Programmatic DOOH Glossary: A Practical Guide to Outdoor Advertising

The out-of-home advertising (OOH) ecosystem and its programmatic version—programmatic DOOH or pDOOH—use technical terms that can confuse advertisers, planners, and creatives. This glossary clearly explains the most relevant concepts so you can plan, buy, and measure outdoor advertising campaigns more effectively.

Last update: November 12, 2025

Glossary (Alphabetical Order) — Terms and Definitions

Recent technological advances in the industry can be somewhat confusing at first sight. That’s why we created an extensive list of the most common vocabulary you will encounter in the OOH and programmatic DOOH ecosystem. Browse through them one by one, or jump directly to the term you’re most interested in.

Glossary:

Ad Exchange
A platform that connects supply (SSP/publishers) and demand (DSP/advertisers) to buy and sell ad inventory in an automated way.

Ad Server
A system that stores, manages, and delivers ad creatives to screens or environments, while also recording impressions and basic stats.

Advertising Inventory
The set of advertising spaces available on DOOH screens (billboards, street furniture, shopping malls, transit, etc.) that can be sold.

Audience Segment
A defined set of people with shared characteristics (age, interests, mobility behavior) targeted in a campaign. Explore more

Attribution
Methods to assign credit to channels or touchpoints for a conversion or campaign goal (e.g., last click, multi-touch models, or incrementality tests).

Bid
The monetary value a buyer (DSP) offers for an impression in a programmatic auction.

Bidding (RTB)
The real-time process where DSPs bid for impressions in open or private auctions.

Brand Safety
Measures to ensure ads do not appear alongside harmful or inappropriate content.

Call to Action (CTA)
A creative element inviting users to take action (e.g., scan a QR code, visit a store) from a DOOH ad.

Campaign Duration
The period or time blocks during which a campaign is active.

CPM (Cost Per Mille)
The price an advertiser pays for every 1,000 impressions. A common metric to evaluate exposure cost in DOOH and other media.

CPA / CPE (Pricing Models)
CPA = cost per action/conversion.
CPE = cost per engagement. Models vary according to campaign goals.

Creative
The ad file or set of files (image, video, HTML) is displayed on a screen.

Creative Specs
Technical requirements (resolution, duration, codec, formats) that creatives must meet to be uploaded and played.

Cross-Device Tracking
The ability to connect a user’s interactions across different devices for measurement and attribution.

Dayparting
Time-based targeting that allows creatives to be displayed during specific time slots (morning, rush hour, night, etc.). Explore more

Demand-Side Platform (DSP)

A platform that allows advertisers/agencies to buy programmatic inventory, optimize bidding, and manage targeting in real time. Explore more

DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimization)
Technology that generates or adapts creatives in real time based on data (weather, time of day, audience, inventory) to personalize the message. Explore more

DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home)
Digital advertising displayed on out-of-home screens: digital billboards, transit screens, shopping malls, and more.

Footfall
The number of people passing by a location or nearby area; a key metric for measuring physical audience exposure.

Geofencing
The creation of a virtual geographic perimeter (circle or polygon) to activate or measure campaigns in that area. Explore more

Geotargeting
Delivering impressions to specific geographic locations (city, neighborhood, radius around a point of interest).

GRP / TRP (Gross/Target Rating Points)
Metrics combining reach and frequency; TRPs are more specific to target audiences.

Heatmap
A visual representation of traffic or exposure intensity in locations, useful for planning ad placements.

Impression
Each time a creative is displayed on a screen and available to be seen by the public.

Impact
Each time an ad is effectively seen by a person passing in front of a screen.

Incrementality
Analysis to measure the additional impact (sales, visits) generated by a campaign compared to a scenario without the campaign.

Inventory Type
Different screen formats and placements (premium large format, retail, transit), which affect price and objectives. Explore more

Location Intelligence
Data and models that help understand human behavior in space (flows, POIs, patterns) to optimize targeting.

SSP (Supply-Side Platform)
A platform that helps screen owners manage and sell their inventory programmatically. Operates on the “supply” side of the market. Explore more.

Multi-Touch Attribution
A model that distributes credit across several touchpoints in the customer journey.

Programmatic Guaranteed
A programmatic deal with reserved inventory and predefined conditions (price and volume guaranteed).

Open Auction
A public auction where multiple DSPs bid in real time for impressions.

Opportunity To See (OTS)
An estimate of how many times an audience has the opportunity to view an ad; a traditional OOH metric.

OOH (Out-of-Home)
Advertising media displayed outside the home —includes static formats (traditional OOH) and digital formats (DOOH). Explore more

Point of Interest (POI)
A physical location of relevance (stores, stations, restaurants) used for geotargeting and campaign planning.

Pixel / Tag
Code snippet used for tracking; in DOOH, measurement relies more on third-party data (footfall, mobile IDs, sensors) and connectors like QR or deep links.

Programmatic
The automated buying and selling of inventory using algorithms and platforms (DSP, SSP, exchanges) instead of manual deals. Explore more

Programmatic DOOH (pDOOH)
The programmatic version of DOOH: automates buying, delivering, and optimizing DOOH ads in real time with DSPs/SSPs/Exchanges. Explore more

Proximity Targeting
Delivering ads to people located within a set proximity radius around a physical point.

Creative QA (Quality Assurance)
The process of verifying ad creatives before uploading them to screens (formats, readability, timings).

QR / NFC / Deep Link
Mechanisms to connect DOOH ads with digital experiences or measure interactions (QR scanning, contactless NFC, short links). Explore more

RTB (Real-Time Bidding)
An auction process where impressions are sold in milliseconds to the highest bidder.

SOV (Share of Voice)
The percentage of a brand’s advertising presence compared to competitors within the same environment or inventory.

Tagging / Tracking
Practices for recording impacts and actions linked to campaigns; in DOOH, usually combined with sensors and measurement partners.

Viewability
The metric that determines if an ad had a real chance of being seen (in DOOH defined by screen time and screen visibility).

Now you know the key terminology of the industry. It’s time to put it into practice.

With Taggify DSP you can:

• Launch programmatic DOOH campaigns in minutes.
  
  
• Target by location, weather, time slots, and POIs.
  
  
• Measure results with clear metrics and real attribution.

Contact us today and request a free demo to discover how to boost your next programmatic out-of-home campaign.