This marks the highest-ever third-quarter performance for the sector. Year-to-date growth stands at 4.6%.

Digital OOH accounted for 33.2% of total sales in the quarter, rising by 7.3% year-over-year. The Transit category led growth with an 8.3% increase, followed by Street Furniture at 7.3%.

Four of the top ten product categories saw double-digit growth: Automotive Dealers & Services (+18%), Retail (+17.7%), Local Services & Amusements (+13.4%), and Government, Politics & Organizations (+11%).

Political spending in OOH surged by 31.6% compared to the same quarter of the previous presidential election cycle in 2020. Campaign spending saw dramatic increases across several areas: ballot issues (+60.7%), U.S. House and Senate races (+184.3%), and the presidential race (+4075.8%).

The top OOH advertisers for Q3 included McDonald’s, Apple, Verizon, Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Morgan & Morgan Attorneys, Heineken, Coca-Cola, Universal Pictures, and T-Mobile.

Over half of the top 100 OOH advertisers increased their spending during the quarter, with 17 doubling their investments. These included Party City, Smart & Final, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, GlaxoSmithKline, Walmart, ABC, David Yurman, Nike, StackAdapt, Verizon, Total Wine & More, Meta, Sixt, Heineken, Max, and 7-Eleven.

The Out of Home Advertising Association derives its revenue estimates from sources such as Miller Kaplan, MediaRadar/Vivvix, and affidavits from member companies. Cinema data for September was excluded due to its unavailability from Vivvix.

Commenting on this, Anna Bager, President and CEO, OAAA said, “We are excited to see another record-breaking quarter for OOH, underscoring its enduring relevance and effectiveness in today’s media landscape. With digital OOH driving significant gains and urban formats reflecting return to office trends, we’re seeing OOH’s unique ability to adapt and thrive in changing environments.”