VIOOH locks down 5,000 screens in US grocery stores and transit hubs

VIOOH announced on January 8, 2026, a strategic partnership with Dolphin OOH that provides programmatic access to more than 5,000 digital screens across major American markets, generating over 50 million monthly impressions. The London-based supply-side platform's latest US expansion targets high-frequency consumer environments where purchasing decisions occur, spanning grocery stores, transit stations, convenience stores, pharmacies, and retail locations.

Dolphin's network reaches New York City, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta and Long Beach through placement strategies focused on extended consumer dwell periods. Grocery stores deliver 112 million monthly impressions across the network, while convenience stores generate 63 million monthly impressions. Pharmacies contribute 42 million monthly impressions, urban panels produce 27 million monthly impressions, and malls account for 10 million monthly impressions. Transit environments, retail office supply locations, and gym facilities provide additional inventory across these metropolitan areas.

The partnership reflects continued infrastructure expansion within programmatic digital out-of-home advertising, where automated buying systems enable advertisers to purchase outdoor inventory through software platforms similar to display and video channels. VIOOH's integration with Dolphin follows a pattern established throughout 2025, when the supply-side platform secured multiple US partnerships to consolidate programmatic access across fragmented outdoor advertising inventory.

"Our new partnership with Dolphin delivers access to high-frequency, strong-dwell environments where brands can connect with audiences during key purchase decision moments," said Gavin Wilson, Global Chief Commercial Officer at VIOOH. "Combined with Dolphin's rigorous approach to brand safety and impressive scale across major US cities, this partnership delivers exactly what our buyers need: quality, context and confidence."

The Texas-headquartered Dolphin OOH operates more than 5,000 digital indoor displays across 94+ DMAs in the United States, ranking among the largest indoor media networks in the country. Founded in 2015, Dolphin delivers over 2.5 billion monthly impressions through venue partnerships spanning malls, transit stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, gyms, convenience stores, retail office supplies and urban panel locations.

Brand safety infrastructure represents a central component of Dolphin's value proposition to advertisers navigating programmatic outdoor advertising purchases. Through comprehensive screen and location tagging processes, Dolphin provides verification systems designed to ensure complete advertisement delivery and eliminate fraud concerns that have plagued digital advertising channels. The company claims 100% completion rates and zero ad-fraud through these verification protocols.

"Partnering with VIOOH enables us to unlock the full potential of our extensive digital network through programmatic capabilities," said Josey George, CEO at Dolphin. "VIOOH's advanced technology platform and global reach will connect our inventory with buyers worldwide, making it easier for brands to access our high-impact screens across America's most dynamic markets."

Transit and retail environments deliver distinct advertising advantages compared to traditional outdoor formats. Extended consumer dwell periods in grocery stores, pharmacies, and transit stations enable complex messaging delivery that roadside billboards cannot support. Shoppers navigating retail environments maintain attention spans measured in minutes rather than seconds, creating opportunities for sequential messaging and contextual relevance based on product categories and location-specific triggers.

VIOOH's supply-side platform provides technical infrastructure connecting traditional outdoor media owners with programmatic buyers through standard advertising technology interfaces. The platform processes transactions through real-time bidding capabilities, private marketplace deals, and programmatic guaranteed inventory reservations. These buying methods enable advertisers to apply data-driven targeting strategies and automated optimization similar to capabilities available in display, video, and mobile channels.

The partnership enables advertisers to integrate American digital out-of-home inventory into broader programmatic advertising strategies through connections with demand-side platforms. VIOOH maintains partnerships with more than 50 demand-side platforms globally, facilitating automated buying and selling of outdoor inventory through software platforms that eliminate manual insertion orders and negotiation processes typical of traditional outdoor advertising transactions.

Launched in 2018 and headquartered in London, VIOOH currently trades programmatically in 35 markets worldwide. The company's platform emphasizes transparency through viewability measurement and brand safety verification, providing advertisers with accountability metrics comparable to other digital advertising channels. Technology infrastructure tracks impression delivery, audience measurement and campaign performance across connected screen networks.

