By Caroline Decourcy for AdWorld, adapted for The Business Brief
Lede
Digital Out of Home advertising is finally getting the credit it has long sought. New research from the Pulse Brand Tracker, produced in partnership with Opinions and summarised recently on AdWorld, finds 77 percent of consumers now say they pay attention to DOOH advertising, a rise of seven percentage points in two years. The figures point to a structural shift in how brands reach people in public spaces and to how advertisers are planning spend across the Out of Home ecosystem. Read the original analysis on AdWorld.https://www.adworld.ie/2026/06/26/opinion-paying-attention-to-digital-out-of-home-advertising/
Scale and investment – why DOOH is different now
Over the last few years Irish media owners have poured money into digital screens outside Dublin. The network is no longer a handful of premium urban sites but a national fabric of roughly 1,100 digital locations beyond the capital. That capacity has changed the economics of OOH planning: DOOH now accounts for over half of OOH budgets, enabling campaigns to deliver presence, frequency and reach across retail corridors, commuter routes and town centres.
The consequence is predictable yet important. When a format moves from episodic luxury to predictable inventory, planners are able to deploy repeatable strategies that marry creative sequencing with route-based targeting. That investment and coverage is one of the principal reasons attention metrics are rising. Media vendors including established outdoor specialists have been central to this expansion. For readers wanting to examine one such operator, Talon’s public materials illustrate the market playbook.https://www.talonoutdoor.com
Context matters more than flash
The Pulse data underlines a simple truth: people encounter DOOH as part of their day, not by opting in. The tracker shows high weekly behaviours that place audiences in front of screens at moments of relevance: 86 percent of consumers make weekly supermarket trips, 73 percent drive weekly and 81 percent use public transport. Footfall in high streets and shopping centres remains material too.
That real world context explains why attention is rising. Unlike a device inbox that people can switch off, DOOH appears inside movement and purchase journeys. The research finds 73 percent of respondents are more influenced by DOOH when it appears in an appropriate setting, and 61 percent pay more attention when a campaign shows across multiple environments. The lesson for advertisers is not that LED walls are inherently superior but that context-led placement and cross-format consistency work.
Behavioural impact – attention translating to action
Perhaps the most commercially meaningful insight is the step from notice to action. According to the tracker, 59 percent of those who see DOOH are likely to visit a brand store, 46 percent will search for more information online, 22 percent report making an online purchase, and 26 percent have scanned a QR code from a DOOH ad. Those are substantial conversion signals for a medium historically framed as top of funnel.
Taken together, the data supports a reframing of OOH from branding adjunct to an active driver of direct behaviour. For marketers focused on ROI, that shift demands tighter integration between OOH planning and digital measurement systems so that in-store visits and web conversions can be credibly attributed to out of home exposures.
A cautious endorsement – measurement and price questions remain
The positive story is tempered by some healthy scepticism. Attention metrics are useful but not a substitute for transparent attribution. DOOH’s growth raises immediate questions for advertisers who must now weigh reach against unit costs and diminishing marginal returns in densely supplied corridors. Greater scale tends to attract price inflation; without rigorous, standardised measurement the channel risks premium pricing that is hard to justify.
There is also a rural and regional equity question. While the tracker notes strong availability outside Dublin, planners and policy makers should be alert to geographic gaps. Small towns and less trafficked counties may still be underserved by high-impact large format sites. If DOOH is to be a national engine of advertising reach, investment needs to balance urban growth with improved coverage for regional audiences.
What advertisers should do next
1. Plan for context – match creative and format to the environment and the consumer behaviour that occurs there.
2. Embrace multi-format sequencing – combine classic OOH placements with DOOH to build frequency and extend reach.
3. Demand transparent metrics – require measurement partners to report visits, engaged actions and downstream conversions, and to publish methodologies.
4. Test pricing – as supply grows, negotiate pilots and performance-based buys rather than accepting headline CPMs at face value.
Conclusion
The rise in attention to DOOH is real and explainable. Sustained investment by media owners, the channel sited inside everyday movement, and smarter multi-environment planning are driving the gains. The commercial implications are significant: DOOH can no longer be counted only as a brand awareness tool. That said, the industry now needs consistent measurement, disciplined planning and a clear line of sight on price to ensure the platform delivers genuine value for advertisers. For a fuller read of the original findings and commentary, see the piece on AdWorld and the Pulse Brand Tracker summary.https://www.adworld.ie
Corollary
Expect more research in the coming months as the industry pushes for a unified view of OOH impact. Advertisers and agencies who act on context and insist on accountable metrics will be the ones to convert attention into measurable commercial returns.
