Programmatic OOH/DOOH – How It Works

Programmatic outdoor advertising means that DOOH is purchased and optimized through the same type of technical ecosystem already utilized for other digital advertising. In practice, it involves three core components working together: the DSP, the SSP, and Ad Exchanges. Together, they manage how digital advertising inventory is made available, sold, and linked to campaign goals. Major industry players such as AdQuick, Vistar Media, Broadsign, VIOOH, and global DSPs like The Trade Desk describe programmatic DOOH in precisely these terms.

Source: AdQuick – “The Complete Guide to Programmatic DOOH Advertising”

DSP (Demand-Side Platform): Where the buyer manages the campaign

A DSP is the tool where advertisers or agencies plan, manage, and purchase programmatic outdoor advertising. Within the DSP, users:

• Set target audiences, budgets, frequency caps, and campaign goals.

• Select relevant DOOH environments, such as Digisize (above or below ground) or MetroVision—Europe’s largest digital format in a subway environment.

• Determine the bids to be placed on specific DOOH impressions (time slots + screens).

In our Swedish prDOOH offering, JCDecaux’s digital street furniture network is accessible via several established DSPs, including:

• Adform: A European full-stack platform with a strong Nordic presence, commonly used for display, video, and DOOH.

• Blis: A platform focused on location and movement data with a built-in DSP for targeted, location-based advertising, including DOOH.

• BidTheatre: A Swedish DSP focused on programmatic display, video, and DOOH, popular among Nordic agencies and advertisers.

• Displayce: A specialized European DOOH-DSP focused on aggregating premium DOOH inventory programmatically.

• DV360 (Display & Video 360): Google’s enterprise DSP, widely used by international agency networks and advertisers for display, video, CTV, and DOOH.

• Hawk: A European omnichannel DSP with a strong focus on location data, audio, and DOOH.

• Perion: A global ad-tech player (including Undertone and formerly Hivestack) with solutions for programmatic DOOH and other digital channels.

• The Trade Desk (TTD): One of the world’s largest independent DSPs, supporting display, video, CTV, audio, and DOOH.

• Vistar Media: A DOOH-specialized player offering both a DSP and an SSP, with a focus on audience targeting and measurement in digital out-of-home environments.

This allows both global and local agencies to purchase the same inventory within the platforms they already use for other programmatic buying. The industry identifies this “openness” as a key strength of programmatic DOOH: the advertiser can choose a DSP based on their specific tech stack, while DOOH inventory remains available in a standardized manner.

Source: AdQuick – Examples of DSPs within programmatic DOOH

SSP (Supply-Side Platform): Where the media owner packages their inventory

An SSP is used by media owners to make their digital OOH inventory purchasable programmatically. Through the SSP:

• Inventory is listed: which screens are available, and in which networks and environments.

• Formats, placement, traffic flows, and other contextual data are described.

• Floor prices and rules for inventory sales are established.

The SSP ensures that the same impression is not sold twice. While a digital screen in a bus shelter, a digital billboard, or another DOOH surface may be exposed to many buyers, each individual impression is sold to only one winning bidder. Globally, SSPs such as VIOOH (JCDecaux’s proprietary programmatic platform) are used to connect premium DOOH inventory to a broad ecosystem of DSPs.

Ad Exchanges: The marketplace in between

Ad exchanges function as the hub between the DSP (the buy side) and the SSP (the sell side). Simply put, the flow looks like this:

1. An impression (or a play block) on a DOOH surface becomes available.

2. The SSP sends a request via the ad exchange to relevant DSPs.

3. The DSPs calculate the value of the impression based on target audience, location, time, campaign budget, etc., and respond with a bid + potential creative variant.

4. The highest qualified bidder wins, and the creative is delivered to the screen.

Everything happens automatically and rapidly. While not in the same millisecond timeframe as mobile advertising, it occurs in real-time or within pre-defined play blocks that suit DOOH logic. Source: Broadsign – Coordinated programmatic DOOH standards

What our Swedish prDOOH offering includes

In Sweden, we offer a programmatic DOOH network featuring:

• Approximately 270 digital surfaces in street furniture environments.

• Around 460 million impressions per month.

• Deal types including Programmatic Guaranteed, non-guaranteed PMPs, and Managed Services.

• CPM levels starting from approximately 140 SEK, depending on selection and pressure.

• Targeting based on network, city, geo-position, time of day, pre-targeting, and various triggers.

The measurement currency is based on VAC (Visibility Adjusted Contacts) via Outdoor Impact 2.0, providing a standardized measure of visible contacts, which is crucial when comparing DOOH with other channels in a programmatic setup. We also collaborate with affiliated data partners such as Adsquare, Locala, and Happydemics to enable advanced audience targeting, measurement, and attribution, such as mobile-based movement patterns or pre/post-campaign brand studies. In addition to the purchasing logic, our network supports real-time DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimization), measurement, and attribution, allowing for dynamic management of both messaging and optimization throughout the campaign period.

Implications for buyers and media owners

For buyers, this means programmatic outdoor advertising can be managed with greater precision than traditional package purchasing. For example:

• Selecting “select” sites in specific neighborhoods.

• Combining different environments to optimize reach, frequency, and VAC.

• Rapidly scaling pressure around a takeover period or campaign.

• Optimizing during the campaign rather than locking everything in advance.

For media owners, SSPs and exchanges mean that digital inventory reaches both local and global buyers while maintaining control over price floors, availability, and priorities. Case studies from entities like MediaCom/GroupM illustrate how programmatic DOOH purchases are used to combine reach with smart management, including through integrations between SSPs like VIOOH and DSPs like Hivestack.

Source: MediaCom (GroupM) – “Why 2020 Was The Year Of Programmatic Outdoor”