DOOH Marketing
DOOH Creative Specs Guide
The complete 2026 specification for digital out-of-home creative — every standard dimension, accepted file format, motion and audio rule, safe-area guideline, and a pre-flight checklist. Free PDF download included.
Digital out-of-home creative fails for boringly preventable reasons: the wrong codec, a 1-pixel resolution mismatch, text outside the safe area, or audio in a sound-off venue. This guide is the spec sheet we hand to every brand and agency before they upload a single asset to a DOOH campaign. It covers the seven universal rules of DOOH creative, the 14 most common slot dimensions in live programmatic inventory, accepted file formats and codecs across every major SSP (Vistar Media, Place Exchange, Hivestack, Broadsign Ads, VIOOH), motion and audio policy, safe-area and typography minimums, OpenRTB 2.6 ingestion requirements, and a pre-flight QA checklist. Everything below is sourced from the Goldfish Ads live slot-dimension catalog plus published IAB, DPAA, and OAAA standards — no guesswork.
DOOH Creative Specifications Guide
10 sections · ~8 pages · Standards sourced from Goldfish Ads live inventory, IAB / DPAA, OAAA, and published Vistar / Place Exchange / Hivestack / Broadsign / VIOOH docs.
The 7 universal rules of DOOH creative
1. The 3-second rule. Highway billboards and urban panels deliver 3–7 seconds of viewing time. The core message — brand, value, call-to-action — must be absorbable in a single glance.
2. Contrast before color. Outdoor screens compete with direct sunlight. WCAG AAA contrast (7:1) is a safe floor for any text smaller than 60% of frame height.
3. Minimum text size. Use 1 inch of letter height per 10 feet of viewing distance as a baseline. For a 14×48 bulletin viewed at 500 ft, that is roughly 50-inch caps.
4. Motion with purpose. Animate to draw attention to the message, never as decoration. Neuro-Insight research shows motion DOOH outperforms static 2.5:1 on attention metrics.
5. Respect dwell time. Highway, taxi-top, and pump-top get one beat. Doctor's offices, EV chargers, and gym cardio screens allow longer narrative and direct-response prompts.
6. Brand-first composition. Logo, product, and brand color block should occupy the upper-left or center third — that is the area screens crop least across networks.
7. Test at real distance. Print a proof, tape it to a wall, view from 30 feet. If the message fails at 30 ft on paper it will fail at 300 ft on glass.
File formats, codecs & color
| Asset type | Accepted formats | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Static image | JPEG (baseline), PNG-24 | sRGB color space. Flatten layers. No alpha channel required. |
| Animated | MP4 (H.264, High Profile), MOV (H.264) | Constant frame rate 25 or 30 fps. No B-frames on some SSPs. |
| Audio (limited) | AAC-LC inside MP4 | Only on venues that allow sound (gyms, bars, some retail). Default to muted creative. |
| Avoid | GIF, WebP, HEIC, ProRes, AVI | Not supported by major DOOH SSPs (Vistar, Place Exchange, Hivestack, Broadsign). |
| Color profile | sRGB IEC61966-2.1 | Wide-gamut profiles get clipped. Strip embedded ICC if possible. |
| Max bitrate (video) | 8–12 Mbps | Higher bitrates are downsampled by the SSP and waste file budget. |
Standard slot dimensions
Most common dimensions transacted in DOOH inventory today. Source: Goldfish Ads live slot-dimension catalog plus IAB / DPAA DOOH creative spec guidelines.
| Dimension (px) | Aspect | Typical venue / format |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 × 1080 | 16:9 landscape | Bulletins, posters, in-store retail, bar & restaurant TVs, office lobby, gym cardio |
| 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 portrait | Urban panels, bus shelters, gas pump tops, mall directories, salon/barber, elevator |
| 2160 × 1080 | 2:1 landscape | Mid-size digital posters, transit interiors |
| 1280 × 720 | 16:9 landscape | Legacy HD screens, in-office, doctor waiting rooms |
| 720 × 1280 | 9:16 portrait | Lower-res portrait panels in QSR & convenience |
| 1366 × 768 | ~16:9 | Office lobby and elevator screens |
| 1024 × 768 | 4:3 landscape | Legacy place-based and in-store |
| 768 × 1024 | 3:4 portrait | Salon and small retail portrait |
| 3840 × 2160 | 16:9 UHD | Premium spectaculars, large-format bulletins |
| 1920 × 540 | 32:9 ultrawide | Taxi tops, rideshare cartops, transit headers |
| 1400 × 400 | 3.5:1 ultrawide | Highway LED ribbons, stadium fascia |
| 1080 × 1080 | 1:1 square | Pump-top secondary, mall kiosk side panels |
| 1080 × 2400 | 9:20 tall portrait | Skinny urban panels & column wraps |
| 2560 × 1440 | 16:9 QHD | Newer office and gym installs |
If the publisher's exact resolution differs by a few pixels (e.g. 1088×1920), deliver the nearest standard above. SSPs auto-letterbox to the panel.
