Global Out-of-Home Advertising Sees Robust Growth and Rapid Consolidation, Says WOO President

The World Out of Home Organisation (WOO) President, Tom Goddard, addressed over 600 delegates from 58 countries during a keynote speech at the WOO Annual Congress held in Mexico City, highlighting major strides in the global Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising sector.

“The pace of consolidation is accelerating fast,” says Goddard.

Drawing from WOO's upcoming Worldwide Expenditure Survey, Goddard revealed that global OOH revenue reached USD 46 billion in 2024—a 10% increase from 2023. He emphasised that this performance outpaced other legacy media formats. Projections for 2025 suggest revenues will exceed USD 49 billion.

Regional Highlights from Goddard's Address:

North America

• T-Mobile’s acquisition of Vistar marked the entrance of a major telecom company into the OOH space.
• U.S. OOH revenue surpassed USD 9 billion for the first time.
• In Canada, the COMMB launched a new reach and frequency tool within its Roadmap platform.

Latin America (LATAM) 

Globo acquired Brazil’s largest OOH company, Eletro Media, which later purchased Clear Channel’s Brazilian assets.

• Argentina’s Global acquired Clear Channel assets in Mexico, Peru, and Argentina.
• JCDecaux expanded by acquiring Publigrafic and IMC in Central America.

Europe

Bauer Media acquired the remaining Clear Channel assets in Northern Europe, positioning it as the second-largest OOH player on the continent.

• Germany’s OOH market saw a remarkable 25% growth.
• Sweden's OOH sector outperformed all other media formats.
• The UK commissioned a major upgrade of the Route Measurement Platform.

Middle East

• Multiply Group, with a 60% market share in the UAE, entered a joint venture with Al Arabia, which controls 70% of the Saudi market.
• The two are collaborating on a regional AdTech platform aimed at scaling across the Gulf.

Africa

• The region is beginning to invest in digital transformation and implement inventory measurement systems.

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

• In China, digital formats now account for 66% of all OOH revenue, despite ongoing tariff issues.
• India is developing a unified audience measurement system.
• Korea’s expansion of adZones in Seoul is setting new global benchmarks.
• Australia's OMA launched its new 'MOVE2' audience measurement platform.
• Japan hosted its first major OOH conference in partnership with WOO.

WOO’s increasing global footprint has been underscored by major events in cities like Bali, Milan, Kuala Lumpur, the UAE, Cape Town, and last year’s Global Congress in Hong Kong.

Goddard concluded with optimism: “The theme for this Congress is a world of opportunities, and these developments and others to come, demonstrate clearly that the industry is confounding global economic worries by a relentless focus on growth, innovation and consolidation. We journey into the remainder of 2025 and beyond in good heart.”