The theme this year is “More impact. More innovation. Greater momentum” - how are you seeing these ideas come to life in the UK OOH ecosystem?

One of the most exciting shifts is the move from static poster campaigns to dynamic, experience‑led media. Programmatic DOOH, live data feeds and contextual creative are enabling campaigns to respond in real time to audiences, locations and cultural moments, making OOH feel more like a live communications channel than fixed advertising. At the same time, immersive formats such as 3D anamorphic screens, interactive takeovers and AR activations are transforming public spaces into highly shareable experiences. The strongest campaigns now combine physical scale, geo-targeting, digital intelligence and social amplification to create lasting cultural impact and momentum.

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From a Route perspective, how has the role of audience measurement evolved in recent years?

From a Route perspective, audience measurement has evolved from broad reach estimates for 2-week poster campaigns to far more granular, data‑driven insight. Advertisers now expect a clear understanding of who is being reached, where and when, alongside stronger evidence of effectiveness. As OOH becomes more digital and dynamic, demand is growing for more time sensitive data and greater planning precision. Measurement also plays a vital role in accountability, helping brands justify investment through improved attribution, transparency and performance metrics that align OOH with wider media standards.

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How is improved measurement helping advertisers better understand and demonstrate the impact of OOH campaigns?

Improved measurement is helping advertisers move beyond ‘just’ planning campaigns to give a clearer understanding of OOH effectiveness as well. Route’s granular audience data can be surfaced in ways that support Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) and other attribution models. This enables advertisers to connect OOH exposure with business outcomes such as store visits, online activity and sales uplift. This greater level of accountability means brands can plan with more confidence, optimise investment more effectively and demonstrate the role OOH plays within their wider omnichannel campaigns.

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Have there been any recent innovations or developments at Route that you feel are particularly meaningful for the industry?

Route is currently developing a new methodology that will strengthen accountability across the medium and support more advanced planning capabilities. Ahead of this, we’re progressing a project to better enable campaign‑level reporting by integrating Outsmart’s Playout data with Route’s audience measurement. This will deliver more robust campaign reporting, improved accountability and make the data far more accessible for modelling and analytics teams to integrate into their workflows. The project will enter user testing over the summer, with a launch planned for later in 2026.

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How are changing audience behaviours - such as shifts in mobility and digital consumption - influencing how OOH is measured and planned?

Changing audience behaviour is reshaping how OOH is planned and measured. As digital consumption grows, advertisers increasingly expect the same levels of accountability, attribution and responsiveness from OOH as they do from other media channels. This is driving greater use of behavioural and location data across the industry, with more onus on granularity and time sensitivity in the measurement. It means that we need to ingest more data sources into our models than ever in order to meet this demand and this is a trend that is likely to continue. 

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What do you see as the biggest opportunity for OOH to build greater momentum in the UK over the next 1-3 years?

The biggest opportunity for OOH over the next few years is its continued evolution into a more intelligent, accountable and connected medium. As programmatic DOOH continues to advance, advertisers will gain greater control over how campaigns are planned, optimised and adapted in real time. At the same time, stronger measurement and attribution will make OOH’s influence clearer across the full marketing funnel, from brand building to action. Together, this will drive greater confidence, unlock increased investment and firmly position OOH as a core part of modern omnichannel strategies.

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Finally, what would your key message be to advertisers and agencies looking to maximise the impact of OOH today?

To maximise the impact of OOH today, advertisers and agencies should be bold, creative and brave. OOH works best when brands fully embrace the space and the context thinking carefully about the people, place and time for each campaign. Make the most of the medium’s scale, creativity and flexibility, and don’t be afraid of frequency; marketers tire of ads long before audiences do. Just as importantly, adopt a test-and-learn mindset: optimise campaigns on the fly, experiment with dynamic creative and use incrementality and attribution testing to better understand and improve performance over time.