U.S. out-of-home (OOH) advertising revenue reached a record $3.16 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 10.7% year over year, as brands including Coca-Cola, Apple, Amazon and OpenAI increased spending across physical and digital advertising environments. New data from the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) shows the quarter was the first in which U.S. OOH revenue exceeded $3 billion.
The growth brings OOH revenue up 9.2% for the first half of 2026. Digital out-of-home (DOOH), technology and AI advertisers, financial services brands and major live events were among the forces contributing to the expansion.
The scale of the increase also suggests that OOH is increasingly being treated as part of sophisticated omnichannel media strategies rather than as a standalone awareness channel.
Digital OOH Becomes a Larger Part of Programmatic Media
DOOH was one of the strongest contributors to the quarter’s performance. Revenue from digital formats rose 18.5% year over year, reaching 38.4% of total quarterly OOH revenue.
That shift is significant for the AdTech ecosystem because digital screens are easier to integrate with automated buying, audience targeting, dynamic creative and measurement technologies than traditional static billboards.
As advertisers increasingly connect OOH with programmatic campaigns, DOOH can function alongside other addressable channels such as connected TV, display and mobile. The convergence gives media buyers more opportunities to coordinate creative, audience strategies and campaign timing across physical and digital environments.
Transit and place-based formats also recorded strong gains. Transit advertising revenue increased 23.9% year over year, while place-based advertising rose 19.3%. The latter was supported in part by theaters, which are tracking toward their strongest year since 2019.
AI and Technology Brands Push Into Physical Advertising
Technology was another major growth category. Spending from the Computers, Software & Internet sector increased 149.8% year over year.
Technology and direct-to-consumer companies represented 30% of the top 100 OOH advertisers. Among leading advertisers were Apple, T-Mobile, Verizon, Progressive, Genspark, Uber, OpenAI, Geico, Amazon, DoorDash and HBO.
The growing presence of AI companies is particularly notable. Digital-native brands that historically concentrated heavily on search, social and online performance channels are increasingly using physical media to build broader brand recognition.
For companies competing in crowded AI markets, OOH can provide something digital advertising often struggles to replicate: high-visibility exposure in public environments where consumers are not actively scrolling through competing content.
Advertisers Are Increasing Spending Across Categories
The expansion is not being driven by a small group of large advertisers. OAAA reported that 73% of the top 100 OOH advertisers increased spending compared with the second quarter of 2025.
Live events are also creating additional opportunities for advertisers to connect campaigns with cultural moments. Major sporting and entertainment events can generate concentrated audience movement across airports, transit systems, retail environments and city centers, creating attractive inventory for OOH and DOOH campaigns.
That makes the channel increasingly relevant to brands looking for reach beyond traditional digital environments.
Market Landscape
The OOH market is becoming more technologically sophisticated as digital inventory expands and programmatic buying infrastructure matures. DOOH now represents a substantial share of OOH revenue, creating opportunities for DSPs, SSPs, measurement providers and creative technology companies.
The growth also reflects the broader movement toward omnichannel advertising, where marketers want to manage audiences and performance across multiple environments rather than optimize each channel independently.
For OOH to maintain momentum, measurement will remain critical. Advertisers increasingly expect physical media to provide stronger attribution, audience insights and outcome-based reporting.
Strategic Outlook
The record Q2 performance suggests OOH is entering a new phase in which physical visibility and digital advertising technology increasingly overlap.
For AdTech companies, the opportunity lies in making OOH more addressable, measurable and interoperable with programmatic buying. For advertisers, DOOH provides a growing bridge between traditional mass-reach media and data-driven digital campaigns.
The rapid increase in technology and AI spending could accelerate that transition. As AI companies mature from product launches toward mass-market brands, OOH may become an increasingly important part of their customer-acquisition and brand-building strategies.
The next stage of OOH growth will likely depend less on simply adding screens and more on improving targeting, creative optimization, measurement and integration with omnichannel media buying.
Top Insights
- U.S. OOH revenue surpassed $3 billion for the first time, highlighting stronger advertiser confidence in physical media and digitally enabled out-of-home campaigns.
- DOOH grew 18.5% year over year and represented 38.4% of quarterly revenue, strengthening its role within programmatic and omnichannel advertising strategies.
- Technology and AI advertising spending surged as digital-native companies increasingly use OOH to build mass-market awareness beyond search, social and online channels.
- Transit and place-based advertising posted strong growth, demonstrating how advertisers are using high-traffic physical environments to connect campaigns with consumer movement and experiences.
- With 73% of leading OOH advertisers increasing spending, the market’s expansion appears broad-based rather than dependent on a handful of major campaigns.
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