Mumbai: OOH Growth is expected to be driven by continued digital transformation, premiumisation of inventory, geographic expansion and deeper integration with data-led and programmatic ecosystems says the FICCI EY report. The size for the OOH segment is estimated to rise steadily from Rs. 66.9 billion in 2025 to Rs. 85 billion by 2028, indicating strong growth omentum.
Growth will be driven by digital and premium assets: OOH revenues are set to rise steadily through 2028, driven by growth in both traditional and transit formats, with digital share increasing from 18% in 2025 to 25% by 2028. Expansion of large-format digital screens in high-traffic urban corridors, transit hubs and commercial districts will command higher advertiser interest and pricing power. Premium assets such as airport media, metro networks, luxury retail zones and landmark billboards will continue to attract brand-led, high impact campaigns Investments in high-resolution screens, 3D anamorphic displays and experiential integrations will elevate OOH’s visual impact and share of attention. Programmatic trading and audience measurement capabilities will improve monetisation efficiency for premium and other digital inventory.
DOOH inventory can go ‘self-serve’: DOOH inventory can be made available to advertisers by leading supply-side platforms as an adjunct or integration with display and other digital media assets. If this fructifies, it can bring in a large volume of SME and retail advertisers into DOOH, expanding the advertiser base beyond large national brands.
Greater platform integration is likely to accelerate the adoption and growth of programmatic DOOH Self-serve DOOH will further strengthen its value proposition for advertisers by offering adjacent services such as AI creatives, dynamic creatives, day-part customization capabilities, and realtime optimization aligned to specific campaign objectives.
OOH will serve brand and performance loyalists: OOH will continue to anchor high-impact brandbuilding campaigns through scale, visibility and contextual relevance in key urban clusters Simultaneously, advances in data integration and programmatic buying will enable sharper audience targeting and outcome-linked planning. Integration with mobile, QR-led journeys and geofencing will help connect upper-funnel awareness with lower-funnel calls-to-action.
OOH assets will expand geography: India has around 37 cities with a population of over two million each4; yet organised OOH is primarily concentrated in the top 10 cities.
According to McKinsey & Company’s urbanisation projections, by 2030 India will have 68 cities with populations exceeding one million. The report expects OOH to expand to more cities and require national agencies which can serve large OOH campaigns across languages. Hyperlocal OOH expansion will continue as advertisers increasingly tap Tier-II and TierIII cities and rural markets with geo-fenced, local-language DOOH and high-footfall regional touchpoints6
Sustainability will become table stakes: Operating challenges will require industry action Environmental compliance will shift from a differentiator to a baseline expectation across OOH inventory and vendor partnerships. Carbon footprint measurement, reporting transparency, and perpetual audit will become integral to media planning and buying processes.
Sustainable innovations such as solar-powered units and low-energy illumination will move from pilot initiatives to mainstream deployment. Industry bodies and municipal authorities are likely to enforce stricter standardisation and compliance frameworks, raising the minimum operating threshold. Looking forward, sustainability will no longer be an adjunct consideration but a structural pillar of the OOH ecosystem. Vendors that embed environmental responsibility into infrastructure design, operations and governance will be better positioned to attract premium advertisers, secure regulatory approvals, and drive long-term value in an increasingly ESG-conscious marketplace.
Dynamic creatives will enhance the relevance of messaging: OOH ads will increasingly adapt to weather, time of day, live events, retail stock levels, traffic flows and contextual triggers to enhance their relevance AI generated creative variations could help enable this transition Live monitoring and measurement will integrate with audience geo-location data and provide deeper insights into traffic flows and planning.
Operating challenges will require industry action:
Fragmented municipal frameworks and nonuniform approval processes continue to create operational complexity, limiting scalability and seamless execution of multi-city campaigns Greater harmonization of policies, licensing norms and compliance procedures across states and cities would enable efficiency and transparency, and could lay the foundation for a unified, nationwide OOH regulatory framework.
Advertiser expectations have evolved from delivering mere visibility to demonstrating measurable outcomes. OOH vendors are increasingly expected to offer audience analytics, independent verification and comprehensive post-campaign reporting, capabilities that are still developing across many Indian markets. The OOH segment must define KPIs and mandate their measurement methods to build marketer trust. Sustainability has become more than just a buzzword, and OOH companies need to demonstrate concrete action to clients and regulators ESG norms for assets, consumables and employees need to be defined by the segment.
RoadStar gained acceptance: Following pilot implementations and industry consultations, RoadStar started gaining wider acceptance among leading agencies and OOH media owners, reflecting growing confidence in data-led planning and performance validation within the medium. Its acceptance marked a structural shift for the OOH industry, signaling movement towards audited metrics, credible measurement frameworks and alignment with global best practices in audience quantification. Currently, clients across the real estate and auto sectors are using the tool’s proprietary data to track people in stores and later target them.
Premium inventory gained traction: OOH is one of the most effective media to reach affluent consumers, capturing high income audiences who travel frequently and often bypass advertising on premium ad-free digital platforms. To reach out to this audience segment, OOH asset quality has improved significantly, with newer sites offering cleaner designs, brighter displays and better upkeep, delivering a more premium brand experience.
The industry defined safety and operating SOPs: As urban density increases and OOH formats evolve, the need for robust safety frameworks and clear operating SOPs has become critical to ensure structural stability and public safety. Across India, municipal authorities and industry stakeholders are increasingly formalising structural audit requirements, certification norms, and periodic compliance checks to minimise operational risks. Clearer delineation of accountability among asset owners, concessionaires and advertisers is strengthening liability governance and reinforcing preventive risk management across the OOH ecosystem.
