As the year comes to an end, it is evident that the out-of-home (OOH) industry has accomplished immense growth and success via various channels.
One of the most significant growth sectors is digital OOH, accounting for 33.2% of sales in the third quarter of 2024 and showing an increase from the previous year.
Digital OOH is rapidly growing and is set to increase even more so in the coming years, with an emphasis on AI-driven integration and technology advancements.
2024 displayed immense strides in the AI field, and 2025 will reveal rapid digital integration and innovation, along with other digital-based growth and an ethical focus.
Here’s our take on where the new year will take OOH next and some things to expect to see in the coming months.
Artificial Intelligence and OOH
Consumer data and location-based information are critical to efficient and effective OOH ad campaigns. This is immensely important and tedious to process and analyze as tens of thousands of data points can be on a single consumer.
As AI improves over 2024 and increases in accuracy and expansion of language models, 2025 will showcase accurate analysis and data clustering, saving countless hours that would previously be done through manual labor and only taking mere seconds to complete.
Out-of-home advertising will be able to segment markets and instantly capture data trends and suggestions and may even see concepts of a complete redesign in the execution of ads in the new year.
Programmatic advertising is one such area where a complete shift will occur. Real-time data will be analyzed and generated through AI, targeting specific consumers with unmatched precision and accuracy. This feature will allow historical and predictive data streams to reveal all optimal ad locations, ensuring the desired audience is always reached.
Instantaneous consumer analysis will also unlock future OOH capabilities of personalized content, where AI can change a message depending on weather, time, events, and more—in seconds. AI is set to unleash much more in the coming years and will lead OOH to substantial growth in 2025.
Expansion of Digital OOH
Digital OOH displays are a commonplace format for widespread advertising. 2025 will revamp this sector and integrate even more engaging and exciting display features with 3D billboard advertising.
Large city centers like New York City’s Times Square are known for their all-encompassing array of digital OOH, especially their 3D integrations. These can be seen around the holiday season when surges of tourists and visitors are set to take in the city.
3D OOH will be making its way into more localized locations such as malls, supermarkets, and highways and will be used by brands targeting more local audiences. This can be done through traditional formats, or digital displays offer more of an exciting experience.
These creative displays stand out and garner massive attention and internet virality. 3D displays receive over 50% more attention than 2D versions and will be rolling out in more medium to small-sized cities throughout 2025.
Climate-First Approach
Continuing on the aspect of digital OOH growth and shifts, the industry is trending towards a more sustainable and eco-friendly approach to advertising practices.
At the forefront of this shift is using electric-powered options such as solar panels. Due to looming climate change warnings, more consumers and companies are shifting towards eco-friendly possibilities as the world moves towards a more climate-first ideology.
The average US home consumes 11,040 kWh of electricity annually; meanwhile, a 14’x48’ LED billboard consumes upwards of 162,902 kWh annually. This drastic difference can cause many potential customers and viewers to veer away from a message.
To align with sustainability practices and increasingly potent consumer ideologies, 2025 may mark the rapid shift towards solar-powered and other sustainable OOH digital options, perhaps even an increase towards returning to traditional formats.
As We Approach The New Year
These predictions and trends will only happen in stages and develop throughout 2025. AI will take the lead in the most rapid technological advancement as it focuses on expanding these capabilities due to its highly applicable real-world problem-solving abilities.
3D expansion and sustainable OOH practices will follow behind, but we can expect to see massive growth in these areas by the end of 2025. Out-of-home is sure to experience favorable advancements and increases in sales with AI spearheading innovation.
This industry will see results soon enough, and 2025 may be OOH’s most noteworthy and successful year yet.
