What’s driving the fresh surge of agencies in OOH advertising in 2025?

New Delhi: In an era dominated by fragmented screens, Out-of-home (OOH) advertising may get typecast as the ageing member of the media family. It is perceived as large, inflexible, and always outdoorsy. However, in 2025, OOH’s real-world charm is having an unexpected comeback. Safe to call it a “glow up”? Possibly. 

OOH, this time, is riding on technology and is getting crowded by the day. Well, not just with clients but agencies. The fresh wave of new players, in an industry that mostly had legacy muscle, is the result of rising tech, transit, and tier transformation. Shifts in audience behaviour also play a role. 

Back in the spotlight

Haresh Nayak, founder & CEO, Connect Network, did not peg it as incidental. He highlighted the shifting grounds beneath the billboards. “Digital fatigue, rising ad blockers, declining attention spans, and cluttered feeds have forced marketers to rethink physical touchpoints that are both immersive and uncluttered,” said Nayak. 

He stated, “The resurgence of interest in OOH is not incidental; it’s the outcome of deeper shifts in both audience behaviour and the media planning ecosystem.” 

Offering his vantage point, Nayak said, “OOH is now entering a phase where entrepreneurial energy and technological innovation are as important as scale and inventory.” 

Mandeep Malhotra, founder and CEO, Srishti Media, painted the transitioning market dynamics in numbers. Digital OOH grew 78% in 2024 and now accounts for 12% of the OOH market. By 2027, this share is projected to reach 17%, Malhotra said, quoting reports. 

The digitisation of OOH brought more advantages than one. With DOOH witnessing a meteoric rise, the industry has honed more concrete, measurable tactics. Another reason why the resurgence is stronger and felt. 

“This is where newer players are finding a foothold. They aren’t bound by legacy systems or conventional thinking. Instead, they bring a fresh, agile approach to media strategy, blending tech with creativity, and local context with data,” Nayak commented. 

Calling the possibilities “virtually endless”, Nabendu Bhattacharyya, founder, IdeaCafe, said, “Looking at the above advantages, many technology companies are now exploring various possibilities such as programmatic OOH, anamorphic content creation, and other innovations aimed at making the DOOH medium more powerful.” 

Bhattacharyya further added that despite mimicking the digital advertising ecosystem, “OOH and DOOH do not compete with either TV or digital/social media,” hinting that the medium is complementary, rather than cannibalistic. 

Unclaimed white spaces

The renewed appeal honed by OOH stems from the space's legacy players' failure to optimise. As new players gush in, the gaps left become increasingly visible. 

One of the most glaring white spaces lies in the tier-II, III, and IV markets, rich in infrastructure investment and rising consumption but underserved by legacy agencies. 

Zooming in, Nayak explained that these emerging markets offer both inventory potential and audience depth, but they require a different playbook. One that combines hyperlocal insight, flexible formats, and scalable media integration across touchpoints like transit hubs, local retail clusters, and community zones.

Malhotra flagged microenvironments such as taxi tops, kiosks, fuel pumps, and street furniture. According to him, these spaces, combined with real-time contextual and location data, can unlock high recall and brand relevance. 

Bhattacharyya was quick to point out the gaps in the very structure of the industry. “The industry must move away from treating OOH as a commoditised business. The current trend of reverse bidding has eroded value. To restore the medium's stature and effectiveness, it is essential to focus on long-term value creation and quality experiences rather than just pricing battles,” he said. 

Margin and more

Margins in the OOH/DOOH agency business have shrunk drastically over the years and have now hit rock bottom, hovering between 1% to 2.5%, Bhattacharyya noted. 

He quipped, “At such levels, survival itself becomes a question mark. This is especially concerning given the nature of the business, which is heavily operations-driven and incurs substantial logistics costs.” 

Running an agency under conditions of minimal returns seriously challenges sustainability and long-term viability. It is only natural to question, then, the sustainability of the current surge in the new OOH ventures. For all the buzz, can the market really sustain the new players rushing in? 

Malhotra looked at the margin landscape from a more layered lens. He advocated that with the advent of digital and programmatic OOH, the margin space gets a significant boost. 

“The added value of technology platforms, increased flexibility, and better measurability make the margin rise to 30-40%. Further up the chain, data and tech-enabled specialists offering services like consulting, analytics, and performance-driven campaigns can command margins in the range of 30–50%,” Malhotra told BestMediaInfo.com.  

Nayak offered a more macro view. He expects a shakeout and believes that the market would not sustain everyone. However, those who are platform-led, data-smart, and creatively differentiated will reap the rewards. 

“OOH is becoming an ecosystem business. New players who can build or plug into platforms rather than just trade space will last. It’s not about volume anymore; it’s about value delivery,” Nayak said. 

Where’s the gold?

According to Nayak, the future of the medium lies not in space-selling but in solution-building. 

The emergence of tech-driven out-of-home (OOH) solutions that enable creative dynamism, measurable impact, and real-time responsiveness presents a highly promising opportunity, noted Nayak. “In today’s landscape, brands are no longer satisfied with just broad reach. They seek data-backed, context-aware storytelling,” he said. 

A clear growth frontier for the OOH space, according to Malhotra, is the transit digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising in non-metro hubs, such as tier II airports and metro stations. “They present premium-priced real estate that attracts a captive, affluent audience,” he said. 

Additionally, Malhotra suggested experiential and phygital integrations using augmented reality, sensor-driven displays, and gamification. “These features, when combined with strong brand storytelling, can create campaigns that are not only memorable but also measurable, delivering both engagement and accountability.” 

Bhattacharyya highlighted the retail consumption space, especially for brands seeking instant sales conversions. “In the age of insta-results, that’s where newer agencies can play a big role,” he said.

But as it always goes, no gold rush comes without rocks. Turns out, in OOH, there are many. 

Getting vendor registration, earning the trust of media owners, and attracting the right talent is a fight on all fronts,” said Bhattacharyya. Add cashflow management and high operating costs, and many won’t survive unless they bring real value, he added. 

For Malhotra, inconsistent municipal regulations and capital intensity are the biggest roadblocks. He explained, “Rolling out DOOH infrastructure with telecom integrations is expensive. ROI timelines are long. Plus, without uniform safety frameworks, implementation is patchy.” 

Nayak pointed to deeper structural concerns. “Large-scale deals tied to holding groups favour volume over innovation. That makes it hard for independent or localised agencies to break through, even when they have better solutions.”

There’s gold, there are roadblocks, and there’s a moment. A moment that may be something bigger. A movement. A shift from site selling to solution building. From scale to specifics, visibility to value. 

Bottom line, the real goldmine is not in site ownership but in combining media intelligence, tech, and speed.