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Eye-catching and bold, out-of-home (OOH) advertising was one of the earliest forms of advertising and represents an excellent way for businesses to attract the attention of a mass audience.  The medium is particularly effective for local advertisers who want to build name recognition within the marketplace, but top national brands in telecommunications, finance, retail, real estate, and food services also rely heavily on this medium.

  • OOH advertising revenue reached a record of $9.1 billion in 2024, a 4.5% increase from 2023.

    • (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)

  • Digital OOH accounted for 34% of total OOH ad spend and grew by 7.5% in 2024.

    • (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)

  • Leading out-of-home advertising categories in the U.S. as of 2023
    • Local Services and amusements - 2.36b
    • Retail - 774M
    • Public transportation, hotels, and resorts - 658M
    • Media and advertising - 605M
    • Government, politics, and organizations - 564M
    • Restaurants - 515M
    • Financial - 447M
    • Insurance & real estate - 414M
    • Schools, camps & seminars - 324M
    • Automotive dealers & services - 290M

    (Source: Outdoor Advertising Association of America, 2023)

  • Top 10 OOH products categories in volume for Q3 2024:
    • Legal Services
    • Hospitals, clinics, & medical centers
    • Consumer banking
    • Domestic hotels and resorts
    • Quick service restaurants
    • Local Government
    • Colleges & Universities
    • Chain food stores & supermarkets
    • Computer software
    • Architecture, software, & engineers

    (Source: OAAA, Out of Home Posts Record Q3 Volume, 2024)

    This huge category is divided into four sectors, covering an array of advertising options listed below with the number of displays for each in 2023:

    • Billboards
      • Bulletins – 180,000
      • Digital Billboards – 16,000
      • Posters – 135,000
      • Junior - Posters 19,500
      • Walls/Spectaculars – 4,000
    • Street Furniture
      • Bus Shelters – 65,000
      • Urban Furniture - 70,000
        • Bus Benches
        • Bike Kiosks
        • Newsstands
        • Outdoor Kiosks
        • Urban Panels
      • Digital Street Furniture – 18,000
    • Transit
      • Airports – 20,000
      • Digital Airports – 5,500
      • Buses – 615,000
      • Digital Buses – 1,200
      • Rail/Subway/Transit – 350,000
      • Digital Rail/Subway/Transit – 18,500
      • Mobile Billboards - 8,682
      • Taxis/Rideshare – 20,000
      • Digital Taxis/Rideshare – 83,000
      • Vehicle Wraps - 570,000
    • Place-Based OOH
      • Digital Arenas & Stadiums - 14,000
      • Cinema – 36,000
      • Exterior Place-Based - 152,200
      • Interior Place-Based - 372,200
        • Gas Stations 
        • Convenience Stores
        • Restaurants/Bars 
        • Medical Point of Care
        • Office Buildings/Elevator
        • Grocery Stores
      • Shopping Malls – 15,000
      • Digital Shopping Malls – 20,000

    (Source: Outdoor Advertising Association of America, 2023)

      Percentage of U.S. adults who definetly agree or tend to agree with the following, by generation:

      • I often search for products and services on my phone as a result of seeing posters and billboards:
        • Gen Z – 54%
        • Millennial – 53%
        • Gen X – 40%
        • Baby Boomer - 27%
      • I often talk to my friends and/or family about things I have seen on posters and billboards:
        • Gen Z – 50%
        • Millennial – 49%
        • Gen X – 35%
        • Baby Boomer - 24%
      • I recommend things to my friends and family that I have seen on posters and billboards
        • Gen Z – 48%
        • Millennial – 48%
        • Gen X – 34%
        • Baby Boomer - 23%

      (Source: YouGov Profiles, October 2024)

    • US Out-of-Home Ad Spending, by Format, in 2023 (Full year):
      • Billboards - $6,332.7 (72.5%)
      • Transit - $1,388.8 (15.9%)
      • Place-based - $567.8 (6.5%)
      • Street Furniture - $445.5 (5.1%)

    (Source: OAAA, March 18, 2024)

    • Industry Revenue in 2023 broken down by key product and service line:
      • Static billboards - $4.1bn (45.7%)
      • Digital billboards - $1.8bn (19.6%)
      • Transit displays - $1.2bn (13.0%)
      • Street Furniture and other urban fixture displays - $1.1bn (12.5%)
      • Alternative and other leased displays - $824.3m (9.2%)

    (Source: IBISWorld, Billboard & Outdoor Advertising in the US, April 2023)

    • Industry Revenue in 2023 broken down by key markets:
      • Services - $2.7bn (30.3%)
      • Retail and consumer goods - $2.1bn (23.1%)
      • Entertainment - $1.9bn (21.0%)
      • Health/medical - $940.8m (10.5%)
      • Manufacturing - $654.1m (7.3%)
      • Government - $250.9m (2.7%)
      • Households consumers and individuals - $206.1m (2.3%)

    (Source: IBISWorld, Billboard & Outdoor Advertising in the US, April 2023)

    • The top 10 ranked advertisers in 2024:
      • Apple
      • McDonald's
      • Amazon
      • Coca-cola
      • Verizon
      • Disney
      • Morgan & Morgan Attorney's
      • Hotels.com
      • Google
      • Samsung

    (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)

    • 60% of the top 10 OOH advertisers increased their OOH spend compared to 2023.

    (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)

    • More than 25% of the top 100 OOH spenders were technology or direct-to-consumer brands.

    (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)

    • 59% of Adults 18+ have seen a billboard in the last month.

    (Source: 2024 MRI-Simmons Fall Doublebase)

    • 88% of adults have seen an OOH ad in the past 30 days.

    (Source: OAAA, 2023 Annual Report)

    • Almost 90% of U.S. adults noticed an OOH ad in the last month.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • Nearly 80% of adults engaged with an OOH ad in the past 60 days.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • 68% of shoppers notice OOH ads on their way to retail stores.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • 42% of shoppers say OOH ads impact their in-store purchase decisions.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • Over half of social media users report noticing OOH ads reposted on their feeds and 60% of TikTok, Instagram, & Facebook users report noticing them.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • $9.19 billion of out-of-home ad spending was spent in 2024.

    (Source: EMarketer Forecast, March 2024)

    • $5.99 billion of traditional out-of-home ad spending was spent in 2024.

    (Source: EMarketer Forecast, March 2024)

    • $3.20 billion of digital out-of-home ad spending was spent in 2024.

    (Source: EMarketer Forecast, March 2024)

    • Adults 18+ who have seen a billboard in the last month:
      • 52% say advertising keeps them up-to-date about products and services that they need or would like to have.
      • 32% say advertising helps them choose products to buy for their kids.
      • 24% say they like to look at advertising.

    (Source: 2024 MRI-Simmons Fall Doublebase)

    • Multicultural consumers are even more likely to notice OOH ads on their way home from shopping:
      • Blacks - 78%
      • Hispanics - 76%
      • Asians - 73%

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)