AdQuick aggregates SF's 9,500+ digital screens -- SoMa, the Financial District, Union Square, SFO, BART/Muni, the Embarcadero, and place-based networks in offices and gyms -- into one plan-buy-measure platform. CPMs $6 programmatic to $42+ on Union Square and Embarcadero LEDs; from $1,500 through Dreamforce and RSA takeovers.
Campaigns activate from $1,500 on programmatic DSPs up into seven-figure Dreamforce, Super Bowl, and Warriors playoff takeovers. San Francisco is the sixth-largest US DMA when combined with Oakland and San Jose as the Bay Area metro, and home to the highest-CPM tech B2B inventory in the US.
DOOH Advertising in San Francisco
DOOH advertising in San Francisco covers 10,000+ digital screens across Union Square, SOMA, Financial District, Marina, and Mission LEDs, BART rail and Muni transit, San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate corridors, US-101 / I-280 / I-80 digital bulletins, Oracle Park (Giants), Chase Center (Warriors), and thousands of place-based screens across tech offices, gyms, bars, and restaurants. SF also hosts Ballyhoo Media's newly launched San Francisco water-based DOOH network on the Bay (from 2025) — a format uniquely available among major West Coast markets. CPMs range from $5 on programmatic open exchange to $35+ on Union Square, Financial District, and SOMA premium LEDs.
Most SF DOOH plans blend four inventory layers.
Union Square, Financial District, SOMA (incl. Salesforce Tower corridor), Marina, Mission, Hayes Valley.
BART, Muni (trolleys / streetcars / buses), SFO, Transbay Transit Center.
US-101, I-280, I-80, Bay Bridge corridor.
Oracle Park, Chase Center, Ballyhoo Media Bay boats, offices, gyms, restaurants.
SF concentrates the highest density of technology headquarters in the US within just 47 square miles — home to the highest-CPM tech B2B inventory in the country.
SF carries some of the highest DOOH CPMs in the US outside of NYC, reflecting the density of high-value tech and luxury audiences. The table below reflects AdQuick marketplace rates and SF benchmarks for Q2 2026.
| Venue Category | Typical SF CPM | Monthly SOV Range | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Square premium LEDs | $25–$35+ | $14K–$50K | Luxury, fashion, flagship awareness |
| Financial District / Market Street | $22–$32 | $12K–$40K | B2B, finance, tech conference windows |
| SOMA / Salesforce Tower / Transbay corridor | $22–$32+ | $12K–$45K | Tech B2B, SaaS, conferences (Dreamforce) |
| Marina / Chestnut Street / Pacific Heights | $18–$28 | $9K–$32K | Affluent residential, luxury consumer |
| Mission / Valencia / Dolores corridor | $14–$22 | $6K–$20K | Creative, DTC, multicultural, young-adult |
| Hayes Valley / Castro / SoMa-adjacent | $14–$22 | $6K–$20K | DTC, creative, LGBTQ+ reach |
| SFO airport screens | $25–$45 | $12K–$50K | International, tech executive, luxury inbound |
| BART rail platforms + Muni | $10–$18 | $4K–$16K per cluster | Commuter, tech workforce |
| Digital bus shelters (JCDecaux / OUTFRONT) | $7–$14 | $2.5K–$9K | Pedestrian, transit |
| US-101 / I-280 / I-80 digital bulletins | $8–$16 | $4K–$16K per unit | Reach, tech-commuter frequency |
| Bay Bridge corridor + Oakland / East Bay bulletins | $7–$15 | $4K–$14K | Bay Area reach, Oakland-to-SF commuter |
| Oracle Park / Chase Center event-adjacent | $14–$24 | $5K–$18K | Giants, Warriors, concerts |
| Ballyhoo Media water-based (SF Bay) | $20–$40 | $10K–$35K (event-window) | Bay spectacle, event-driven, tourism |
| Office lobby / elevator screens (Captivate) | $15–$28 | $5K–$18K | B2B tech, fintech, enterprise SaaS |
| Retail media in-store screens | $8–$25 | Varies | Shopper marketing, CPG |
| Place-based (gyms, bars, restaurants) | $9–$18 | $2.5K–$10K | DTC, tech-adjacent, wellness |
| Programmatic open exchange (blended) | $5–$14 | N/A (impression-based) | Always-on, mid-funnel |
Four pricing models apply; always clarify which is being quoted:
Standard for programmatic and most place-based.
Monthly flat rate for X% of loop on a given screen or cluster.
