How are AI, programmatic, and data reshaping how investment decisions actually get made today?

AI, programmatic, and data are not three separate forces. They work together. At the investment level, they show up across three places: planning, optimisation, and accountability. AI is now active in how we model audience, predict performance, and refine campaigns in flight. Programmatic is how that intelligence gets executed across markets and formats from a single seat. Data ties planning to outcome. The change is that investment decisions can now be made with structured inputs and tested at speed.

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From the buyer side, what does a strong Out-of-Home (OOH) partner look like today, and what should media owners be doing to meet the buyer’s expectations?

From the buyer side, what makes a strong OOH partner today is the quality of the inventory and the environments in which it sits. For premium and luxury advertisers, the placement contributes to the brand’s perceived value. Iconic locations, deliberate design, data-backed and curated environments lend association to a campaign before the creative does its work.  

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Where is the market moving in the next 12 to 18 months, and what should advertisers and media owners be preparing for?

The next 12 to 18 months will be defined by two pressures coming together. The first is the pressure on every channel to prove its value through measurement. The second is the pressure on the buying side to operate at the speed and accuracy that AI and programmatic now make possible. For advertisers, that means investment decisions will continue to move toward channels and partners that can deliver both reach and accountability. For media owners, including OOH, their work is to invest in measurement, location design and data infrastructure.  The conversation has become data-driven from end to end. Five years ago, an investment decision was negotiated on rate and scale. Today, it is negotiated on rate, scale, audience accuracy, location design, attribution, and what the media partner can show in measurable terms. At MCN, our role is to make sure every media investment we recommend can be backed by data. The market has caught up to the buyer’s demand for accountability, and the partners that have invested in measurement, data, and transparency are the ones our clients are reaching for.