Commentary

Need To Bone Up On Digital Out-of-Home Measurement? Try The IAB

by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, 9 hours ago

While it doesn't focus explicitly on planning or buying the medium, a very comprehensive guide has just been released for advertising and media pros who want to geek out on one of the fastest growing forms of digital media -- the out-of-home kind.

Interestingly, the just-released "Digital Out-of-Home Measurement Guide" was not published by either the OAAA (Out-of-Home Advertising Association of America) or the DPAA (Digital Place-based Advertising Association), but a trade association normally associated with online media, the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau).

That said, the guide is a great primer for anyone who wants to understand the current parameters for measuring a multitude of digital out-of-home audience experiences, including both quantitative, as well as qualitative, as well as the burgeoning "attention" metrics marketplace.

You can read it in its entirety here, but here's some quick infographics to give you an idea.

3 comments about "Need To Bone Up On Digital Out-of-Home Measurement? Try The IAB".

Check to receive email when comments are posted.

Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, July 14, 2025 at 12:28 p.m.
As expected, reporting on whether the person who was "present" actually saw the ad is "optional". What a surprise.
Reply

Tony Jarvis from Olympic Media Consultancy, July 14, 2025 at 6:36 p.m.

To expand on Ed,"s point, this latest IAB measurement document and the chart referenced contain basic media measurement flaws and contradict the evolution, principles, definitions and metrics derivations of OOH measurement well established by OOH JICs globally over the past 20+ years. These are embraced by GeoPath in the US and were initially developed by ROUTE (formerly Poststar in the UK). I sat on the technical committees of both organisations.
It does however echo the fundamental flaws contained in the recently released IAB's Retail Media Measurement Guidelines notably regarding the section on OOH, including DOOH, measurement. These flaws were formally brought to IABs attention by several industry experts but were summarily ignored despite offers to review and discuss the basic errors and consequently protect retail media from the IAB's missteps.
So Joe, with respect. the proper headline should unequivocally be, "Digital OOH Measurement? Ignore the IAB!"

Fraser E from Opinions expressed herein are solely my own, July 14, 2025 at 6:48 p.m.

"Impression Multiplier" seems to be a fancy way of saying "BS Factor"