Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is continuing to experience increased relevance in the media landscape. Here at home in Canada and across the globe, OOH has grown year-over-year, and that growth does not appear to be relenting anytime soon. Audiences are constantly on the move and are measurably using key touchpoints like public transit at an increased pace. The convergence of audience with real-world OOH placements and installations is making an impact at a time when digital fatigue is commonplace.

Canadians have been chasing in-person experiences such as live sporting events, visiting amusement parks, and more. Attractions like Canada’s Wonderland (up 66 per cent) and the Rogers Centre (up 55 per cent) have seen consistent increases in visitors over 2024,¹ demonstrating that Canadians are seeking more exciting in-person moments. Likewise, ticket sales at cinemas and the theatre have significantly increased in the same timeline by 149 per cent and 153 per cent, respectively, ¹ making the case that Canadians crave cultural enrichment and ways to spend time with friends and family outside the home, where OOH and digital OOH placements engage and influence audiences by building trust and authenticity.

The Canadian OOH Marketing and Measurement Bureau (COMMB) released its first revenue benchmarking report on the Canadian OOH industry, aggregating revenue for 2024 and 2025 with some remarkable results. Between 2024 and 2025, the Canadian OOH industry performed well above projections, growing 30 per cent more than analysts had projected. In 2025, OOH in Canada grew 5.8 per cent year-over-year, with digital OOH growing by 11.5 per cent and being a driving force in our industry.² The combined total spend on OOH advertising in Canada for 2025 was $842 million, which is a 6.5 per cent increase over the previous year’s $790 million.²

With more people on the move for work or recreation, there’s been a dramatic rise in the use of public transit. In Ontario, ridership on various Greater Toronto Area (GTA) transit networks, the TTC and GO, has seen big increases. GO Bus and GO Train ridership spiked by 223 per cent and 165 per cent, respectively.¹ Alberta has also seen an increase of more than three times its ridership for the Calgary LRT, and Edmonton Transit has experienced a 63 per cent increase in ridership since 2024.³

Couple that with the effectiveness of transit advertising in Canada; 63 per cent of Canadians have noticed an ad on transit vehicles or billboards this spring, marking a 33 per cent increase in attention since 2024.⁴

OOH’s growing position and continued relevance to audiences today are built on its trusted, real-world presence that creates authenticity due to frequent, repeated sightings and natural placement in the environment. Thirty-one
per cent of consumers trust OOH advertising—higher than social media.⁵ Whereas online channels are experiencing unique challenges, such as generative AI appearing at the top of web searches, reducing the click-through rate by giving users the answers they are looking for.

Agentic AI is also contributing to the growing issue of invalid traffic for online social media platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn, and X. Invalid traffic is when bots interact with online ads, creating clicks that are not generated by a human user, blurring the effectiveness and the results of online campaigns. Meanwhile, OOH’s measurement tools produce clear and effective results that are not disrupted by AI tools and other distractions.

OOH advertising is uniquely positioned to provide brand-safe, impactful, and measurable return on investment for brands in an increasingly oversaturated and inefficient online landscape, making it an essential component to any marketing strategy for today and tomorrow.

Notes

¹ Learn more: Vividata Spring 2023-2026 trending Toronto CMA: https://vividata.ca/our-data/study-of-the-canadian-consumer/

² Read COMMB’s first OOH revenue benchmarking report: https://commb.ca/en-CA/annual-reports/ and https://mediaincanada.com/2026/02/24/commb-first-ooh-benchmarkreport/

³ Discover Vividata Spring SCC 2024 vs. 2026: https://vividata.ca/our-data/study-of-the-canadian-consumer/

⁴ Study the impacts of OOH in Vividata Spring 2024-2026, trending Toronto/Vancouver CMA

⁵ See Marketers Media: What Is OOH Advertising and Why It Still Works

William Dixon is a marketing content specialist with PATTISON Outdoor. He creates and writes for client-facing materials to promote the company’s catalogue of products.