As we begin the New Year, we spoke to industry leaders to reflect on the shifts that shaped 2025 and the forces expected to define 2026. For Anuj Bhandari, Co-founder, TRIOOH, 2025 marked the decisive moment when outdoor advertising moved from visibility-led buying to accountability-driven planning.
Reflecting on the year gone by, Bhandari points to how technology fundamentally reshaped expectations from the medium.
“The most defining trend in 2025 was the rapid shift toward tech-integrated OOH, driven by AI-powered planning tools and real-time measurability. Brands demanded accountability, precision, and speed something traditional OOH alone couldn’t deliver. The rise of automated buying, smarter location analytics, and transparent reporting reshaped expectations. This trend emerged because marketers wanted the same agility and data depth they experience in digital, now replicated outdoors.”
Looking ahead, Bhandari believes the coming year will push this transformation further, turning emerging capabilities into industry-wide norms.
“In 2026, programmatic DOOH will become a dominant buying method as brands seek faster activation, dynamic creative optimisation, and unified omnichannel measurement. With digital screens expanding across cities, advertisers want contextual targeting and automated delivery that mirrors digital ecosystems. This trend will rise because marketers now prioritise efficiency, relevance, and real-time flexibility in outdoor planning. Location intelligence will no longer be a differentiator, it will be an expectation. With AI predicting audience movement, traffic patterns, and engagement hotspots, OOH planning will become sharper and more ROI-driven. This trend will grow because clients increasingly demand data-backed justification for every site, pushing the industry toward precision-led decision-making. Sustainable OOH energy-efficient screens, recyclable materials, and low-emission operations will take centre stage in 2026. As brands integrate ESG goals into marketing, outdoor partners must demonstrate environmental responsibility. This trend will rise because both regulators and consumers expect greener practices, making sustainability a core criterion for campaign approvals, not an optional value add.”
(As told to Antora Chakraborty)