Geographic market penetration represents a strategic priority for supply-side platforms operating in the fragmented US digital out-of-home landscape. VIOOH's August 2025 partnership with Vengo provided programmatic access to over 65,000 digital screens across the United States, representing 9% of the US digital OOH market and generating 13 billion monthly impressions. That integration enabled advertisers to access inventory across grocery stores, bars, casual dining venues, malls, offices, gyms and additional retail environments.

Industry adoption of programmatic digital out-of-home demonstrates steady growth across global markets. VIOOH's State of the Nation 2025 report revealed that programmatic DOOH adoption in mainland China reached 30% in 2025, marking a 6-percentage-point increase from 24% in 2023. The research showed 32% of respondents plan to deploy programmatic DOOH within the next 12 months, positioning it as the fourth most popular advertising channel among 14 major media formats.

Environmental performance represents an additional consideration for advertisers evaluating channel allocation decisions. VIOOH reported in November 2025 that its platform generates carbon emissions of 0.041 grams CO2e per ad impression for 2024, demonstrating programmatic DOOH's substantial environmental advantage over traditional digital channels. Programmatic display advertising typically generates 0.84g CO2e per impression, while programmatic video produces 1.24g CO2e per impression.

Three factors drive this sustainability performance differential. The broadcast nature of digital out-of-home allows multiple viewers to simultaneously receive content, distributing energy consumption across numerous impressions. Supply chain streamlining reduces emissions associated with ad delivery compared to individualized digital channels where each impression requires separate data transmission to specific devices. Network infrastructure increasingly utilizes screens powered by renewable energy sources.

Technical capabilities enable advertisers to schedule different creatives based on time of day, weather conditions, or real-time data triggers through programmatic infrastructure. These dynamic creative delivery options provide contextual relevance opportunities similar to capabilities available in online advertising, while maintaining the broadcast reach characteristics that distinguish outdoor advertising from individualized digital channels.

Programmatic guaranteed transactions have emerged as a buying method combining automation benefits with inventory certainty of traditional direct sales. This approach offers fixed pricing and guaranteed advertisement delivery through one-to-one buyer-seller relationships, addressing advertiser requirements that real-time bidding cannot satisfy while maintaining programmatic workflow efficiency.

Grocery retail environments deliver particular value for consumer packaged goods brands seeking to influence purchase decisions at proximity to point of sale. The 112 million monthly impressions generated through Dolphin's grocery store network position advertisements within shopping contexts where product consideration and category navigation occur. Research consistently demonstrates that advertising exposure near purchase locations increases conversion rates compared to awareness-building efforts in other environments.

Measurement methodologies within digital out-of-home advertising follow frameworks established by industry organizations. Impression calculations account for factors including screen location, time of day, audience flow patterns, and visibility conditions to establish standardized measurement units. The impression multiplier formula "Audience Impressions / Ad Play = Audience Per Play" enables DOOH to trade on impression-based pricing models similar to other digital advertising channels.

The Dolphin partnership extends VIOOH's North American coverage following multiple international expansions throughout 2025. The platform partnered with RZK Digital in November, expanding automated digital out-of-home advertising across Brazil's urban mobility infrastructure with over 800 screens in 43 bus terminals. That collaboration positioned VIOOH within Latin America's largest economy, where Brazil represents over one-third of the region's $2.7 billion out-of-home market.

Supply-side platform consolidation continues across the programmatic advertising ecosystem as technology providers establish connections for automated outdoor advertising trading. These integrations reduce operational overhead for media buyers managing campaigns across multiple channels while providing outdoor media owners with access to programmatic advertising budgets that previously flowed exclusively to online and mobile environments.

Market dynamics demonstrate that programmatic infrastructure addresses efficiency requirements for advertisers seeking to incorporate outdoor advertising into omnichannel campaigns. Traditional outdoor advertising purchases involved prolonged negotiations between media buyers and outdoor advertising companies, requiring multiple rounds of communication to secure specific inventory and finalize pricing. Programmatic platforms automate these processes while enabling data-driven targeting and optimization capabilities.

