The main DOOH formats
- Large digital billboards: big roadside and highway screens, and large city displays.
- Transit screens: screens in airports, train stations and bus terminals, and on vehicles.
- Retail screens: menu boards, checkout screens and digital posters in and near shops.
- Place-based screens: screens inside venues such as offices, gyms, campuses and malls.
- Custom and event formats: projections, digital mobile billboards and interactive set-ups.
This list follows two sources we read on 9 October 2026. One is the Digital Out-of-Home Buyer's Guide from the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), dated February 2016. The other is a guide from the ad technology company Broadsign, published on 6 January 2026. Sellers may use different names.
How DOOH is bought
A screen often plays a loop of ads from different advertisers. The IAB guide says a typical digital billboard has eight slots in a loop, each 8 to 10 seconds long. It adds that DOOH prices are largely based on impressions or share of voice. An impression is one view of your ad. Read about share of voice.
That guide describes the United States. It also says audience figures for roadside screens are worked out from traffic data and models. So ask any Indian seller how it counts views.
For India, the FICCI-EY Media and Entertainment report, as published by EY on 24 March 2026, says out-of-home advertising grew 13% in 2025. It does not split out digital screens. So ask any seller for current numbers on the screens you are buying.
A made-up example in rupees
Say a pizza shop near an office area wants lunch-hour customers. This is a made-up example.
- A screen network quotes ₹60,000 for four weeks and estimates 3,00,000 views.
- CPM (cost per thousand views) = ₹60,000 ÷ 300 = ₹200.
- The shop shows "Lunch combo" until 3 pm and "Dinner offer" after 5 pm. One screen carries two messages.
Compare ₹200 per thousand views with other options. Then ask for photos of the ad on the screen and a report of when it played.
How DOOH works for an Indian business
Check three things before you pay. First, where is the screen and who passes it? Second, how many seconds does your ad play, and how often? Third, how does the seller count views?
Match the message to the place. A mall screen can carry an offer that ends this weekend. For a local shop, a screen near the shop is worth more than a big screen far away.
Common mistakes
- Using a long film. People pass a screen and see only a few seconds.
- Too much text in small letters.
- No next step, such as a shop name, a phone number or a QR (quick response) code.
- Paying without seeing play reports.
- Choosing a screen by size alone.
To compare with printed boards, read about OOH.
Related terms
- OOH: ads seen outside the home, such as hoardings and bus shelters.
- CPM: what you pay for each thousand views.
- Share of voice: your share of the ads in a category, or your share of time in a screen loop.
- Programmatic: buying ads automatically through software.
- Reach and frequency: how many people see the ad, and how often.
To plan screens in your city, see our DOOH advertising work.
Sources
- IAB Digital Out-of-Home Task Force, "Digital Out-of-Home Buyer's Guide", February 2016 (iab.com), read 9 October 2026. It describes the United States.
- Broadsign, "What is digital out-of-home (DOOH) media?", published 6 January 2026 (broadsign.com/blog/what-is-dooh-media/), read 9 October 2026.
- FICCI-EY Media and Entertainment report for 2025, EY press release, 24 March 2026, as used on our India marketing numbers page.
