The study, independently aggregated by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), covers more than forty markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, and represents a credible, supply-side measure of pDOOH revenue at global scale, says WOO.

"This study marks a genuine first for our industry — a credible, independently aggregated baseline for programmatic DOOH at global scale," says Charles Parry-Okeden, VP and Global Lead, Audience Measurement and Data at World Out of Home Organization.

"The headline figure of USD$1.339-billion matters, but the structural insights are equally compelling: the stark divergence between volume and penetration, the scale of the untapped opportunity in Eastern Asia and the dominance of PMP as the transaction model of choice," adds Parry-Okeden. "For the first time, the global pDOOH market has a benchmark it can build from."

Regional Findings

Accordign to WOO, some of the regional findings include:

  • Americas: USD$667-million, 14.1% penetration. United States (USD$545.5-million) is the world's largest pDOOH market by volume.
  • EMEA: USD$521-million, 9.4% penetration. Germany leads globally on penetration rate at 31.8%.
  • Asia-Pacific: USD$151-million, 1.7% penetration. ANZ (USD$92.3-million) accounts for 61% of all APAC spend. Eastern Asia sits on a USD$7.3-billion DOOH base at 0.6% pDOOH take-up.

Key Findings

According to WOO, volume and penetration tell different stories.

The United States accounts for USD$545.5-million of global pDOOH spend — the largest single market by a wide margin — yet its penetration rate of 15.9% trails Germany's 31.8%, the highest of any major market globally.

Belgium (25.5%) and France (16.7%) also rank in the top five by programmatic penetration, aimed at demonstrating that absolute market scale and programmatic adoption do not necessarily advance in lockstep.

Eastern Asia — comprising Japan, South Korea and Mainland China — holds a USD$7.3-billion DOOH advertising base operating at just 0.6% pDOOH penetration. This represents the single largest structural growth opportunity in global programmatic Out-of-Home, says WOO.

PMP Dominates Globally

Private Marketplace (PMP) transactions account for 75.7% (USD$1.014-billion) of all global pDOOH spend, aimed at confirming that programmatic DOOH is largely transacted through structured, invited auctions between selected buyers and sellers rather than open exchange, says WOO.

OOH-specialist DSPs account for 65.5% of global spend (USD$877-million), led by platforms including Broadsign, DAX, Vistar Media, VIOOH and Hivestack by Perion, adds WOO.

"WOO exists to advance the Out of Home industry globally, and that requires credible data. The level of SSP participation in this inaugural study — twelve platforms submitting confidential revenue data directly to PwC — is a testament to the industry's commitment to transparency," says Tom Goddard, President of World Out of Home Organization.

"I congratulate all our SSP partners and thank PwC for their professionalism as independent aggregator. This is a landmark moment for the measurement of our industry," adds Goddard.

"The rigour of this study begins with its methodology. By working with PwC as independent aggregator and applying consistent parameters across all twelve SSP submissions, we have produced a dataset the industry can rely on," says Gideon Adey, Principal at GUROOH.

"The findings challenge assumptions — Germany's extraordinary penetration rate, New Zealand ranking sixth globally, and the concentration of African pDOOH spend in South Africa — and that is precisely what a credible global benchmark should do, concludes Adey.

For more information, visit www.worldooh.org. You can also follow the World Out of Home Organization on LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor