Study: DOOH Adoption Triples as Advertisers Chase Higher Marginal ROI
2026-10-19 · via DailyDOOH
New research from marketing mix platform Keen Decision Systems and OOH data company Accretive claims digital out-of-home adoption among brands tripled over the past year, rising from 1.1% to 3.4% of advertisers using the channel. For media owners and operators selling DOOH inventory, the headline number is less interesting than what the report says is driving it: marginal return on investment that beats several digital channels.
According to the release, optimized marginal profit ROI for OOH overall rose to $7.97 from $7.58 the prior year. That figure represents, per the companies, what the next dollar spent returns in the most favorable week for investment. On a straight profit ROI basis, OOH generated $1.48, which the report says is higher than social, display and partnerships.
DOOH specifically tracked close to OOH as a whole, with median ROI of $1.76 versus $1.78 for the broader out-of-home category, the companies say. But the spread between top and bottom performers is wide. The 75th percentile of DOOH advertisers saw ROI of $3.37, while the 25th percentile came in under a dollar. That gap is the part operators and sales teams should pay attention to: it suggests plenty of advertisers are still buying DOOH badly.
Craig Benner, CEO of Accretive, is quoted in the release attributing that spread to execution. He says treating out-of-home as an add-on to a generic omnichannel DSP buy, priced like cheap open-web impressions, undercuts its performance, and that proper execution needs audience planning, purpose-built data and outcomes measurement. That's a pointed claim from a company that sells OOH data and technology, so it should be read as an argument for using tools like Accretive's rather than a neutral finding.
Adoption Skews Toward Big Spenders
The research also found OOH's share of total media spend edged up from 1.3% to 1.6%, with adoption concentrated among large companies. Fifty-eight percent of brands with more than $1 billion in annual revenue use OOH, the report says, compared with just 10% of businesses under $50 million. Keen Decision Systems frames this as untapped opportunity for mid-market brands, which is also where its own sales pitch lives: the company says its customers see a 25% improvement in brand performance within the first year, though the release gives no detail on how that figure was measured or over what sample.
What the announcement does not say is how the underlying data was collected, what counted as a "DOOH" placement versus static OOH, or how many brands and campaigns were in the study. For buyers and sellers of screen inventory, the headline growth number is encouraging, but the wide ROI spread is the more operationally useful signal: it points to measurement and targeting, not just channel choice, as the thing separating profitable DOOH campaigns from wasted ones.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from DailyDOOH for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
Brands Triple DOOH Adoption Says Research
New research shows that out-of-home (OOH) media delivers strong bottom-line results, with 89% of investing brands seeing profitable returns. Driven by digital out-of-home (DOOH) adoption tripling over the past year, the channel continues to expand its advertiser base, proving its value as an essential, high-return component of the modern marketing mix.
Craig Benner , Chief Executive Officer at Accretive told us “The rapid acceleration of DOOH proves brands recognize the power of real-world exposure, yet the wide range in returns shows that execution strategy largely determines success. Treating out-of-home as a nice-to-have tacked onto a generic omnichannel DSP strategy, buying it like a cheap impression on the open web, severely diminishes its impact. Proper DOOH execution requires real audience planning, purpose-built data, and rigorous outcomes measurement.”
The findings recently published by next-generation marketing mix SaaS platform Keen Decision Systems , and OOH data and technology platform Accretive, show that while OOH accounts for a small portion of overall media investment, marginal ROI (mROI) indicates that it offers the greatest return on the next dollar spent, with profits posting stronger returns even from last year’s report.
Over the last year, optimized marginal profit ROI for OOH is $7.97, up from $7.58 in 2025. This metric reflects what the next dollar spent will return in the most optimal week for investment. Looking at just profit ROI, OOH generated $1.48, coming in higher than social, display and partnerships.
Digital Drives Adoption Growth. Broader OOH adoption has increased in the past year, growing from 21.3% to 25.2%, fueled by a larger pool of advertisers and DOOH-specific adoption rising from 1.1% to 3.4%. On average, DOOH performed similarly to OOH as a whole, with the median ROI from DOOH coming in at $1.76 compared to $1.78 for the broader channel. However, it comes with a wider range of efficiency as advertisers navigate how best to execute in this channel. The 75th percentile of DOOH advertisers sees ROI of $3.37 versus under a dollar for the 25th percentile.
Large Enterprises Lead Adoption Curves. The analysis also found that OOH’s share of total media spend rose from 1.3% to 1.6%, with a pronounced divide in adoption by company size. Fifty-eight percent of brands generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue leverage OOH in their media mix. Conversely, only 10% of businesses under $50 million in revenue currently invest in the channel, pointing to substantial untapped opportunity for mid-market and emerging brands to capture market share.
“Concentrating marketing dollars entirely within saturated digital inventory creates diminishing returns and inflates acquisition costs,” said Justin Jefferson , VP of Insights at Keen Decision Systems. “Enterprise leaders already understand that real-world media diversification provides scalable headroom for profit. Expanding the media mix to include channels like out-of-home delivers the balance brands need to drive sustained, incremental growth.”
Keen Decision Systems is a next-generation marketing mix SaaS platform that helps marketers and agencies tie investment decisions to real business outcomes. Keen combines historical measurement with predictive planning to deliver media strategies that are clear, dynamic, and financially grounded. On average, Keen customers see a 25% improvement in brand performance within the first year.
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