Key Takeaways

Customers don’t shop in one channel – they move seamlessly between online and offline, so OOH and digital campaigns should be treated as connected touchpoints rather than separate worlds.
OOH builds awareness, digital drives action – outdoor formats deliver scale, memorability, and trust, while digital adds precision, immediacy, and conversion. Together, they reinforce each other and create stronger results.
Integration is the growth driver – consistent creative, well-balanced budgets, aligned timing, and cross-channel measurement ensure that OOH and digital campaigns deliver both brand equity and performance.

Advertising today is no longer about choosing between one channel or another. Brands that succeed in 2025 know how to blend formats to create campaigns that meet their audiences wherever they are – online, on their phones, or out in the real world.

Out-of-home (OOH) and digital advertising may feel like very different worlds, but in reality, they work best when they work together. OOH offers scale, impact, and memorability. Digital delivers precision, personalisation, and immediate action. Combined, they provide reach and performance in equal measure.

So how do you plan, budget, and execute a strategy that gives you the best of both? Let’s explore.

Where Do Customers Shop?

E-commerce continues to grow at speed, accounting for more than 40% of all retail growth across Western Europe. Yet despite this digital surge, the majority of purchases still happen in-store. Four in five retail transactions are completed offline – and that figure remains steady even as online shopping habits expand.

For brands, this means customers are not exclusively digital or exclusively physical. They move between channels seamlessly: discovering new products online, checking them in-store, and deciding where and how to buy depending on convenience and preference.

This behaviour proves why OOH and digital campaigns should not be viewed in isolation. The reality is that each influences the other. A striking Tube poster can prompt a Google search. A well-placed display ad can lead to someone visiting your shop. By treating these channels as connected rather than separate, you can meet customers wherever their journey takes them.

Think Brand Awareness First

Not every campaign is about immediate sales. Often, the most valuable outcome of OOH and digital advertising is brand awareness.

A shopper who sees your campaign on a billboard may not buy straight away – but the next time they see your product in-store, that recognition nudges them closer to purchase. Similarly, a consumer who discovers your brand via a digital ad might later see your OOH campaign in the real world, reinforcing trust and credibility.

This repeated exposure across channels is what builds brand equity over time. Awareness fuels consideration, and consideration fuels conversion. Even if your campaign is not designed primarily to drive awareness, it often becomes one of its most powerful side effects.

Pro tip: Measure success not only in immediate conversions, but in uplifted search volumes, social mentions, and store visits following your campaigns. These softer metrics often tell the bigger story of how awareness translates into long-term sales.

Finding the Right Balance

So, what’s the perfect split between OOH and digital spend? Unfortunately, there’s no magic formula – every brand has different goals, customer journeys, and budgets.

That said, research suggests that brands who adopt a 60-40 split between digital and traditional media see strong results on average. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule but rather a useful benchmark. For some businesses, a 70-30 weighting may deliver better ROI; for others, a balanced 50-50 approach could be optimal.

The key is to experiment. Test different splits across campaigns, compare performance, and refine your approach. Over time, you’ll find the sweet spot that works for your brand and your audiences.

Why Integration Matters

OOH and digital advertising are powerful alone, but truly transformative together. Here’s why:

Reinforcement – OOH builds credibility, digital builds immediacy. Seeing a campaign across both channels reassures customers the brand is “real” and worth trusting.
Reach and precision – OOH delivers broad exposure to millions, while digital hones in on specific audiences. Together, they ensure you hit both scale and relevance.
Sequential storytelling – A billboard might grab attention with a bold creative. A digital ad can then provide the detail and call-to-action. This creates a natural flow in the customer journey.
Cross-channel tracking – With today’s attribution tools, it’s easier than ever to measure how OOH drives digital actions (such as search or site visits), and vice versa.

Practical Tips for Running OOH and Digital Together

Start with the customer journey – Map how your audience moves between online and offline. Then design touchpoints that connect logically.
Unify creative – Keep messaging and design consistent across OOH and digital so your brand feels familiar no matter where it’s seen.
Leverage data – Use insights from digital performance to inform OOH targeting, and vice versa. For instance, if an audience engages strongly with certain messages online, translate those into your outdoor campaign.
Plan timing carefully – Align campaign launches across both channels for maximum impact. A burst of OOH activity should be supported by digital campaigns that capture intent immediately.
Measure holistically – Don’t evaluate OOH or digital in silos. Look at overall campaign outcomes: brand lift, sales uplift, and customer acquisition.

Final Thoughts

The choice between OOH and digital advertising isn’t really a choice at all. For brands looking to grow in 2025 and beyond, the question is not “which one?” but “how do we best combine them?”

OOH builds visibility, stature, and memorability. Digital drives targeting, personalisation, and conversion. Together, they form a powerful, integrated strategy that delivers both short-term performance and long-term brand growth.

At One Day Agency, we help brands strike that balance – crafting campaigns that strut confidently across billboards, buses, digital platforms, and beyond. If you’re ready to harness the best of both worlds, get in touch with our team today.

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