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Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 – 9:00 am
The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) has officially launched an updated version of its OpenOOH venue taxonomy, a significant move designed to bridge the gap between traditional out-of-home (OOH) inventory classification and the sophisticated demands of programmatic advertising. This revised taxonomy, an evolution of the standard first introduced in 2020, aims to provide programmatic buyers with the granular detail and transparency necessary to integrate OOH seamlessly into their omnichannel campaigns, particularly in alignment with the burgeoning retail media and Connected TV (CTV) sectors.
The strategic overhaul was announced today, with the OAAA also confirming the integration of its OpenOOH Taxonomy Working Group into its broader Taxonomy Committee. This consolidation signals a commitment to the ongoing development and maintenance of the standard, ensuring its continued relevance and effectiveness in a rapidly evolving digital advertising landscape.
Addressing the Programmatic Imperative
For years, the digital out-of-home (DOOH) industry has largely relied on broad venue-based categories, such as "retail" or "transit," to classify its diverse inventory. While this approach served the needs of direct sales and traditional media planning, it has become a significant impediment for programmatic buyers. These sophisticated buyers require precise information about the exact context and environment of the ad placements they are bidding on, a level of detail that generic categories fail to provide.
"Programmatic advertisers need an easier way to use OOH inventory as an extension of their omnichannel campaigns, particularly for retail media and CTV buys," stated Premesh Purayil, CTO at OOH publisher OUTFRONT Media, a prominent voice in the industry’s programmatic evolution. "The previous taxonomy was a good starting point, but it lacked the specificity required to truly unlock programmatic’s potential for OOH."
Anna Bager, President and CEO of the OAAA, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the strategic imperative for the industry to align with the growth trajectories of programmatic CTV and retail media. "By bringing OOH media classification more in line with programmatic buying, out-of-home publishers can capitalize on the recent explosion of programmatic CTV and retail media spend in recent years," Bager commented. "This is not just about adapting; it’s about seizing a significant growth opportunity."
A Resilient Industry Embraces Digital Advancement
The timing of this taxonomy update is particularly noteworthy, as the OOH industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth. Emerging from the significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, OOH has experienced a sustained period of ad revenue expansion. According to OAAA data, the sector has seen 18 consecutive quarters of year-over-year ad revenue growth. This upward trend was further evidenced in the third quarter of 2025, which saw a robust 4.5% year-over-year improvement, with advertisers investing a record $2.13 billion – the highest total ever recorded for a third quarter.
Despite this impressive rebound, OOH has historically remained a predominantly direct-sold channel. Open-auction programmatic transactions, while growing, still represent a relatively small fraction of overall OOH ad spend. A primary reason cited for this lag has been the aforementioned lack of precision in inventory classification, which has deterred programmatic buyers accustomed to highly specific targeting options.
The Power of Granularity: A New Hierarchical Schema
The cornerstone of the updated OpenOOH taxonomy is its introduction of a hierarchical "parent/children/grandchildren" schema. This structure allows media owners and publishers to classify their DOOH inventory with unprecedented detail directly within OpenRTB (Open Real-Time Bidding) bid requests.
For instance, a digital screen strategically placed in an airport baggage claim area can now be precisely tagged as "transit/airports/baggage claim." This moves far beyond the previous, generalized "transit" classification, offering buyers clear insights into the specific environment and audience composition.
Historically, the OOH taxonomy did permit the use of OpenRTB’s venueTypeString field, a free-text option that allowed for manual input of more detailed venue information. However, as Purayil explained, "Free text fields are inherently difficult for programmatic systems to parse accurately. They are prone to inconsistencies in application across different platforms and publishers, leading to a lack of standardization and reliability."
Recognizing this inherent limitation, the new taxonomy explicitly deprecates the venueTypeString field. By replacing it with a structured, hierarchical system, the OAAA eliminates the guesswork and ambiguity associated with free-text entries, paving the way for more reliable and efficient programmatic transactions.
AdExchanger reached out to the IAB Tech Lab, the standards body responsible for OpenRTB, to inquire about their plans for integrating the new OOH taxonomy and addressing the deprecation of legacy fields. While no immediate response was received prior to publication, industry observers anticipate a collaborative effort to ensure seamless integration into the broader programmatic ecosystem.
Democratizing Access and Enhancing Advertiser Control
The implications of this enhanced taxonomy are far-reaching, promising to democratize access to OOH inventory and empower advertisers with greater control over their campaigns.
"With more detailed categories, advertisers can zero in on the OOH inventory they want to use for omnichannel audience extension," Purayil elaborated. "For example, CPG brands could target the specific types of stores where their products are actually sold, rather than being confined to the broad ‘retail’ category. This allows for much more relevant and efficient media placement."
This granular approach extends to the precise location of ads within venues. A beverage brand might opt for street-facing displays outside convenience stores to capture impulse purchases, while a pharmaceutical company might prioritize screens located near pharmacy counters within drug stores, targeting consumers actively seeking health-related solutions.
Furthermore, the new taxonomy provides advertisers with the ability to actively manage their exposure to environments that may or may not align with their creative strategy. Purayil highlighted the ability to avoid or target "sorta CTV" OOH placements – for example, TVs mounted in bars.
"A brand whose CTV creative is heavily dependent on sound will likely prefer to skip those environments," he explained. "Conversely, a brand targeting sports fans with ad creative where the audio is less critical might deliberately target ‘sorta CTV’ inventory to broaden its reach and impact within a relevant context."
This nuanced distinction benefits both buyers and sellers. Advertisers gain access to more relevant media, ensuring their messages reach the intended audiences in appropriate contexts. Publishers, in turn, can more effectively demonstrate the unique value of their inventory, mitigating concerns that mismatched placements could negatively impact campaign performance.
Empowering Smaller Publishers and Streamlining Buys
Beyond enhancing targeting capabilities, the updated taxonomy is poised to level the playing field for smaller, more niche OOH publishers. Historically, larger OOH platforms have held an advantage due to their established relationships with specialist agencies and their dedicated direct sales teams. Agency buyers have a clear understanding of how these larger networks organize their inventory, facilitating easier planning and execution.
Smaller OOH publishers, however, often lack this inherent visibility and established infrastructure. By adopting the new OpenOOH taxonomy, these smaller players can significantly improve the accessibility and activation of their inventory through programmatic channels. This makes it easier for them to compete for ad spend that might otherwise be consolidated with larger entities.
The new standard also simplifies the process for advertisers looking to execute buys across a diverse mix of large and small publishers. It provides a more straightforward pathway for managing OOH within broader omnichannel programmatic buying flows, potentially shifting revenue from private marketplace deals towards more open auction environments where appropriate.
"The revenue is already flowing in heavily through the private marketplace side," Purayil acknowledged. "But this could potentially move some of that revenue into the open marketplace, if it makes sense for both buyers and sellers. It streamlines the process and makes OOH a more attractive and integrated part of the programmatic ecosystem."
The OAAA’s commitment to refining the OpenOOH taxonomy underscores the industry’s proactive approach to embracing digital transformation. By providing the foundational infrastructure for more precise and transparent programmatic trading, this initiative is poised to accelerate the growth of DOOH and solidify its position as a critical component of the modern advertising mix. The industry’s continued focus on data-driven classification and programmatic integration signals a bright future for out-of-home advertising, offering enhanced value and performance for advertisers and publishers alike.
