What Success Looks Like in DOOH for 2026
Canadian DOOH is entering a new chapter, defined by smarter data, stronger accountability, and creative thinking that extends far beyond the screen. While the market expects more from every impression and rewards strategies that deliver both performance and presence, advertisers are beginning to realise DOOH’s ability to influence behaviour in measurable ways while also amplifying stories across digital and social platforms. The timing has never been better for advertisers to leverage DOOH as a strategic layer within a wider media mix.
In this piece, we outline the pillars of DOOH success for 2026 and showcase member case studies that demonstrate how the medium is evolving in real and measurable ways.
1. Attribution Clarity: Connecting Exposure to Action
Clear attribution is rapidly becoming a baseline expectation for DOOH. The most compelling campaigns demonstrate a direct link between exposure and outcome, whether that outcome is an in-store visit, a ticket purchase, or a product sale.
A high-impact awareness program for the Calgary Stampede illustrated how DOOH can influence both top-of-funnel engagement and direct conversions. Measurement tied exposure (1 in 3 Calgary residents) to ticket purchases (35%), strengthening confidence in DOOH’s ability to drive event attendance.
PRN – Costco TV Canada/Vitamin Water
Vitamin Water used Costco’s national retail network of 80 locations to influence both awareness and purchase behaviour. The campaign produced measurable lift in product sales (+44% points), creating a clear path from impression to action.
Why this matters for 2026
Attribution clarity allows marketers to evaluate DOOH with the same rigor they apply to digital channels. These examples show a medium that is not only visible, but accountable.
2. Campaign Performance: Demonstrating Lift Across the Funnel
Performance measurement has expanded well beyond recall. Today’s marketers look for evidence that DOOH can impact familiarity, consideration, and action, and they expect results they can benchmark against other channels.
Captivate – Dell Product Launch
Dell’s programmatic campaign delivered measurable gains in ad recall (68%), consideration (53%), and customers action (two in five). Captivate’s programmatic guarantee capabilities highlights DOOH’s ability to deliver predictable and reportable results.
Contextually relevant creative in Captivate’s elevator network produced significant lifts in awareness (+69% lift) and brand familiarity (+38% lift). The environment-to-message alignment was central to the campaign’s success.
Captivate –Staples/Salesforce
Both campaigns achieved strong awareness and consideration results. Staples also saw meaningful consumer action (50%), demonstrating DOOH’s strength in driving mid-funnel behaviour.
Pattison–RAM/Pizza Pizza/Lexus
Across automotive and QSR categories, these campaigns demonstrated DOOH’s consistency in driving recall, consideration, and audience engagement.
Vistar Media – Alberta Women Entrepreneurs
To expand its reach beyond Alberta and engage women entrepreneurs nationwide, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs launched its first DOOH campaign. Strategic placements across diverse venues and cities delivered strong performance across the funnel: +178% brand awareness, +266% consideration and +273% sign-up intent.
Why this matters for 2026
Measurable lift is a critical indicator of campaign success. These case studies show DOOH’s ability to influence audiences at multiple stages of the customer journey.
3. Integration With Omnichannel: Amplifying Effectiveness
The most effective campaigns treat DOOH as a strategic layer within a wider media mix. When DOOH works alongside static OOH, social media, mobile, and online video, each channel reinforces the other.
Captivate – Adelaide Attention Study
This study revealed a key insight for modern planning. Attention varies widely across channels, which means campaign performance improves when DOOH is used to balance and optimise total attention in the media mix. The findings emphasise the importance of combining DOOH with complementary formats.
With sports enthusiasts constantly on the move, Musashi, a sports nutrition brand, set out to reach them at key moments throughout their day. As part of a broader omnichannel strategy, the DOOH campaign connected real-world media with follow-up messaging across display and social, guiding consumers further down the funnel and maximising results (26% lift in sales, >2x ad engagement on social from DOOH exposure)
Stake, a leading digital brokerage, launched an omnichannel campaign centered on DOOH to boost brand recognition, drive mobile app downloads and deepen engagement with existing customers. The campaign delivered a +219% lift in mobile app installs and a 54% purchase-to-install rate, demonstrating the impact of integrated DOOH and digital channels.
Why this matters for 2026
Omnichannel planning recognises that audiences move fluidly between screens. DOOH provides both continuity and amplification, making it an essential touchpoint for modern media strategies.
