Using Digital Out-of-Home to Amplify Event Marketing

When it comes to driving event attendance and awareness, most marketers are quick to invest in social, search, and email. But there’s a powerful, high-impact channel that too often gets overlooked – Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH).

Once limited to static billboards and bus shelters, out-of-home advertising has evolved into a digitally connected, data-driven medium capable of targeting, optimizing, and measuring campaigns with the same sophistication as online channels. And when used strategically, DOOH can deliver the kind of reach, real-world presence, and contextual relevance that event marketing demands.

With that established, let’s explore how DOOH works, why it’s booming, and how marketers can integrate it effectively within their event promotion mix.

What Is Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH)?

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) refers to digital media displayed in physical public environments. Think screens in airports, shopping malls, transit hubs, office buildings, gyms, and, of course, roadside billboards. Unlike traditional OOH, which relies on printed creative, DOOH uses dynamic digital screens capable of playing motion graphics, video, and real-time data feeds.

But the key difference goes far beyond format. It’s intelligence.

Modern DOOH networks are connected to programmatic exchanges, enabling advertisers to purchase impressions dynamically, use audience data for targeting, and adjust messaging in real-time based on conditions like time of day, weather, or even event proximity.

In essence, DOOH bridges the physical and digital worlds. It delivers the large-format impact of outdoor media combined with the flexibility and precision of digital advertising.

Why DOOH Belongs in Your Event Marketing Strategy

Event marketing thrives on creating moments of anticipation and urgency. Whether you’re promoting a conference, product launch, or branded event, DOOH delivers strategic advantages that align perfectly with these goals:

1. Location-Based Relevance –
Event audiences move through specific geographies, e.g., near convention centers, transit routes, hotels, or entertainment districts. DOOH enables hyperlocal targeting, ensuring your messaging meets audiences when and where it matters.

2. Real-Time Flexibility –
Because DOOH creative can be updated instantly, marketers can promote different event phases (early registration, last-call ticket sales, or live coverage) without reprinting or reinstallation costs.

3. Synergy with Digital Campaigns –
When paired with mobile or social ads, DOOH boosts brand recall and engagement. Nielsen reports that 66% of consumers who see DOOH ads take some form of mobile action afterward, such as searching for the brand or visiting its website.

4. Measurable Outcomes –
Advanced attribution capabilities now allow advertisers to measure foot traffic, website visits, and conversions resulting from DOOH exposure. For event marketers, this means being able to tie real-world impressions to actual ticket sales or attendance metrics.

The DOOH Market: Big, Growing, and Digital-First

If you’re wondering whether DOOH is worth the investment, the numbers make a compelling case.

According to eMarketer, global DOOH ad spend reached $18.8 billion in 2024, representing more than one-third of total out-of-home spending, and it’s projected to surpass $23 billion by 2026. In the U.S. alone, Insider Intelligence forecasts DOOH spending to grow by 14.5% year over year, making it one of the fastest-growing traditional-meets-digital media channels.

This growth is driven by two forces: digital screen proliferation and programmatic adoption.

In 2019, only about 16% of OOH spend was digital. Today, that share has more than doubled. Marketers increasingly view DOOH not as an “offline” buy, but as part of their omnichannel strategy, a high-visibility complement to connected TV, paid social, and mobile video.

Digital Out-of-Home Examples

One of the best ways to understand DOOH’s potential for event marketing is to explore the types of ad units and placements available:

1. Digital Billboards:
The iconic large-format screen, now digital and dynamic. These are ideal for building awareness and reach, especially in the days or weeks leading up to a major event.

2. Urban Panels & Street Furniture:
Digital kiosks, bus shelters, and city information panels enable more localized, pedestrian-level engagement. These placements are perfect for events taking place within city centers or near venues.

3. Transit & Airport Screens:
From digital signage in airports to screens on subway platforms, these placements target travelers - an ideal audience for trade shows, conferences, or destination-based events.

4. Retail & Lifestyle Venues:
Screens in gyms, shopping malls, bars, and entertainment venues reach audiences in a relaxed mindset and can deliver contextual event promotions like “Join us this weekend just down the street.”

5. Large-Scale Projections and Experiential DOOH:
Projection mapping and interactive digital activations allow brands to turn entire buildings or spaces into immersive event teasers, blending outdoor advertising with live experience.

How DOOH Is Bought: From Direct to Programmatic

Marketers have multiple ways to buy DOOH inventory, each offering different levels of control and automation.

Direct Buys:
Traditional direct deals involve negotiating placements with media owners (e.g., Clear Channel, Lamar, or JCDecaux). This method provides guaranteed visibility on specific screens or locations, great for high-traffic placements near event venues.

Programmatic Guaranteed (PG):
A hybrid between direct and programmatic. With PG, you lock in premium inventory but still benefit from automation for delivery, pacing, and targeting.

Private Marketplaces (PMPs):
Invite-only digital exchanges offering access to curated inventory. PMPs allow for higher transparency and control, making them ideal for brand-safe event campaigns.

Open Exchange Programmatic (RTB):
Fully automated, auction-based buying where impressions are bid on in real time. This is best for large-scale awareness campaigns, allowing dynamic optimization based on data signals such as audience movement or weather conditions.

According to VIOOH’s 2024 State of the Nation report, 41% of global DOOH spend is now transacted programmatically, up from just 16% in 2020. For event marketers, this means faster activation, better targeting, and more flexibility to adapt messaging during an event’s lifecycle.

Integrating DOOH into Your Event Marketing Mix

Like any channel, DOOH works best as part of a connected campaign. The magic happens when it amplifies and extends the impact of your other channels.

• Sync DOOH with Mobile & Social - Use geofencing to retarget mobile users exposed to your outdoor screens with follow-up messages or ticket offers.

• Align Creative with Event Phases - Use dynamic creative to promote different stages: early bird registration, countdowns, or live highlights.

• Leverage Data Triggers - Weather, time of day, or audience density can all trigger relevant event messaging (e.g., “Doors open in one hour”).

• Optimize Your Buys – Consider when and how users will encounter DOOH ads and optimize copy, content and run dates accordingly (e.g., running airport units only during arrival/departure timeframes for the event).

• Measure Holistically - Use unified analytics platforms to correlate DOOH exposure with digital actions like website visits, ticket scans, or social mentions.

The Takeaway

As we’ve established, Digital Out-of-Home has moved far beyond static billboards. It’s now a dynamic, data-enabled medium capable of precision targeting, real-time optimization, and measurable impact, all while delivering the kind of physical, high-impact visibility event marketing thrives on.

As audiences become increasingly fragmented across devices, DOOH offers a shared, public-stage presence that cuts through digital noise, connecting your event to the real world, literally.

In short: when planning your next event campaign, don’t just think online or onsite. Think out-of-home… digitally. And if you need help along the way the expert team at AdNode are here to help with all your DOOH and related media agency requirements.