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Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 – 9:00 am. In a significant move to bridge the gap between traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising and the burgeoning world of programmatic buying, the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) today announced a major update to its OpenOOH venue taxonomy. This revised framework, an evolution of the standard first introduced in 2020, aims to provide programmatic buyers with the granular detail and transparency they demand, thereby unlocking new avenues for OOH inventory integration within omnichannel marketing strategies.
The announcement marks a critical juncture for the OOH industry, which has demonstrated robust recovery and growth in recent years, even as its programmatic penetration has lagged behind other digital channels. Traditionally, OOH inventory has been categorized by broad venue types, such as "retail" or "transit." While this served the direct-sold market, it proved insufficient for programmatic buyers who require precise information about the exact environments and audience context associated with each digital out-of-home (DOOH) screen. The OAAA’s initiative directly addresses this deficiency, seeking to democratize access to OOH inventory and align it more closely with the sophisticated targeting capabilities of programmatic platforms, particularly those used for retail media and connected TV (CTV) campaigns.
Addressing the Programmatic Precision Gap
The core of the OAAA’s innovation lies in its enhanced classification system. The updated OpenOOH taxonomy introduces a hierarchical, "parent/children/grandchildren" schema. This structure allows media owners to meticulously classify their inventory, moving beyond generic labels to specific locations within venues. For instance, a digital screen previously categorized simply as "transit" can now be precisely identified as "transit/airports/baggage claim." This level of detail is crucial for programmatic buyers seeking to execute highly targeted campaigns.
"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. "The previous taxonomy, while a step in the right direction, often relied on free-text fields for granular detail. These fields, while offering flexibility, are notoriously difficult for programmatic systems to parse accurately due to inconsistencies in application across different platforms and publishers. The new, structured taxonomy eliminates this guesswork."
Anna Bager, President and CEO of the OAAA, emphasized the strategic imperative behind this update. "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. OOH has rebounded significantly since the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, showcasing 18 consecutive quarters of ad revenue growth. In Q3 of last year, for example, advertisers invested $2.13 billion, marking a new record for the third quarter. However, OOH largely remains a direct-sold channel. Open-auction programmatic accounts for only a fraction of OOH ad spend, a reality partly attributable to the lack of precision in how OOH inventory has been classified, which hasn’t met the expectations of programmatic advertisers."
Evolution of the OpenOOH Standard
The development of this enhanced taxonomy is the culmination of extensive work by the OpenOOH Taxonomy Working Group, which collaborated throughout the past year. Following the release of the updated specification, this working group will be formally integrated into the OAAA Taxonomy Committee. This committee will be responsible for the ongoing development, maintenance, and evolution of the OOH taxonomy standard, ensuring its continued relevance and effectiveness in the dynamic advertising landscape.
Purayil further elaborated on the technical implications of the new standard: "The old OOH taxonomy did allow media owners and SSPs to leverage OpenRTB’s ‘venueTypeString’ – a free text field – to manually input more specific details about an OOH screen’s location. However, as mentioned, the inherent inconsistency of free-text fields makes them a significant hurdle for programmatic systems. To ensure accuracy and streamline the buying process, the new standard deprecates the ‘venueTypeString’ field, replacing it with a structured, hierarchical approach."
The OAAA’s initiative is expected to have a ripple effect across the programmatic ecosystem. AdExchanger reached out to the IAB Tech Lab, the organization responsible for the OpenRTB specification, to inquire about their plans for incorporating the new OOH taxonomy and deprecating legacy fields. While no response was received by the time of publication, industry observers anticipate that the IAB Tech Lab will likely integrate these advancements to ensure interoperability and broader adoption.
Democratizing OOH for Omnichannel Campaigns
The implications of a more granular OOH taxonomy extend far beyond mere technical improvements; they promise to democratize access to OOH inventory and enhance its utility within sophisticated omnichannel strategies. With more precise categories, advertisers can achieve unprecedented levels of targeting and contextual relevance.
"With more detailed categories, advertisers can zero in on the OOH inventory they want to use for omnichannel audience extension," Purayil explained. "Consider CPG brands, for example. They can now target the specific types of stores where their products are actually sold, rather than being confined to the broad ‘retail’ category. This allows for a much more accurate and effective allocation of marketing spend."
The granularity also offers advertisers greater flexibility in defining the exact placement of their ads within a venue. For instance, a potato chip brand might specifically target street-facing displays mounted in the windows of neighborhood bodegas, aiming for impulse purchases from passersby. Conversely, a pharmaceutical brand might prefer screens located near pharmacy counters within drug stores, targeting consumers actively seeking health-related solutions.
This enhanced precision also helps advertisers avoid what Purayil terms "sorta CTV" OOH placements – digital screens that resemble CTV environments, such as TVs mounted in bars. "A brand whose CTV creative is heavily reliant on sound will likely prefer to skip those environments," he noted. "On the other hand, a brand targeting sports fans with ad creative where audio is less critical might deliberately target these ‘sorta CTV’ inventory placements to broaden their reach and connect with their audience in a relevant context."
By enabling such distinctions, the new taxonomy addresses concerns from both buy- and sell-sides regarding the aggregation of vastly different types of OOH inventory. Advertisers gain access to more relevant media, while publishers can more effectively demonstrate the intrinsic value of their inventory, confident that mismatched placements are not negatively impacting campaign performance.
Empowering Smaller Publishers and Driving Open Marketplace Adoption
Beyond empowering large advertisers, the updated taxonomy is poised to level the playing field for smaller, more niche OOH publishers. These smaller players often lack the brand recognition and established direct sales teams of larger entities like OUTFRONT Media, making it challenging for agency buyers to understand and integrate their inventory into planned campaigns.
"Large OOH platforms have an advantage because they are well-known to specialist agencies and have established direct sales teams. Agency buyers understand how these larger networks organize their inventory and can plan accordingly. Smaller OOH publishers, by contrast, often lack that established rapport and clarity," Purayil observed. "However, by adopting the new taxonomy, smaller publishers can make their OOH inventory significantly easier to activate programmatically."
This improved accessibility can foster greater participation in the open auction and private marketplace (PMP) deals, moving revenue away from solely direct-sold channels. "The revenue is already flowing heavily through the private marketplace side," Purayil commented. "But this updated taxonomy could potentially shift some of that revenue into the open marketplace, provided it aligns with advertiser objectives and offers a compelling value proposition."
The OAAA’s proactive approach in refining its OpenOOH taxonomy reflects a broader industry trend towards greater standardization and interoperability in programmatic advertising. By providing a more precise and structured language for describing OOH inventory, the association is not only addressing current market demands but also laying the groundwork for future innovations and the continued growth of programmatic OOH advertising. The anticipated integration of this taxonomy into global programmatic standards, such as OpenRTB, will further solidify its impact and ensure its widespread adoption across the digital advertising ecosystem. The OOH industry’s commitment to programmatic readiness, exemplified by this taxonomy update, signals a confident stride towards a more integrated and efficient future for advertising.
