Programmatic digital out-of-home adoption reaches 30% in China

Programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) advertising adoption in mainland China reached 30% in 2025, marking a 6-percentage-point increase from 24% in 2023, according to VIOOH's State of the Nation 2025 report released on August 4, 2025. The comprehensive study surveyed 150 marketing budget decision makers from advertisers and agencies across China in collaboration with Marketing Research Institute.

The research reveals that 32% of respondents plan to deploy pDOOH within the next 12 months, positioning the medium as the fourth most popular advertising channel among 14 major media formats. This placement represents an improvement from sixth place in 2023, indicating growing acceptance within China's competitive advertising landscape.

Budget allocation signals strategic shift

The study shows 42% of respondents plan to allocate dedicated advertising budgets for pDOOH, substantially higher than the 33% reported in 2023. This increase accompanies a shift in procurement practices, with 64% of advertisers purchasing pDOOH through digital or programmatic teams, compared to 27% in 2023.

The data suggests pDOOH integration into omni-channel marketing strategies rather than standalone Out-of-Home deployments. Only 30% of respondents deployed pDOOH as standalone advertising, while 64% integrated it within digital programmatic activities and 42% included it in multi-channel campaigns.

Purchasing preferences demonstrate market conservatism, with 67% of respondents selecting programmatic guaranteed approaches over non-guaranteed methods. This mirrors global trends where risk mitigation takes precedence over inventory optimization in early adoption phases.

Five key benefits drive adoption

The research identifies five primary value propositions driving Chinese pDOOH adoption. Generating return on investment leads at 52%, followed by increasing sales performance at 48%. Flexibility and efficiency to display when conditions are met ranks equally at 48%, while ability to activate last-minute media buys reaches 45%. Brand safety, including lack of bot or click fraud, captures 39% of responses.

These priorities differ from global markets, with Chinese advertisers demonstrating heightened focus on measurable performance outcomes. The emphasis on sales increases exceeds global averages by nearly 20 percentage points, reflecting domestic market demands for quantifiable returns on advertising investments.

Media mix reveals strategic partnerships

Chinese advertisers predominantly pair pDOOH with four dominant channels: social media ads, digital audio, mobile ads, and Connected TV. Campaign objectives influence channel combinations, with performance-driven campaigns favoring in-app ads (29%) and search ads (29%), while brand-building initiatives integrate traditional OOH (27%) and display advertising (26%).

The integration pattern indicates pDOOH's dual functionality as both performance and brand-building medium. This versatility enables deployment across various campaign objectives while maintaining consistent measurement frameworks across digital channels.

Measurement challenges persist

Despite growth momentum, measurement capabilities remain primary adoption barriers. Nearly half of respondents (49%) cite lack of understanding regarding pDOOH's campaign role, while 49% express concerns about audience data availability and accuracy.

Current measurement approaches emphasize direct performance indicators, with 67% utilizing sales increases and 56% tracking website traffic impact. These metrics exceed global usage patterns, reinforcing Chinese market preferences for immediate performance validation over brand awareness metrics.

The study shows 58% of respondents desire more granular targeting data, while 55% seek improved channel metrics. Socio-economic data (69%), shopping behavior insights (60%), and product affinities (57%) represent priority audience data requirements.

Dynamic Creative Optimization shows promise

Despite early development stages, Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) technology demonstrates significant potential within China's pDOOH market. Among respondents deploying pDOOH in 2024, 42% express willingness to integrate DCO capabilities in future campaigns.

Barriers to DCO adoption include budgetary constraints (52%) and insufficient understanding of capabilities (48%). The technology enables real-time creative adaptation based on weather, location, time, and audience demographics, supporting contextual marketing approaches gaining prominence in Chinese advertising strategies.

Marketers prioritizing DCO benefits focus on relevance at scale (52%) and message sequencing (52%), followed by improved relevance (48%) and localization capabilities (48%). These preferences align with industry trends toward contextual engagement over traditional advertising approaches.

Technical infrastructure developments

The Chinese pDOOH ecosystem benefits from infrastructure improvements across multiple dimensions. LCD screen penetration ensures visual quality standards, while real-time optimization capabilities enhance creative execution flexibility. Integration with artificial intelligence and augmented reality technologies promises expanded creative possibilities.

Three offline media formats—traditional OOH, digital OOH, and pDOOH—now occupy positions two through four in planned 2025 media investments. This shift reflects online advertising channel saturation and increased offline consumption activity, creating favorable conditions for Out-of-Home media growth.

Calvin Chan, Chief Executive Officer (China) at VIOOH, noted the market transformation: "Advertisers in China have wholeheartedly adopted pDOOH. Our second State of the Nation research report for the country demonstrates that it's regularly included within omni-channel marketing strategies and continues to attract more budget allocation."

Industry outlook and challenges

The report identifies three critical development barriers requiring resolution for sustained growth. The market lacks replicable benchmark cases demonstrating pDOOH effectiveness across various scenarios. Inconsistent attribution standards complicate performance evaluation and budget justification processes. Data integration challenges between platforms and media properties hinder comprehensive campaign optimization.

Despite these challenges, pDOOH adoption trajectory indicates maturation toward sophisticated deployment practices. The medium's transition from supplementary to competitive positioning within unified budget pools demonstrates growing strategic importance across Chinese advertising operations.

Market dynamics suggest continued growth as digital advertising costs increase and offline scenarios recover post-pandemic. The integration of emerging technologies including DCO and artificial intelligence may accelerate creative efficiency and strategic execution capabilities.

