UK programmatic DOOH investment forecast to rise by 41% as channel becomes core part of omnichannel planning

• Among recent buyers of programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) in the UK, the channel featured in 34% of campaigns in the past 18 months, up from 31% in 2024, with marketers expecting this to reach 47% over the next 18 months.
• UK marketers forecast a 41% increase in pDOOH investment over the next 18 months, up from the 32% growth projected in 2024.
• Of UK marketers who expect to increase investment in the channel, 96% expect to reallocate budget from other digital channels into pDOOH, a significant rise from 82% in 2024.
• The majority of recent buyers of pDOOH in the UK (92%)  planned pDOOH as part of broader digital/programmatic activity in the last 12 months, up 59 percentage points since 2023.
• pDOOH is increasingly seen as a hybrid channel: 68% of UK marketers now link pDOOH to increasing sales and performance, up 13 percentage points since 2024.

Today, VIOOH, the leading premium global digital out of home (DOOH) supply-side platform, released its annual research into the programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) market. The UK findings show that pDOOH is firmly established as a mainstream channel within the UK’s digital media landscape, with 34% of campaigns featuring pDOOH in the past 18 months, up from 31% in 2024 and in line with the global average. Looking ahead, UK marketers expect this to rise to 47% of campaigns in the next 18 months, as the channel continues to win share of both budgets and planning attention.

UK marketers are forecasting an average 41% increase in pDOOH spending over the next 18 months, notably higher than the 32% growth projected in 2024, pointing to accelerating momentum as advertiser confidence matures.

The budget funding this growth is increasingly coming from within the wider digital ecosystem. Among those planning to increase pDOOH investment, 96% expect to reallocate budget from other digital channels (including DOOH), up sharply from 82% in 2024. Movement from traditional channels is also a factor but less pronounced, with 65% expecting to shift spend from these, including from traditional OOH. New budget plays a smaller role overall (22%) but is more common where dedicated pDOOH expertise is in place. Among those buying via a dedicated pDOOH team, 39% expect growth to be supported by entirely new budget, underlining the link between channel familiarity and incremental investment.

Omnichannel integration reaches new heights

The UK’s shift towards digital and programmatic planning of pDOOH has been striking. In 2026, 92% of UK marketers say pDOOH has been planned as part of broader digital/programmatic activity in the last 12 months, an increase of 59 percentage points since 2023, and ahead of the already substantial 53 percentage point uplift seen across core markets (UK, France and US).

Social media is the channel UK marketers most commonly pair with pDOOH, cited by 90% of respondents for both brand and performance campaigns. Display and search are close behind, reinforcing pDOOH’s natural fit within digital programmatic campaigns. Looking ahead, 63% of UK respondents expect to integrate pDOOH even more closely into multi-channel campaigns over the next 12 months, indicating the media channel’s role within omnichannel strategies is set to deepen further.

pDOOH increasingly recognised as both a performance and brand channel

UK marketers are increasingly viewing pDOOH as a hybrid channel, capable of delivering across the full funnel. More than two thirds (68%) now link pDOOH to increasing sales and performance, the top-ranked attribute in the UK. At the same time, 66% associate pDOOH with delivering brand objectives, reinforcing the view it can deliver brand impact while benefiting from the targeting and optimisation advantages of programmatic buying.

Brand safety is also a standout attribute in the UK, with 66% of respondents linking pDOOH to brand-safe delivery, including protection against bots and click-fraud. pDOOH outperforms DOOH on this measure by 10 percentage points, reflecting growing confidence in the programmatic supply chain, transparency and the buying controls available to UK marketers.

Looking ahead: data, DCO and deeper expertise

The next phase of UK pDOOH growth looks to be shaped by more intelligent and data-driven activation. 71% of UK respondents plan to make greater use of data in pDOOH planning over the next 18 months, slightly ahead of the 68% global average. Two-thirds (66%) say they will increase their use of dynamic creative optimisation (DCO), and the same share plan to invest in building their pDOOH expertise more broadly. 63% intend to increase their use of trigger-based buying.

Curated marketplaces are also expected to play a key role in further adoption of the channel, with 59% of UK marketers saying they would consider buying through curated environments in the next 18 months. By simplifying access to fragmented inventory under a single deal structure, curation addresses two of the UK market’s leading priorities: supply-path efficiency and supply chain transparency, both cited as important investment criteria by 64% of respondents.

“The UK remains one of the most advanced pDOOH markets globally, and the 2026 findings show it continues to evolve rapidly. The channel is no longer a specialist buy, it is now a standard part of digital advertising and omnichannel media planning, increasingly assessed against the same performance benchmarks as other digital channels. The forecast 41% increase in UK pDOOH investment over the next 12 months reflects genuine confidence in what the channel delivers. Combined with the fact that over two thirds of UK marketers now associate pDOOH with driving sales and performance, this indicates that the perception of this channel has fundamentally shifted among UK marketers. The next chapter is about unlocking better data, smarter measurement and curated access to inventory, taking pDOOH from a strong-performing channel to a must-have,” said Jean-Christophe Conti, Chief Executive Officer at VIOOH.

See the full report here: viooh.com/sotn

Source: VIOOH

  Agency, DOOH, Marketing, OOH, pDOOH, Report, Research, UK, VIOOH