Some networks price per insertion.
PG deals on Vistar, Place Exchange, VIOOH.
SF's activated DOOH clusters span Downtown's Union Square and FiDi core, SOMA's tech conference territory, Mission Bay's post-2015 buildout, the Mission's creative core, and the full Peninsula–Oakland–Bay Area extension.
SF is the single most programmatic-mature DOOH market in the US, reflecting its tech audience's preference for data-driven buying. Every major DSP maintains premium SF inventory.
Full-stack DOOH DSP with access to every major SF media owner, Ballyhoo water-based inventory, and every programmatic SSP — direct and programmatic in one seat. Extends plans across the full Bay Area.
Leading pDOOH DSP with deep SF inventory, strong on SOMA office networks and place-based.
Broadsign's programmatic DSP.
JCDecaux's global pDOOH platform; strong on SFO airport and premium street furniture.
Multi-channel DSP with DOOH integrations.
OpenPath DOOH inventory path.
Omnichannel DSP with DOOH supply.
DOOH platform.
DOOH integrations via Amazon Ads DSP.
Broadsign's supply-side platform.
OUTFRONT's SSP, strong on BART and Muni.
JCDecaux's SSP, strong on SFO and premium street furniture.
Sell-side supply for pDOOH networks.
Strong on SOMA office networks and place-based.
| Deal Type | How It Works | SF Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Open exchange | Auction-based, any buyer wins | Budget-efficient always-on; fringe and some place-based |
| Private marketplace (PMP) | Invite-only auction, curated | Tech B2B PMPs, luxury category exclusivity |
| Programmatic guaranteed (PG) | Fixed price, reserved impressions | Union Square, SOMA, SFO, Salesforce Tower reserved at scale |
SF DOOH measurement combines Geopath visibility-adjusted impressions with tech B2B audience delivery verification — panel-based reach against specific tech company employee mobile panels, a capability uniquely valuable for SOMA-focused campaigns.
Geopath is the OAAA-backed measurement standard; every major SF media owner reports Geopath visibility-adjusted impressions.
Core SF DOOH KPIs: visibility-adjusted impressions, reach & frequency against target audiences (tech, luxury, tourist, affluent resident), CPM/eCPM, foot traffic lift to Union Square/SOMA/Marina/Mission/event destinations, share of voice within a corridor.
SF DOOH foot traffic lift studies typically report 6–15% lift to exposed venues within a 30-day window, with tech conference windows (Dreamforce) commonly exceeding 25%.
SF creative specs follow industry standards but layer on Caltrans freeway regulations, bespoke Union Square ultra-wide dimensions, and uniquely SF water-based fleet specs for Ballyhoo's Bay boats.
The SF DOOH market is served by national giants plus JCDecaux as the primary street-furniture concession, Captivate's dominant SOMA office network, and the uniquely San Francisco Ballyhoo water-based Bay fleet.
Extensive SF freeway, Downtown, Union Square, and BART/Muni transit inventory; SF market includes both billboard and transit advertising.
Meaningful SF freeway digital bulletin network and city inventory.
Bay Area-wide freeway and arterial footprint.
Primary SF street-furniture concession operator — digital bus shelters and kiosks, plus SFO airport premium.
SFO terminal inventory.
Urban kiosks and street furniture.
Office lobby and elevator screens across SOMA, FiDi, Mission Bay, and the Peninsula tech corridor.
Fuel station DOOH across the SF Bay metro.
Rideshare and taxi toppers (SF nightlife, tech-conference activation).
Bar, restaurant, gym place-based.
Launched San Francisco water-based DOOH network in 2025 — floating billboards and ferry/boat screens on the Bay.
Aggregator / network for place-based and retail.
AdQuick, Vistar Media, Broadsign Ads, VIOOH, StackAdapt, The Trade Desk (OpenPath DOOH), Adomni, Yahoo DSP, Amazon Ads.
AdQuick is the only marketplace aggregating direct inventory from every major SF media owner (OUTFRONT, Clear Channel, Lamar, JCDecaux, Captivate, Ballyhoo Media) alongside programmatic pDOOH in a single plan, with native mapping, creative delivery, and measurement. Positioned above the vendor landscape so buyers run a unified SF — and full Bay Area — campaign across Union Square, SOMA, FiDi, SFO, BART/Muni, Oracle Park, Chase Center, water-based, and place-based without juggling multiple contracts.
