OOH Campaigns Drive 13.3% Ad Awareness Lift vs 3.9% for Digital

The timing matters. Marketers have been moving budgets online for years, assuming digital always wins. This research suggests that the assumption about digital marketing always winning needs a closer look.

The Numbers

The study pulled data from thousands of campaigns run through CCO RADARProof. OOH showed 13.3% higher ad awareness compared to digital media, TV, and CTV.

The gap appeared across other metrics too. Message association scored 9% higher with OOH. The brand’s favorability was up 7%. Purchase intent came in 8.6% above digital campaigns.

These aren’t small differences. For brands spending six or seven figures on advertising, that gap translates to real money.

Matching TV at a Better Price

OOH performed as well as linear television for brand favourability and purchase intent. The difference is what you pay to get there.

Dan Levi, CMO at Clear Channel Outdoor, points to changes in how people consume media. More subscribers pay for ad-free streaming. Ad blockers are standard on browsers. The audiences marketers want to reach are harder to find through digital channels.

OOH sidesteps that problem. You can’t block a billboard or skip a transit ad.

Three Things OOH Does Well

The research identified specific advantages that are relevant for today’s marketing challenges.

• First, reach. Digital gives people ways to avoid ads. Premium subscriptions, ad blockers, skip buttons. OOH reaches them in physical spaces where those options don’t exist.
• Second, it works on two levels. Most advertising either builds brands or drives immediate sales. OOH does both in the same campaign. You get short-term conversions and long-term brand recognition.
• Third, the data is solid. Five years of measurement across multiple industries and product categories. That’s unusual for advertising research, where most studies cover shorter periods or narrower scopes.

What Online Businesses Should Know

E-commerce brands typically run most of their advertising online. Makes sense – you’re selling online, advertise online. But this study suggests the full picture is more complex.

Adding OOH to an existing digital strategy improved overall campaign performance in the research. It’s not about replacing digital, it’s about filling gaps digital can’t cover.

Nicole Jones at Kantar was direct: “OOH is not just a complementary channel. It’s an indispensable channel that drives serious impact for brands.”

The business case is getting clearer too. Digital ad costs keep climbing while performance flattens or declines. OOH offers measurable results at competitive rates, plus the flexibility to update creative quickly when market conditions change.

What This Means Going Forward

This research doesn’t suggest abandoning digital marketing. Digital channels still matter, especially for targeting and retargeting.

What it does suggest is rethinking the mix. Brands using multiple channels saw better overall returns than those concentrating spend in one area. The data backs up what some marketers have suspected – going all-in on digital leaves opportunities on the table.

For marketers dealing with tighter budgets and higher expectations, that matters. OOH reaches audiences other channels miss. The five-year study shows it works, with hard numbers across different business categories.

The question isn’t whether to use digital or OOH. It’s how to use both effectively.