Transit environments captured through Dolphin's network deliver advantages for programmatic campaigns targeting commuters during predictable journey patterns. Bus terminals and transit stations capture audiences during high-dwell periods when consumers wait for connections or navigate between transit modes. The extended exposure windows enable messaging complexity that roadside formats cannot support, where viewer attention spans measure seconds rather than minutes.

For marketing professionals, the VIOOH-Dolphin partnership demonstrates how proximity to purchase moments creates premium programmatic inventory opportunities. The ability to target consumers in grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores through automated buying systems represents advancement in outdoor advertising precision and accountability beyond awareness-building campaigns in roadside environments.

The announcement positions both companies to capitalize on growing demand for programmatic DOOH capabilities among advertisers seeking alternatives to traditional outdoor advertising booking processes. The combination of VIOOH's global platform expertise with Dolphin's venue-specific US inventory creates comprehensive coverage opportunities for brands targeting American audiences across diverse urban environments where consumer purchasing behaviors occur.

Digital formats now account for significant portions of outdoor advertising revenue in major markets, reflecting the medium's progression from static displays to dynamic, programmable advertising platforms. The technical infrastructure supporting these capabilities requires integration of supply-side platforms, demand-side platforms, data management systems and measurement capabilities into streamlined workflows enabling automated buying and optimization across premium US advertising locations.

Timeline

• July 2024: VIOOH partners with Intersection to provide programmatic access to over 6,500 digital screens across New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and 90 US airports
• July 2025: VIOOH integrates Outernet London's premium inventory, adding nine digital screens generating 233 million monthly impressions in central London
• August 2025: VIOOH partners with Vengo for US expansion, providing access to over 65,000 strategically placed digital screens across major American cities representing 9% of US digital OOH market
• November 2025: VIOOH expands programmatic DOOH in Brazil through RZK Digital partnership, adding over 800 screens across 43 bus terminals in urban mobility infrastructure
• November 2025: BIG OUTDOOR adds US inventory to VIOOH programmatic platform, expanding access to premium large-format digital signage across dynamic US markets
• November 2025: VIOOH reports 0.041g CO2e per impression for 2024, demonstrating 20x better carbon efficiency than programmatic display advertising
• January 2026: VIOOH announces partnership with Dolphin OOH, providing programmatic access to over 5,000 digital screens generating 50 million monthly impressions across major US cities

Summary

Who: VIOOH, the London-based premium global digital out-of-home supply-side platform, announced a strategic partnership with Dolphin OOH, a Texas-headquartered out-of-home media network operating more than 5,000 digital indoor displays across the United States.

What: The partnership delivers programmatic access to over 5,000 digital screens generating more than 50 million monthly impressions across major US cities. Dolphin's network spans grocery stores (112 million monthly impressions), convenience stores (63 million monthly impressions), pharmacies (42 million monthly impressions), urban panels (27 million monthly impressions), and malls (10 million monthly impressions), alongside transit, retail office supplies and gym environments.

When: VIOOH announced the partnership on January 8, 2026, from London. The integration enables immediate programmatic access to Dolphin's inventory through VIOOH's Trading Manager platform and partnerships with more than 50 demand-side platforms globally.

Where: The partnership covers major US markets including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta and Long Beach. Dolphin operates across 94+ DMAs (designated market areas) in the United States, delivering over 2.5 billion monthly impressions through strategic venue partnerships.

Why: The partnership addresses advertiser demand for programmatic access to high-frequency, strong-dwell consumer environments where purchasing decisions occur. Dolphin's integration with VIOOH enables efficient planning, launching and management of campaigns across its extensive screen network through automated buying processes, maximizing brand visibility and reaching audiences during key purchase decision moments. Brand safety protocols ensure 100% completion rates and zero ad-fraud through comprehensive screen and location tagging processes.