San Francisco picked up a new DOOH format in 2025 unavailable in any other major West Coast market — water-based floating billboards and ferry-screen inventory on the Bay.
Ballyhoo Media — the operator of Miami's signature floating DOOH fleet — launched a San Francisco Bay water-based DOOH network in September 2025, bringing floating billboards and ferry-screen inventory to the SF market. Water-based DOOH supports Bay-visible event activation and commands $20–$40 CPM with $10K–$35K event-window share-of-voice packages. Plan water-based activations with 2–4 weeks lead time for event windows.
SF DOOH placement rules are shaped by California's Outdoor Advertising Act, Caltrans permitting, and — uniquely — San Francisco's historically strict Proposition G (1988) framework that restricts most new off-premise signage city-wide.
California Outdoor Advertising Act (Business and Professions Code §§5200–5486) governs outdoor advertising along state highways and interstates; Caltrans permits and regulates digital bulletins.
The modularity of DOOH — cheap creative, flexible dates, programmatic on/off — lets SF campaigns scale across three very different tiers, from a $3,200 sub-market test to a $350K+ Dreamforce or Warriors Finals tentpole.
30-day programmatic pDOOH test geo-fenced around a SOMA, Mission, or Marina launch location.
Blended SOMA + Union Square + FiDi + BART/Muni + programmatic campaign with tech audience DCO.
Full tentpole activation with Union Square direct, SOMA/Salesforce Tower corridor, SFO, Chase Center/Oracle Park event-adjacent, BART takeover, Ballyhoo water-based, and programmatic.
SF's event calendar is anchored by Dreamforce in September — Salesforce's flagship and the single largest SF DOOH window — with tech conferences, Giants and Warriors seasons, Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park, and year-round cultural tentpoles surrounding it.
170K+ attendees; Salesforce's flagship event and the single largest SF DOOH window. SOMA, Union Square, Market Street, SFO all spike; much of Downtown SF operates in Dreamforce mode.
Apple Park (Cupertino) but Bay Area-wide inventory demand; Peninsula tech corridor and SOMA spike.
Moscone Center, SOMA, Union Square; varying scale by event.
Oracle Park, South Beach, Mission Bay, Embarcadero spike. Playoff runs drive the biggest windows.
Chase Center, Mission Bay, SOMA spike. Playoff runs — especially NBA Finals — drive major premium windows. Post-championship legacy continues to fuel demand.
Peninsula corridor, I-101 spike; SF proper secondary but Bay Area-wide demand.
Marina, Embarcadero, Bay-adjacent spike; aviation and military-themed brand activation.
~200K attendees across 3 days at Golden Gate Park; music, lifestyle, beverage brand activation.
Castro, SOMA, Civic Center spike; LGBTQ+ brand activation.
Chinatown, Union Square, FiDi spike; multicultural brand activation.
Route-adjacent inventory (Embarcadero to Ocean Beach); fitness, hydration, apparel brand activation.
Three paths to buy SF DOOH inventory — with AdQuick's platform extending across the full Bay Area as a unified plan.
Contact OUTFRONT, Clear Channel, Lamar, JCDecaux, Captivate, and Ballyhoo Media separately. Best for flagship Union Square, SOMA, or SFO buys; requires multiple contracts.
AdQuick, Vistar, The Trade Desk, StackAdapt, or Amazon Ads. Best for mid-market always-on; tech B2B audience PMPs valuable for SOMA-focused campaigns.
Plan, price, buy, deliver, and measure across every SF DOOH layer — and across the full Bay Area including Oakland and San Jose — in one platform with unified reporting.
Answers to the questions SF DOOH buyers ask most often — pricing, Bay Area planning, water-based, tech B2B, programmatic, measurement, and regulation.
AdQuick is the only DOOH marketplace that unifies Union Square, SOMA / Salesforce Tower / Transbay, Financial District, Mission, Marina, Castro, Hayes Valley, SFO, BART and Muni, US-101 / I-280 / I-80 freeway digital bulletins, Oracle Park, Chase Center, Ballyhoo water-based DOOH, place-based, and programmatic inventory in a single plan — and extends across the full Bay Area (Oakland, San Jose, Peninsula) when needed. Price inventory by CPM and share-of-voice, deliver creative to every network, and measure impressions, reach, frequency, and foot traffic lift from one dashboard. AdQuick also supports tech B2B audience verification for SOMA-focused campaigns and conference-window activation.
Get Started ->
Launch hyper-targeted OOH campaigns in minutes