VIOOH has unveiled its latest “State of the Nation” research, highlighting strong growth momentum for programmatic digital out-of-home (prDOOH) across the Middle East, with first-time insights from the region.
The study indicates that prDOOH has quickly become a key media channel in markets such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Over the past 18 months, 34% of campaigns in these markets have included prDOOH—on par with global averages. This figure is expected to rise to 46% in the next 18 months.
Investment in prDOOH is projected to increase by an average of 42%, reflecting a shift from early experimentation to sustained, large-scale adoption. Among marketers planning to boost spending, 93% intend to reallocate funds from existing digital budgets, while 64% expect to divert spend from traditional media. Additionally, 22% anticipate fresh budget allocation, increasing to 27% in Qatar—signalling incremental growth rather than mere redistribution.
Jean-Christophe Conti, Chief Executive Officer, VIOOH, said, “The Middle East’s debut in VIOOH’s State of the Nation research confirms what we have been seeing on the ground: this is a market with serious momentum. A 42 per cent forecast increase in prDOOH investment, with 88 per cent of activity already sitting within digital and programmatic workflows, indicates that the region has moved through the early-adopter phase and is now scaling with intent.”
Conti added, “Marketers across Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not just running more prDOOH advertising campaigns, they are planning with deeper data integration, more dynamic creative and tighter omni-channel alignment. The foundations are in place, and our focus is now on helping the industry capture every opportunity prDOOH unlocks.”
The research highlights that 67% of marketers associate prDOOH with flexibility in delivering campaigns under optimal conditions, surpassing traditional DOOH at 62%. The ability to adjust campaigns in real time—based on audience, location, and timing—has emerged as a key advantage, helping brands optimise spend and improve effectiveness.
Dynamic creative optimisation (DCO) is considered critical by 66% of marketers, enabling contextual messaging, faster testing, and improved engagement. Additionally, prDOOH outperforms DOOH in driving emotional impact, with 62% of marketers linking it to positive audience response compared to 51% for traditional formats.
prDOOH is increasingly integrated into broader digital ecosystems. Around 88% of marketers report including it within wider programmatic or digital campaigns, while 67% plan deeper multi-channel integration in the future. Social media remains the most common companion channel, used alongside prDOOH in 89% of performance campaigns and 90% of brand campaigns.
Data-driven targeting is central to this growth, with location targeting (60%) and audience targeting (58%) identified as key factors. First-party data and product affinity insights are also considered valuable inputs for campaign optimisation.
Campaign execution is largely national (51%), followed by regional (31%) and global (17%) activity, reflecting the need for tailored, market-specific strategies. Saudi Arabia shows a stronger national focus, while Qatar leans more toward regional campaigns, and the UAE maintains a balanced mix.
Looking ahead, 68% of marketers plan to build deeper prDOOH expertise, 67% aim to strengthen cross-channel integration, and around two-thirds intend to increase usage of dynamic creative and trigger-based buying.
The report also identifies curated marketplaces as a major enabler for future growth. These solutions simplify access to fragmented inventory by allowing buyers to activate a single deal ID, reducing complexity and improving efficiency. Around 58% of marketers in the region are likely to adopt curated marketplace solutions within the next 18 months, with the highest interest in the UAE.
Overall, the findings point to a market transitioning from early adoption to a more advanced, performance-driven phase, with prDOOH playing a central role in integrated, data-led media strategies.
