The IAB Australia Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home State of the Nation 2026 report provides an analysis of the programmatic digital out of home landscape, highlighting deepening adoption, growing integration with cross-channel planning, and the measurement and ROI challenges that continue to shape investment. The study offers a timely pulse check on investment trends, buying methods, creative and targeting, campaign objectives, measurement and the impact of AI, and assists in setting the direction of future Council initiatives.
The Digital Out of Home Advertising Council are proud to launch this report presenting the results of the latest wave of the annual state of the nation programmatic digital out of home survey to provide deeper insight into pDOOH investment.
163
Advertising decision makers surveyed in July 2026
74%
Expect to increase programmatic DOOH investment over the next 12 months
27%
Say programmatic DOOH is a significant part of their activity, up from 17% in 2025
Key findings
Programmatic digital out of home has matured further this year, with 68% of agencies increasing investment over the past 12 months and three-quarters expecting to increase investment again in the year ahead.
pDOOH is now firmly embedded in holistic planning, with 8 in 10 agencies considering it as part of overall cross-channel media planning, particularly alongside digital video and social media.
Nearly all purchase drivers have increased year on year, with geo-location targeting (88%), data and targeting (80%) and contextual relevance of environments (79%, up 20% pts) the leading factors for buying programmatically.
Increasing brand awareness remains the predominant campaign objective (85%), in contrast with retail media’s lower-funnel focus, though usage for lower-funnel objectives lifted slightly in 2026.
Demonstrating return on investment is now clearly the top barrier to programmatic DOOH increasing its share of ad spend, cited by 4 in 10 agencies, with strong calls for standardised measurement, pricing and inventory transparency.
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