4. Creative Impact: Using Context, Format, and Innovation
Creativity remains one of DOOH’s most powerful levers. The medium offers unmatched opportunities for contextual relevance and large-scale visual impact. The most successful executions pair strong creative strategy with environments that enhance meaning.
By targeting key financial tenants and running in LEED-certified buildings, National Bank aligned its sustainability message with its environment in a way audiences clearly understood, further reinforcing the impact with complementary on-screen sustainability content timed to launch on Earth Day.
Captivate –FanDuel/PC Financial
Both campaigns leveraged elevator-specific context, using messaging tailored to the daily rhythms of workplace buildings to increase relevance and recall. In FanDuel’s case, sponsorship of on-screen content felt especially contextual, with ads aligned to highlights from the 4 Nations international NHL tournament.
Pattison – Edo Japan (3D DOOH)
A standout example of format innovation. Edo Japan used 3D creative to command attention and spark organic social sharing. The execution demonstrated that DOOH can deliver cultural moments that audiences want to talk about.
Voilà’s weather‑responsive DOOH brought fresh, contextually relevant creative to life right where grocery decisions happen, driving standout engagement across Ontario and Quebec with tailored bilingual messaging. The campaign delivered strong results, including+9% brand awareness, +34% consideration, and +42% purchase intent lifts, proving creative relevance drives impact in the real world.
Kamik leveraged weather‑triggered DOOH creative to deliver the right message in the right moment—showcasing rain, snow and extreme cold visuals precisely when local conditions matched, making its boot imagery deeply relevant to commuters in Montreal and Toronto.
Why this matters for 2026
Creative that responds to its environment, uses dynamic formats, or introduces new visual techniques contributes directly to campaign effectiveness. DOOH’s creative canvas is growing, and so are the opportunities for marketers.
5. Social Integration: Turning Screens Into Shareable Moments
Social amplification is redefining what DOOH success looks like. Campaigns that extend beyond the screen and into digital culture generate new layers of impact.
TikTok’s Out-of-Phone (OOP) extension is one of the clearest examples of this shift. DOOH content becomes discoverable in feed environments where creators, communities, and broader audiences amplify its reach.
- Destination Toronto (OOP Ad Extension)
- Cesars Canine (OOP Ad Extension)
- Samsung S24 Series Launch (OOP Ad Extension)
- Nissin Cup Noodles (OOP Ad Extension)
- Sephora Case Study (OOP Retail)
- Outback Steakhouse (OOP Missions)
- Volkswagen Case Study (OOP Missions)
- Supercell Squad BustersNew Title Launch (OOP Missions)
These cases demonstrate how physical placements can evolve into digital stories. The result is extended reach, higher engagement, and cultural relevance that outlives the campaign flight.
Why this matters for 2026
When DOOH becomes social content, the value of each impression increases. It creates a bridge between public space and personal screens that marketers can leverage at scale.
6. Scale and Coverage: Delivering National Reach with Consistency
For many brands, DOOH’s ability to scale across markets is central to campaign planning. National consistency, cross-network coverage, and unified measurement practices are key indicators of a mature ecosystem.
To boost global tourism, Tourism Fiji launched a multi-market programmatic DOOH campaign across the US, Canada and Australia, reaching audiences at scale and driving significant lifts in travel intent — 162% in the US, 82% in Canada, and 85% in Australia.
After expanding its Canadian dealer network, Mitsubishi Motors activated DOOH in 96 cities to reach drivers at scale where they live, work and make decisions, ultimately driving double- and triple-digit lifts in awareness, consideration and purchase intent.
Why this matters for 2026
Scalable DOOH solutions allow advertisers to plan with confidence. National reach, paired with unified measurement, positions DOOH as a reliable and repeatable part of the media mix.
Conclusion
Success in DOOH for 2026 can be defined by six pillars:
- Clear attribution that connects exposure to meaningful action
- Proven performance across the full marketing funnel
- Strong omnichannel integration that enhances overall campaign impact
- Creative execution that leverages context and format
- Social amplification that extends DOOH into digital environments
- Scalable reach across networks and markets
Together, these case studies reflect a medium that is more accountable, more creative, and more connected than ever before. DOOH’s evolution is accelerating, and Canadian marketers are already shaping what the next stage of growth will look like.
