Why More Brands Are Asking Agencies to Run Out-of-Home Advertising
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is seeing a major resurgence. Today, more brands are asking their agencies to run OOH campaigns alongside digital efforts—and most agencies are either unprepared or unsure how to start.
In our recent webinar, Greg Wise (OneScreen) and David Wilson (Zozimus) shared why this shift is happening, what agencies are missing, and how any team can add OOH without hiring a single person.
Check out the on-demand version here.
Here’s a breakdown of what we covered.
Why OOH Advertising Is Back in Demand
Brands are hitting a wall with digital. Performance-only strategies are becoming less effective. Customer acquisition costs are rising. Lifetime value is shrinking. And platforms like Google and Meta are more saturated than ever.
OOH is helping brands break out of this cycle. It allows them to:
- Build trust and visibility at scale
- Break free from the walled gardens of digital ads
- Complement digital campaigns with brand-building media
As Greg shared during the webinar, OOH is no longer about isolated billboards. It’s about creating surround sound for your media mix.
Why Most Agencies Are Not Ready to Offer OOH
Agencies that grew up in the digital era often haven’t touched out-of-home advertising. Many marketers working today entered the field during or after the pandemic, when OOH was essentially paused. Others simply never learned how to plan or measure it.
The result? Agencies default to the familiar—Google, Meta, TikTok—even when clients are looking for something new.
David explained it well: there’s an education gap. Many agency teams assume OOH is expensive, outdated, or unmeasurable. But that’s no longer the case.
What Happens When You Ignore OOH as a Service
Here’s the hard truth: when you don’t offer out-of-home advertising, your clients will find someone who does.
We hear it all the time: Brands want OOH, but their current agency can’t support it, so they go elsewhere. That’s lost revenue, trust, and influence.
Even worse, some agencies try to handle OOH without the right partners or platforms. This often leads to overspending, poor targeting, and weak results, which can cost the entire relationship in today’s market.
You Can Offer OOH Without Hiring or Rebuilding
Most agencies don’t realize this: You don’t need a new department to offer out-of-home media. The process has evolved. With platforms like OneScreen, agencies can plan, buy, and measure OOH just like digital.
Greg broke it down simply. OOH is now:
- Data-driven
- Programmatic in nature
- Easy to scale
- Measurable through mobile ID data, web lift, foot traffic, and more
You can use it to support brand campaigns, geo-target around physical locations, retarget event attendees, or reach niche audiences across cities or campuses.
Real Client Examples That Show What’s Possible
David shared two great stories during the webinar that highlight how agencies are using OOH successfully today:
1. Medical Device Brand
The brand needed to educate a hard-to-reach consumer base. The solution? Digital out-of-home ads in doctors’ offices—something they had never considered. The targeting was precise, and the results were immediate.
2. Event-Based Campaign in Europe
A client used OOH placements around a major event, then captured mobile IDs of exposed viewers. They used that data to retarget those attendees digitally after the event—extending campaign impact and ROI.
These examples prove that OOH is no longer a branding-only play. It can drive performance, track results, and support multi-channel strategies.
What Successful Agencies Are Doing Differently
Agencies that win with OOH take a few clear steps:
- They bring it up early and proactively
- They position it as a core part of the campaign strategy
- They partner with OOH experts instead of trying to DIY
- They use real client examples to pitch new ideas
David put it best: “I want partners who are smarter than me. When we bring in OneScreen, it makes us look good. It shows our clients we’re thinking ahead.”
How to Start Offering Out-of-Home Services This Month
You don’t need to overhaul your agency. You just need a clear first step. Here’s where to start:
- Pick one client and review their last campaign
- Ask how OOH could have supported or amplified it
- Reach out to a partner like OneScreen to map out a sample plan
- Bring the idea to your client, with real data and examples
Greg shared this tip during the session: “That’s the fastest path from ‘we don’t offer OOH’ to ‘we just added a new revenue stream.’”
Final Thoughts
Out-of-home advertising is no longer an afterthought. It’s trackable. It’s scalable. And it’s exactly what many of your clients are looking for.
If your agency wants to stay relevant, win more business, and grow with current clients, now is the time to bring OOH into your media mix.
Need help getting started?
We’re happy to walk through a few ideas based on your clients and their goals.
Contact us or reach out on LinkedIn to start the conversation.