What are examples of lift influenced by digital out of home ads?

Short answer

Digital out of home ads drive measurable lift across sales, footfall, brand awareness, website traffic, and app installs. Examples include a 21% ad recall lift for Mazda, a 9% store visit increase for McDonald's, and an 80% purchase intent lift for Sea-Doo, all attributed to DOOH exposure.

Sales and purchase intent lift

Sales lift measures the incremental increase in purchases attributable to ad exposure. Dynamic, contextually triggered DOOH creative has proven especially effective here.

Sea-Doo ran a weather-triggered DOOH campaign that achieved an 80% lift in purchase intent by serving ads dynamically based on local conditions, per publicly reported campaign results. McDonald's used similar weather-based targeting in the Philippines and recorded a 9% increase in store visits, reflecting a corresponding uplift in sales from timely, temperature-linked promotions, per publicly reported campaign results.

A gaming console campaign placed DOOH screens within a five-mile radius of electronics retailers and combined them with mobile retargeting. DOOH alone produced a 69% increase in store visitation. When paired with mobile retargeting, that figure rose to 127%, directly driving sales uplift. The pattern across these campaigns is consistent: creative that matches the consumer's immediate environment creates urgency and relevance that static formats cannot replicate.

Footfall and store visit lift

Footfall lift, meaning more people walking through a physical location, is measured by comparing mobile location data from individuals exposed to DOOH ads with their subsequent visits to retail locations. GPS signals, Wi-Fi beacons, and mobile device detection all contribute to this attribution.

The gaming console campaign's 69% visitation increase from DOOH alone illustrates the channel's direct pull on store traffic. McDonald's 9% store visit gain came from dynamic content that prompted immediate in-store action. An interactive UK campaign displaying real-time pollution data attracted more than 2,500 visitors in a single weekend.

Programmatic DOOH strengthens these results by enabling geo-fencing and location-based targeting that concentrates ad spend around specific stores or neighborhoods, making each impression more likely to convert to a physical visit.

Brand awareness and ad recall lift

Brand lift studies measure improvements in awareness, recall, consideration, and purchase intent by surveying exposed audiences against control groups. Geo-location data identifies which respondents were likely in range of the campaign, tightening the comparison.

Mazda's programmatic DOOH campaign achieved a 21% lift in aided ad recall and a 24% increase in brand perception, per publicly reported campaign results. The campaign targeted custom audiences and selected DOOH locations based on where those audiences were most likely to be found. An online delivery service reported a 9% brand awareness increase following a DOOH campaign integrated with mobile and social efforts. A virtual dog training app saw notable brand awareness gains through the same multi-channel approach.

High-traffic placements, including transit hubs, busy streets, and shopping centers, combined with dynamic creative, consistently produce stronger recall than static formats because the executions feel relevant to the viewer's context in that moment.

Website traffic and app install lift

DOOH can bridge physical exposure to digital action through QR codes, on-screen URLs, and "search for..." prompts that carry a viewer from a billboard to a browser or app store.

The virtual dog training app ran an augmented reality DOOH campaign that generated the highest website traffic the startup had recorded, with users prompted to purchase training services online after interacting with the ad. The same campaign drove app downloads and new customer acquisition. McDonald's "Crave and Claim" DOOH campaign drove app downloads and online coupon redemptions through dynamic, location-based offers.

A separate online delivery service achieved a 10% increase in app use after a DOOH campaign targeting commuters during peak meal times. While DOOH is rarely the sole driver of app installs, it functions as a high-visibility complement to mobile and paid social, reaching consumers in moments when other digital formats cannot.

How AdQuick handles DOOH lift measurement

DOOH advertising on AdQuick gives buyers access to programmatic inventory with the targeting and measurement tools that make lift attribution possible. Campaigns can be geo-fenced to specific locations, layered with audience data, and optimized using foot traffic, brand lift, and digital attribution reporting. Buyers plan, purchase, and measure from a single platform, connecting physical ad exposure to the online and in-store outcomes that matter most to their business goals.