The study methodology involved online questionnaires conducted between April and May 2025, covering budget planning, technology adoption, and campaign challenges. In-depth interviews with brand executives and academic experts provided additional context for strategic value analysis.

Chinese advertisers' emphasis on performance measurement significantly exceeds global patterns, indicating market sophistication and results-oriented approach to media investment decisions. This focus may drive industry standards toward enhanced measurement frameworks and attribution methodologies.

The research demonstrates China's pDOOH market transition from exploration to standardization phases, with advertisers developing refined understanding of digital synergy capabilities and strategic value propositions.

Timeline

• August 4, 2025: VIOOH releases State of the Nation 2025 - Mainland China Report
• July 2025: StackAdapt launches AI assistant Ivy for programmatic advertising
• June 2025: Industry adopts programmatic curation standards after IAB framework gains traction
• March 2025: Google announces new requirements for Connected TV and Digital out-of-home inventory
• February 2025: JCDecaux launches programmatic digital advertising at Dubai airport
• January 2025: ECN and VIOOH partnership brings programmatic digital out-of-home to European offices
• December 2024: Digital out-of-home advertising expands in Australian coworking spaces

Key Terms Explained

Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home (pDOOH): An automated advertising technology that combines digital out-of-home displays with programmatic buying capabilities. This system enables real-time bidding, dynamic content delivery, and data-driven targeting for outdoor advertising campaigns. Unlike traditional billboard advertising, pDOOH allows advertisers to purchase inventory programmatically and optimize campaigns based on performance metrics, weather conditions, audience demographics, and other contextual factors.

Omni-channel Marketing: A strategic approach that integrates multiple advertising channels to create cohesive customer experiences across touchpoints. In the context of pDOOH, omni-channel marketing involves coordinating outdoor advertising with digital channels like social media, Connected TV, mobile advertising, and search campaigns. This integration enables consistent messaging while leveraging each channel's unique strengths to maximize overall campaign effectiveness.

Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO): Technology that automatically generates and delivers personalized advertising content based on real-time data inputs. DCO systems analyze factors including weather conditions, time of day, location, audience demographics, and campaign performance to select the most relevant creative elements. For pDOOH campaigns, DCO enables contextual advertising that adapts messaging to environmental conditions and audience characteristics in specific locations.

Programmatic Guaranteed (PG): A programmatic advertising method that combines automated technology with guaranteed inventory reservation. Unlike open auction environments, PG allows advertisers to secure specific inventory at predetermined prices through automated systems. This approach provides campaign certainty while maintaining programmatic efficiency, making it particularly attractive for advertisers seeking guaranteed reach and frequency targets.

Connected TV (CTV): Television content delivered through internet-connected devices rather than traditional broadcast or cable systems. CTV encompasses streaming services, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and over-the-top platforms. In programmatic advertising, CTV represents a rapidly growing channel that offers advanced targeting capabilities and measurable performance metrics similar to digital advertising formats.

Supply-Side Platform (SSP): Technology infrastructure that enables media owners and publishers to manage, sell, and optimize their advertising inventory programmatically. SSPs connect publishers with multiple demand sources including demand-side platforms, ad exchanges, and ad networks. VIOOH operates as an SSP specifically focused on digital out-of-home inventory, facilitating automated transactions between outdoor media owners and advertisers.

Demand-Side Platform (DSP): Software platforms that enable advertisers and agencies to purchase advertising inventory programmatically across multiple sources. DSPs provide campaign management tools, targeting capabilities, and optimization features that allow buyers to manage campaigns across various media channels. In pDOOH, DSPs integrate with SSPs to enable automated bidding and campaign execution for outdoor advertising placements.

Return on Investment (ROI): A financial metric that measures the efficiency of advertising investments by comparing campaign costs against generated revenue or business outcomes. For pDOOH campaigns, ROI calculation often involves attribution modeling to connect outdoor advertising exposure with subsequent consumer actions such as website visits, store visits, or purchases. Chinese advertisers prioritize ROI measurement significantly more than global averages.

Attribution: The process of identifying and assigning credit to marketing touchpoints that contribute to desired consumer actions or conversions. In pDOOH advertising, attribution challenges arise from the offline nature of exposure and the difficulty of tracking individual consumer journeys from outdoor advertising to conversion events. Advanced attribution methodologies may incorporate location data, timing analysis, and statistical modeling to estimate pDOOH campaign impact.

Contextual Marketing: An advertising approach that delivers relevant messages based on environmental context, user behavior, and situational factors. For pDOOH, contextual marketing leverages real-time data including weather conditions, traffic patterns, local events, and audience demographics to optimize creative content and messaging. This strategy aims to increase advertising relevance and effectiveness by aligning messages with immediate consumer contexts and needs.

Summary

Who: VIOOH and Morketing Research Institute surveyed 150 marketing budget decision makers from Chinese advertisers and agencies

What: Research shows programmatic digital out-of-home adoption increased to 30% in China, with 32% planning deployment within 12 months and 42% allocating dedicated budgets

When: Study conducted April-May 2025, report released August 4, 2025, comparing data against 2023 baseline

Where: Mainland China market focus, with global context from VIOOH's international operations across 33 markets

Why: Growing demand for performance-driven outdoor advertising as online customer acquisition costs rise and offline consumption scenarios recover, driving need for measurable and flexible media channels