With over 2.3 million residents, Houston, Texas is the most populous city in the state and brings in millions of visitors each year, making it one of the top markets for the out-of-home industry in the United States. 

Major metropolitan areas such as the Theater District and the Historic District provide ample space for prime inventory locations and advertising target areas to reach a wide range of people in the city. Plus, Houston is home to the Space Center Houston, the official visitor’s center of NASA’s Jordan Space Center. Other notable locations include the Houston Zoo, Minute Maid Park, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. 

Houston also has its fair share of walkable areas, malls, and other outdoor clusters that provide excellent locations for OOH ad formats like kiosks and posters, which are perfect for reaching pedestrians, as well as major highways such as US-59, which connects Houston and Austin, and US-290, providing excellent billboard ad locations for reaching a large number of travelers.

Major outdoor advertising companies in the area such as OUTFRONT Media and Clear Channel Outdoor have plenty of inventory in the area, as well as others such as SignAd. 

Houston also has a fairly large public transportation system, METRO, which has over 1,200 buses that attract plenty of commuters who are looking to avoid traffic, providing an excellent space for transit advertising, as well as benches and taxi ads. 

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising has been a major advertising method for lifetimes—it provides a wide range of viewers, it’s an effective way to increase brand awareness, and, well, it’s a classic. Like almost anything that’s been around for so long, the industry has seen a variety of changes, making it both a different and a more accessible space. 

For example, the industry has seen a noticeable increase in digital ads. Not only are more and more digital billboards popping up around the globe, but other digital formats such as retail TV screens, digital kiosks, digital walls, and airport ads are becoming more prevalent in the industry.

There are a few reasons for the increase in digital advertisements, one of the big ones being that there’s a quicker turnaround time, making it possible to get ads posted quicker. As opposed to “traditional” ad formats, like static billboards, digital ads can be uploaded to display almost instantly, which is great for any last-minute ad campaigns. 

Also, advertisers often lean towards digital ads when working towards different advertising goals. Digital ads have a more “modern” appeal—rooted in technology, they can be preferred for advertisers in industries such as technology, media and entertainment, and even just younger companies. Plus, more can be done with them in terms of eye-catching ads—3D digital ads or any sort of moving image or video are popular these days.

Other changes in the industry include internal improvements and changes regarding processes. In the past few years, technological advancements to internal day-to-day tasks have been popping up everywhere, with features helping both media buyers and sellers, such as being able to pull inventory across platforms (like from Apparatix to DOmedia) and improvements to submitting and responding to RFPs. 

Another recent change is that professionals are using data more than ever to plan, execute, and analyze their outdoor advertising campaign, helping to maximize effectiveness and turn plans into strategies. 

OAAA wrote that in the future, advertisers are going to buy OOH for not only locations and audience, but also for intelligence provided about their customers, such as where they go and other products and services they purchase. 

Advertisers using OOH have been using their ads to better connect with their audiences, as well. While this is something that’s happened with formats such as TV commercials in the past, using billboards to make personal connections is a more recent development, and by using methods such as making geographical or brand-specific references and appealing to the company’s demographic through use of language and imagery. 

The capital of the United States, Washington, DC is one of the most populous cities in the country, with over 712,000 residents. Plus, it brings in over 19 million visitors each year, making it a top market for out-of-home (OOH) advertising. 

Thanks to its wealth of American history, monuments, and memorials, DC is full of landmarks that provide incredible target advertising locations to reach both tourists and locals.

Known for its endless attractions, the city isn’t short of attractions to cater to all kinds of people, such as nightlife like the famous 9:30 Club, museums such as the Smithsonian, and the Lincoln Memorial are all famous places in the nation’s capital. 

Additionally, the city is fairly walkable, meaning that OOH ad formats such as kiosks and posters are abundant in the area and perfect for reaching pedestrians who are walking along major roads and areas. 

Major outdoor advertising companies such as OUTFRONT Media and Clear Channel Outdoor have abundant inventory in Washington, DC, as well as other vendors such as Capitol Outdoor.

Public transportation also provides great advertising opportunities, thanks to DC’s public transportation system—Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)—providing an underground subway system and bus routes for reaching commuters. 

The out-of-home (OOH) industry has a long history, dating back all the way back to the 1800s, so it’s not surprising that OOH ads are seemingly everywhere, including in media and popular culture. 

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Artificial intelligence (more commonly referred to as AI) is a really hot topic online right now, especially in the out-of-home (OOH) industry. From art and text generators to helpful tools used to enhance and automate workflows, there are plenty of ways that AI can be used when it comes to the world of OOH.

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