How To Advertise On Digital Billboards (DOOH)
How To Advertise on Digital Billboards (DOOH)
Key takeaways:
Start with clear fundamentals. Effective Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) advertising relies on having defined objectives, a clear audience and messages people can understand instantly.
Use DOOH formats with purpose. Digital billboards are most effective when placements, creative and timing match how people actually move through cities.
Partner with an integrated agency. Planning and buying DOOH inventory involves data, negotiation and creative alignment. An integrated agency like One Day ensures everything works together across your wider media activity.
Digital billboards have become one of the most powerful tools in modern advertising, offering the scale of classic outdoor with the flexibility of digital. But impact does not come from simply appearing on a screen. Strong DOOH campaigns are built on strategy, audience understanding and creative designed for fast, real world environments. This guide explains how to advertise on digital billboards in a way that works for businesses of every size.
Why digital billboards deserve a place in your media plan
Digital Out of Home combines mass visibility with adaptability. Screens can change based on time, weather, audience flow or campaign phase, making it possible to tailor your message to real conditions throughout the day.
For small businesses, a single screen near a store can behave like a highly visible local signpost. For scaling brands, DOOH keeps you present across key neighbourhoods, commuter routes and shopping districts. For national advertisers, large digital formats create fame in the busiest parts of the country.
The strength of DOOH lies in physically meeting people where decisions are made: on commutes, before shopping trips, during breaks, at stations and in city centres.
Start with the marketing fundamentals
Before choosing screens or formats, DOOH needs a clear role within your wider plan.
Your objective shapes everything. Some brands use DOOH to build long term recognition; others use it to drive footfall, support openings, highlight offers or reinforce digital campaigns. The chosen goal influences the message, the placement and the frequency required.
Understanding the audience means focusing on real movement patterns rather than abstract profiles. Commuters, shoppers, tourists, students, professionals and residents all interact with screens at different times and speeds. DOOH is most effective when it shows up naturally in their daily flow.
Creative must be designed for instant comprehension. Someone walking past a digital 6 sheet or driving by a roadside tower needs to understand your message in seconds. A strong visual idea, confident branding and simple copy outperform complex layouts.
Choosing formats that match real behaviour
Large digital screens
Landmark screens and roadside towers are designed to create impact. They are ideal when you want to make a statement, support a major launch or stay top of mind across a city.
Digital 6 sheets
Found at bus stops, high street locations and station corridors, these screens benefit from slightly longer dwell. They lend themselves well to both brand and tactical messages.
Transport DOOH
Screens in stations, underground networks or transport hubs reach people while waiting or moving slowly. This is a moment when audiences can absorb slightly more detail.
Retail and mall environments
Screens in shopping centres, supermarkets or retail parks reach people when they are already motivated to browse or buy. This makes DOOH particularly effective for product messaging, offers and seasonality.
A well planned DOOH campaign rarely relies on a single format. The best results come from a considered mix aligned to audience movement.
Tools that support confident DOOH decisions
Good DOOH planning is rooted in insight.
Mapping tools help overlay store locations, customer hotspots and travel patterns with available inventory. Mobility data reveals when certain areas are busiest, how people move through a city and which postcodes dominate each flow.
Analytics platforms allow you to monitor changes in branded search, direct traffic, footfall or regional behaviour during a DOOH campaign. Promo codes tied to cities or time periods also provide directional signals on impact.
These tools do not need to be complex. They simply reduce guesswork and help ensure screens are chosen purposefully.
Creative that works on digital billboards
Strong DOOH creative comes down to a few essential principles.
A single clear idea. A recognisable visual identity. A headline that can be processed in two seconds. Branding that remains visible even at a glance. And motion that enhances understanding rather than distracting from it.
Digital flexibility allows rotation between different messages, but each frame must be self contained and instantly memorable.
For businesses with larger product ranges, DOOH can support multiple campaigns over time, but consistency in branding remains essential for long term memory.
Planning digital billboard activity
Effective DOOH begins with understanding the place where your audience encounters the screen. A screen outside a station serves a different purpose from one on a busy roadside; a mall placement triggers a different behaviour than a city centre tower.
Local businesses might prioritise a tight cluster of screens within walking distance. Regional brands often focus on commuter flows, retail districts or leisure hotspots. National advertisers typically combine landmark DOOH with dense networks for coverage and frequency.
The aim is not to be visible everywhere but to be visible consistently in the places that matter.
How an integrated agency like One Day can help
Digital billboard advertising requires expertise in audience planning, screen selection, negotiation, creative adaptation and measurement. It becomes even more effective when coordinated with paid social, search, programmatic and other media.
One Day supports businesses of all sizes by defining the role DOOH should play, mapping audiences to specific environments, selecting the right screens, negotiating rates, producing suited creative and connecting everything to the wider strategy. The result is a cohesive DOOH plan that feels both efficient and commercially strong.
Conclusion
Digital billboards are one of the most flexible and high impact tools available to brands today. When grounded in fundamentals and aligned with real world behaviour, DOOH can strengthen awareness, support retail, reinforce digital channels and keep a brand present across a city.
With a clear strategy and the support of an integrated media agency like One Day, any business can use Digital Out-of-Home in a way that is measurable, memorable and aligned with long term growth.
