OOH Advertising Hits $2.13B in Q3 Revenue

The advertisers that helped push record-high revenues in the OOH channel in Q3 include digital-first brands such as Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Uber, HBO, FX, and Paramount+.  At $2.13B in Q3 revenues, OOH advertising delivered its strongest third quarter on record, according to new data from the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA). Year-to-date totals climbed to nearly $7 billion, marking 18 consecutive quarters of growth for the medium.

Steve Nicklin, SVP Marketing and Analytics, Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), sat down with StreetFight to analyze the implications of these higher revenues.

What trends do you believe are fueling this OOH media surge?

After years of brands concentrating spend in highly intermediated digital environments, marketers are rediscovering the value of being visibly present in the physical world, where messages cannot be skipped, scrolled past, or blocked. The contextual value of OOH is especially powerful at a time when digital channels are grappling with privacy concerns, fraud, and declining trust. Marketers increasingly want to know who they are reaching, and consumers want to know who to trust. OOH delivers both with clarity and confidence. At the same time, OOH has become far more data-driven.

What technological, measurement, or targeting innovations are driving DOOH’s growth? How are agencies and brands adapting to them?

First, the digitization of inventory means brands can buy flexible, day-parted, or trigger-based campaigns that change creative based on time of day, weather, or local events. Second, programmatic pipes and standardized data are making DOOH easier to transact and integrate alongside other digital video and display. Third, measurement has matured. Privacy-conscious use of mobile and other signals lets marketers connect exposure to website visits, store traffic, and sales, and OAAA’s work on programmatic transparency is giving buyers more confidence in the channel.

From the consumer side, research from The Harris Poll shows digital OOH advertising is not only more favorably viewed by audiences than other digital ad forms, it’s also the most likely to produce a consumer action.

Transit, place-Based, and street Furniture formats all showed growth. Do these channels suggest shifting patterns of mobility, commuting, and urban density in major metropolitan areas?

Yes. Transit, place-based, and street furniture all posted strong gains in Q3, with transit up 11.4%, place-based up 8.3%, and street furniture up 7.1% year-over-year. That growth mirrors continued recovery in commuting and travel, as well as increased everyday movement in dense urban cores and growing regional hubs.

What is changing is not just volume but the shape of journeys. People work more flexibly, run errands throughout the day, and spend more time in neighborhood environments, airports, sports venues, and retail districts. These formats sit directly in those “in-between” moments. For marketers, that means more opportunities to reach audiences when they are mobile, receptive, and often close to the point of purchase. 

What explains the surge in sectors’ demand (financial services, insurance, real estate) for OOH, and is this demand uniform across national vs. local campaigns?

These categories are highly competitive and trust-driven, yet they also need accountable performance. In Q3, Financial Services grew 35.5%, Insurance and Real Estate grew 26.8%, and Communications grew 10.3% in OOH spend. Those brands are using OOH to do two things at once. They can establish credibility and scale in the real world while also driving measurable outcomes such as account openings, quote requests, and site visits.

At the national level, big banks, insurers, and telecom brands are using OOH to reinforce brand preference and promote broad offers. Locally, we see regional banks, credit unions, brokerages, and property developers using the same tools to promote branches, properties, and in-market events. The common thread is that OOH lets them show up visibly in the communities where financial decisions are made.

How are smaller, “hyperlocal” businesses using OOH differently from national?

Local and hyperlocal businesses tend to use OOH as a directional and activation channel. They focus on formats close to their locations, and not only billboards but also street furniture, transit shelters, and place-based screens at gas stations and in grocery, fitness, or entertainment venues. Local Services and Amusements remains the largest spending industry category year-to-date at $2.13 billion, which underscores how central OOH is to local commerce.

What’s the appeal of OOH for digital-native companies such as Apple, Amazon, Netflix, etc.?

Digital-native brands have grown up on highly targeted, performance-oriented channels. Many are now encountering diminishing returns and higher acquisition costs, especially in walled gardens. OOH advertising offers them a way to expand reach, improve brand perception, and still measure outcomes. Nearly 30% of the top 100 OOH spenders today are technology or direct-to-consumer brands, with thirteen in the top 30 including Apple, Amazon, Uber, Netflix, and several leading telecom and streaming platforms.

We see this as a structural shift in media mix strategy. Digital-first marketers are realizing that OOH can bridge brand and performance, and increase activations by delivering both incremental audiences and measurable lifts in web traffic, app installs, and sales when integrated with their digital plans.

What lessons have emerged from this record quarter that could shape media planning going into 2026?

First, OOH advertising is no longer simply an “amplifier” to other channels. Second, digital OOH should be planned alongside other digital and video channels, not after them. It offers true attention in shared spaces, strong favorability, and meaningful actions such as store visits, online research, and purchases, particularly among younger and urban audiences. Third, planners should think about OOH as the place where brand and performance meet. When you combine well-designed creative, smart audience planning, and modern measurement, OOH can drive incremental reach, build long-term brand equity, and deliver short-term outcomes. That is the strategic blueprint many advertisers are following as they head into 2026.