# DOOH advertising: what it is and how it works

> DOOH is advertising on digital screens outside the home. How it differs from OOH, where screens are, how DOOH is bought and measured, and what it costs.

Source: https://verse.ad/guides/dooh-advertising
Publisher: VERSE (verse.ad) · Updated 2026-10-14

Guide

## What is DOOH advertising?

DOOH (digital out-of-home) advertising is advertising on digital screens in public and shared places, from roadside billboards and station screens to the TVs in cafés and gyms. Unlike a printed poster, a digital screen can change its ad by the hour, play video and log every play, so DOOH can be bought by time and audience.

Updated 13 October 2026 · 7 min read

In this guide [What DOOH means](https://verse.ad/guides/dooh-advertising#meaning)[DOOH vs OOH: what changes](https://verse.ad/guides/dooh-advertising#dooh-vs-ooh)[How DOOH is bought](https://verse.ad/guides/dooh-advertising#buying)[How DOOH is measured](https://verse.ad/guides/dooh-advertising#measuring)[What DOOH costs](https://verse.ad/guides/dooh-advertising#cost)[Making a DOOH ad that works](https://verse.ad/guides/dooh-advertising#creative)[Who DOOH is for](https://verse.ad/guides/dooh-advertising#who)

### At a glance

- DOOH = digital out-of-home: screens outside the home, not on personal devices.
- It covers roadside, transit, retail and in-venue screens.
- Bought directly, through an agency or programmatically from a DSP.
- Measured by logged plays, an audience model and audits, plus QR scans for action.

### What DOOH means

Out-of-home advertising began as the poster on the street. Digital out-of-home is the same idea on screens: a digital billboard by the road, a screen in a station, or the TV in a café. Because the screen is digital, the ad can change from one hour to the next and every showing can be recorded.

Most DOOH falls into four groups:

- Roadside: large digital billboards seen from the road.
- Transit: screens in stations, airports and on platforms.
- Retail: screens in shops and shopping centres, close to the shelf. See [retail media](https://verse.ad/glossary/retail-media).
- Place-based or in-venue: screens inside cafés, gyms, salons, clinics and offices, where people stay a while. See [in-venue advertising](https://verse.ad/guides/in-venue-advertising).

### DOOH vs OOH: what changes

|  | Classic OOH | DOOH |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Printed poster or billboard | Video or still on a digital screen |
| Changing the ad | Reprint and re-hang | Upload a new file |
| Buying unit | A site for a period | Hours, plays or impressions |
| Targeting | The location | Location, kind of place, hour, weather |
| Proof | Photos of the site | A log of every play |
| Interaction | Rare | QR codes to a page, an offer or a game |

DOOH keeps what makes out-of-home work, a public screen nobody can skip or block, and adds the timing and reporting of digital media.

### How DOOH is bought

There are three common routes. They often reach the same screens:

- Direct or self-serve. You book screens on the owner’s platform. On VERSE that is [Ads Manager](https://verse.ad/ads-manager): choose the ad, where and when, and a budget from $1.
- Through an agency. The agency plans and buys for you and reports back. [VERSE for agencies](https://verse.ad/agencies) gives each client a workspace.
- Programmatic. A buyer’s [DSP](https://verse.ad/glossary/dsp) bids for plays automatically over OpenRTB. See [programmatic DOOH, explained](https://verse.ad/guides/programmatic-dooh).

Prices are usually quoted as a [CPM](https://verse.ad/glossary/cpm), the cost of 1,000 impressions. On VERSE, they start at $1 CPM and rise with demand for the place and the hour.

### How DOOH is measured

A screen cannot see who looks at it, so DOOH is measured in layers. On VERSE:

1. Proof of play. The VERSE TV app logs every play with its screen and time. That record is the [proof of play](https://verse.ad/glossary/play).
2. Impressions. Each play is credited with the people likely to see it, from our [audience model](https://verse.ad/glossary/audience-model) for that place, hour and screen.
3. Audits. Unannounced visits confirm that the ad is on, visible and playing.

Action is measured separately: a QR code on the ad reports each scan by screen, hour and weather, and the [VERSE Pixel](https://verse.ad/docs/pixel) follows what people do on your site afterwards. For the bigger question, whether the campaign caused extra sales, see [incrementality](https://verse.ad/glossary/incrementality) and [holdout](https://verse.ad/glossary/holdout) groups.

### What DOOH costs

DOOH prices vary with the screen, the place and the time. Busy places and peak hours cost more, as they do in any media. On VERSE you see a competition label for each hour and a price that is fixed when you book; there is no minimum spend.

Example

An ad on gym screens after work, at a $5 CPM, with a $100 budget, buys 20,000 impressions. The same budget at a quieter hour with a $3 CPM buys about 33,000.

### Making a DOOH ad that works

A DOOH ad is seen from across a room, often with no sound. A few rules help:

- One message, readable in a few seconds. Big type, high contrast.
- Up to 20 seconds on VERSE; a still image is fine.
- Both shapes: 1080 × 1920 portrait and 1920 × 1080 landscape. AI Studio makes both from one brief.
- A QR code large enough to scan from a seat, linked to a page that loads fast on a phone.
- A version for the weather or the hour, if it matters: weather-matched versions play first at no extra cost.

### Who DOOH is for

Large brands use DOOH for reach. Self-serve buying with no minimum has opened it to small and local businesses too: a gym, a bakery or a new clinic can put an ad on the screens in its own neighbourhood, at the hours its customers are there.

For the people who own the screens, DOOH is a source of income. Read [how venues earn from their screens](https://verse.ad/guides/earn-from-your-screens).

### Questions about DOOH

All questions →

#### What does DOOH stand for?

Digital out-of-home: advertising on digital screens in public and shared places rather than on personal devices.

#### Is DOOH the same as programmatic DOOH?

No. Programmatic DOOH is one way of buying DOOH, automatically through a DSP. DOOH can also be bought directly or through an agency. [Programmatic DOOH, explained](https://verse.ad/guides/programmatic-dooh)

#### How is DOOH different from TV advertising?

TV ads reach people at home and are bought by programme or channel. DOOH reaches people out and about, on screens in public places, and is bought by place and hour.

#### What formats does DOOH use?

On VERSE, a video of up to 20 seconds or a still image, in 1080 × 1920 portrait and 1920 × 1080 landscape.

#### Can a small business use DOOH?

Yes. On VERSE there is no minimum spend: start with $1, choose the places and hours near your customers, and pause whenever you like.

Start with $1

### Try DOOH on the screens near you.

Make the ad, choose who and when, and see every play and scan.

[Plan an ad](https://hub.verse.ad/register/advertiser)[How it works](https://verse.ad/how-it-works)