- Grow faster than traditional OOH buying
Greg: “Programmatic OOH is finally growing up. It’s becoming the flexible layer that wraps around premium buys.”
This evolution will also make OOH more accessible to performance teams, unlocking budgets that were previously out of reach.
“Programmatic is entering its serious era.”
4. The Death of Brand Marketing vs. Performance Marketing
Perhaps the biggest mindset shift of 2026:
Brand and performance marketing will no longer be treated as separate functions.
Greg: “Brand and performance teams actually live in harmony in 2026. OOH ads generate demand; digital captures it.”
OOH becomes the top-of-funnel engine that makes every digital dollar more efficient.
“OOH isn’t stealing digital budgets, it’s strengthening them.”
5. OOH Becomes the Digital Accelerator
Marketers aren’t decreasing digital spend—they’re recognizing the diminishing returns on incremental digital dollars. OOH becomes the strategic layer that restores efficiency.
Greg: “Stop trying to make ‘take digital budgets’ happen. It’s outdated. OOH is what makes digital work better.”
Rather than a budget replacement, OOH becomes a budget amplifier.
6. AI’s Real Role: Prediction, Not Personalization
Forget the hype: AI’s killer application in OOH is forecasting.
Greg: “The winner will be the platform that proves OOH can be predictive. If we can make future outcomes forecastable, we win.”
Predictive planning will revolutionize:
- Inventory selection
- Flighting
- Creative decisions
- Budget allocations
This is where OOH will unlock massive new spend.
“The winning move for AI in OOH is prediction.”
Final Advice for Marketers Building 2026 Plans
OneScreen’s team sums up why the time for OOH is now:
- Plan early. Quality OOH inventory is tightening.
- Pitch OOH internally before budgets lock. OOH should be part of the initial plan, not an afterthought, especially in field marketing.
- Start with the outcome you want. Decide what you want to prove, then choose the media.
- Think omnichannel. OOH is no longer a silo; it’s the spine of the modern marketing mix.
The Bottom Line: 2026 Will Redefine OOH – Possibly Forever
From measurement to inventory to AI to budgeting models, 2026 isn’t just another year of evolution for OOH; it’s a year of transformation.
OOH will become more predictable, more measurable, more strategic, and more essential.As Greg puts it best: “OOH is becoming the strategic layer that makes every digital dollar more efficient. Full stop.”