Out-of-Home: The Media Channel That Fills the Gaps Others Cannot

In today’s fractured media landscape, marketers face a paradox: more channels than ever, yet growing complexity and challenges reaching the audiences that matter most. Consumers are migrating to ad-free platforms, linear TV’s reach continues to erode, and digital performance is plateauing and getting more expensive. The challenge for local and national brands is how to optimize spend across platforms to ensure every dollar works harder to deliver measurable return.

That’s why the data from Kantar and Clear Channel Outdoor’s five-year research collaboration are so critical. The findings are clear: Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising not only holds its own against traditional heavyweights like TV, it outperforms digital and Connected TV (CTV) in key brand-building metrics. And as MediaPost and eMarketer both underscored in their recent coverage, this research validates what many of us in the industry have long believed: OOH isn’t just complementary, it’s indispensable.

A five-year proof point

Kantar analyzed the results of thousands of studies done for advertisers on digital, TV and CTV, and compared them to results delivered by OOH, as measured by Clear Channel Outdoor’s RADARProof measurement platform. This wasn’t a one-off snapshot: it represents five years of rigorous OOH research across categories, creatives, and markets. The findings reinforce one truth: OOH consistently drives measurable impact and helps build brands in ways that other media cannot.

Consider this:

These results aren’t abstract benchmarks; they’re actionable insights for marketers. Whether you’re building brand equity or driving conversion intent, OOH is a proven performer.

Why this matters now

The timing of this research is no coincidence. We’re living in a period of heightened economic uncertainty, where every marketing dollar is scrutinized. Fragmentation is accelerating, measurement challenges persist, and advertisers are under pressure to demonstrate ROI across channels.

OOH is uniquely positioned to address these needs. Its strengths lie in its visibility, flexibility and scalability. Unlike digital media and CTV, OOH advertising is not intrusive; consumers can engage with and view OOH on their terms, which leads to a positive perception of the medium. Brands can activate campaigns quickly, pivot creative in response to cultural moments and leverage location-based intelligence to reach audiences contextually. And the scale of OOH allows brands to leverage its impact to hyper-target specific areas, cover entire markets or provide efficient national reach.  It’s a medium that delivers for marketers and consumers alike.

According to Nicole Sitar Jones, Chief Media Commercial Lead at Kantar, “Consumers actually remain most receptive to traditional advertising channels like out-of-home.  Our data shows campaigns are 7x more impactful among receptive audiences, making media environment selection a critical strategic decision.”

And as eMarketer highlighted, OOH isn’t just about extending reach. It’s about delivering incremental audiences that digital and TV often miss, bridging the divide between performance marketing and brand building.

The additive power of OOH

But this isn’t an “OOH versus digital” conversation. Instead, OOH should be seen as the additive force that makes other media work harder. When OOH is integrated into a campaign, the results are amplified: higher awareness, stronger recall and greater intent. It creates the connective tissue between fragmented touchpoints, reinforcing brand messages across platforms.

Think about the modern consumer journey. It doesn’t move linearly from impression to purchase. It zigzags across devices, channels and contexts. OOH provides the real-world presence that anchors this journey by creating memorable encounters in moments when consumers are most receptive.

This is why OOH has become such a vital tool for local advertisers as well as national brands. For a neighborhood business, it’s a way to stand out in the community. For national advertisers, it efficiently delivers mass reach with creative impact and measurable results. In both cases, it’s a solution that complements and elevates every other channel in the mix.

A call to marketers

The message from Kantar’s five-year study is clear: OOH is not optional. It’s essential. It drives short-term conversion intent while simultaneously building long-term brand loyalty. It matches or exceeds the effectiveness of TV, outperforms digital and addresses gaps other media cannot.

In an era of rising uncertainty and increasing fragmentation, and as brands continue to seek ways to break through and connect with audiences, marketers need clarity and confidence in their media decisions. This research provides that clarity. It proves that OOH is the high-performing channel that has earned a seat at the center of modern media strategies.  It’s the medium that consumers like, notice and respond to, time and time again.

_{^{Source: Kantar 2019-2024}}