The future of advertising isn’t online alone, it’s on the streets: Shivalika Anand

MUMBAI: Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is rapidly reshaping the outdoor media landscape, moving beyond static billboards to intelligent, data-driven screens that can deliver dynamic, context-aware messaging. As automation, audience targeting and real-time optimisation become central to modern media planning, programmatic DOOH is emerging as one of the fastest-growing segments in advertising. In this guest column, Shivalika Anand, chief executive officer of DGTOOHL, a Mobiyoung Group company, explains why programmatic DOOH is poised to redefine outdoor advertising and become a key pillar of omnichannel marketing strategies in the decade ahead.

Walk through any major airport, metro station, business district or premium retail destination in India today, and one thing is impossible to miss, the billboards are no longer static.

Digital screens are transforming public spaces into intelligent media environments where advertisements can change in real time, respond to audience behaviour, and adapt to contextual triggers such as time of day, weather or location.

What was once a traditional branding medium is now evolving into a dynamic, data-driven communication platform.

This transformation is being powered by Programmatic DOOH. While the concept is still in its early stages in India, the momentum is undeniable.

Industry estimates suggest the Indian pDOOH market is expected to reach nearly USD 25 million by the end of 2026, signalling that advertisers are increasingly embracing automated outdoor media buying.

From buying locations to buying moments

For decades, outdoor advertising was bought much like real estate. Brands selected premium locations, booked them for weeks or months, and hoped the right audience would pass by.

Programmatic DOOH fundamentally changes this approach.

Instead of purchasing inventory based solely on location, marketers can now buy audiences, contexts and moments. Campaigns can be activated during office commute hours, increased during festive shopping periods, adapted to changing weather conditions or targeted across specific consumer zones.

In many ways, Programmatic DOOH represents for outdoor advertising what programmatic buying did for digital media over a decade ago, bringing automation, intelligence and optimisation into media planning.

Why marketers are paying attention

Today’s marketing landscape is increasingly fragmented. Consumers divide their attention across multiple devices and platforms, while digital advertising faces growing challenges including ad fraud, ad blockers, cookie deprecation and tightening privacy regulations.

Unlike online ads, outdoor advertising cannot be skipped or blocked. It reaches consumers in the physical world during their daily commute, while shopping, travelling or socialising when they are often closer to making purchase decisions.

What makes the medium even more powerful today is its ability to integrate audience intelligence and campaign measurement.

This combination of high-impact visibility and digital precision is making Programmatic DOOH particularly relevant for sectors such as automotive, retail, consumer technology, fintech, luxury, real estate and quick-service restaurants.

India’s infrastructure advantage

India is uniquely positioned to accelerate the growth of Programmatic DOOH.

Unlike many developed economies where consumer mobility has plateaued, India continues to witness rapid urbanisation and expanding public infrastructure. New metro corridors, airports, highways, commercial hubs and premium retail destinations are creating high-attention environments that are ideal for digital outdoor media.

Whether it is a professional commuting through Cyber City in Gurugram, a traveller at Mumbai Airport or a shopper in a premium mall in Bengaluru, these are high-value consumer moments where brands can influence awareness and consideration.

Simultaneously, India’s digital screen network is expanding rapidly. Improved connectivity, smarter audience measurement and increasing availability of programmatic buying platforms are making outdoor inventory more accessible and measurable than ever before.

India’s OOH advertising market is expected to grow steadily over the coming years, while Digital Out-of-Home is forecast to significantly increase its share of total OOH revenues from 23.8 per cent in 2023 to nearly 40 per cent by 2028 driven largely by programmatic buying and AI-powered optimisation.

The next competitive advantage

Every major shift in advertising rewards early adopters.

Brands that invested early in search marketing built lasting discoverability. Those that embraced social media ahead of the curve established stronger consumer communities.

Similarly, organisations that adopted programmatic digital advertising early unlocked greater efficiency and performance.

Programmatic DOOH presents a comparable opportunity today.

As more outdoor inventory becomes digitally connected and audience measurement continues to mature, outdoor advertising will evolve from being a tactical awareness medium into a strategic pillar of omnichannel marketing. It will increasingly complement mobile, connected TV, retail media and digital campaigns through unified planning and audience-led activation.

The brands that begin experimenting today will build the operational expertise, first-party learnings and optimisation capabilities that will define competitive advantage tomorrow.

The future is already visible

The screens are installed. The technology exists. The data ecosystem is becoming stronger, and the buying platforms are ready.

What remains is a shift in mindset.

Programmatic DOOH is not simply a new way to buy outdoor media. It represents a smarter way to think about consumer attention in an increasingly connected world.

As marketers seek media channels that combine physical presence with digital intelligence, Programmatic DOOH is poised to become one of the defining growth engines of the advertising industry over the next decade.

For brands looking to future-proof their media strategies, the question is no longer whether Programmatic DOOH will become mainstream, it is whether they are prepared to lead that transformation or follow it.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.