Animation, motion & loop rules
- Constant frame rate: 25 or 30 fps. Mixed frame rates are rejected by Vistar and Place Exchange.
- No flashing faster than 3 Hz — required by US DOT for roadside inventory and most municipal ordinances.
- First and last frames should be the brand lockup. Many networks freeze the final frame between loops.
- Loops must be seamless if the spot runs back-to-back (in-store, pump-top).
- Avoid full-screen white flashes — visually fatiguing in transit and place-based environments.
- Subtle motion (one animated element) outperforms full-motion video on attention metrics in glance-only environments (highway, urban panel, transit).
Audio policy
Treat DOOH as a sound-off medium by default. Every message must work muted. Audio is permitted on a minority of inventory — primarily gyms, some bars, select EV chargers, and a handful of mall installations. When delivering an audio version, supply a parallel muted master so the SSP can serve the right version per venue.
Safe area, typography & contrast
Safe area
Keep all critical text, logos and CTAs inside the inner 80% of the canvas. Networks crop differently — what looks centered on a 1920×1080 master may be cropped on a 1888×1062 panel. Bleed background art to the full frame.
Typography minimums
- Headline: ≥ 8% of frame height (≈ 86 px on 1080p)
- Body / legal: ≥ 3% of frame height (≈ 32 px on 1080p) — only in long-dwell venues
- Avoid serifs at small sizes — they smear in motion blur and on lower-pitch LED.
Contrast
- Foreground vs. background: contrast ratio ≥ 7:1 (WCAG AAA) for any text under 10% of frame height.
- Test in direct sunlight on a phone screen at max brightness — that is the closest free approximation of an outdoor LED in daylight.
Programmatic / DSP creative ingestion
Programmatic DOOH ingests creative through OpenRTB 2.6 with the DOOH extension. The DSP transcodes once and distributes to every SSP (Vistar Media, Place Exchange, Hivestack, Broadsign Ads, VIOOH).
What the DSP needs from you
- Master file at the correct dimensions (see standard dimensions table above).
- Spot length in seconds (8, 10, 15, 30).
- Click-through URL — used for measurement attribution even though there is no click. Use a unique URL per creative variant for reporting.
- Third-party impression / measurement pixels (Nielsen DAR, Comscore, Adsquare, Geopath) if used.
- Industry / category code (IAB content taxonomy) for content-adjacency filtering.
Approval timing
Vistar and Place Exchange creative review = 1 business day. Premium spectaculars and airport inventory require publisher-side approval, add 2–5 business days. Cannabis, alcohol, pharma, gaming, and political require category-specific review and per-state policy checks.
Pre-flight QA checklist
- All files named per the convention: Brand_Campaign_WxH_Length_Version_Date.ext
- sRGB color profile, no embedded ICC
- Constant frame rate, 25 or 30 fps
- Spot length matches the slot booked (most commonly 15 seconds)
- Static fallback supplied for every motion spot
- All text inside 80% safe area
- Brand visible in the first second and the last frame
- Tested at viewing distance on a real screen, not just monitor preview
- Audio muted by default (or audio + muted master pair supplied)
- No regulated-category claims that violate state law (alcohol, cannabis, gambling, pharma)
- Creative delivered ≥ 3 business days before flight start
Frequently asked questions
The questions brands and agencies ask us most often before delivering DOOH creative.
What are the standard DOOH ad sizes in 2026?+
The most common resolutions transacted programmatically are 1920×1080 (16:9 landscape, used for bulletins, in-store, bar/restaurant TVs, gym, office lobby), 1080×1920 (9:16 portrait, used for urban panels, bus shelters, gas-pump tops, mall directories), 1920×540 (32:9 ultrawide, used for taxi tops and rideshare cartops), and 3840×2160 (UHD spectaculars). Always deliver at the panel's native resolution when possible; SSPs letterbox anything within a few pixels of the standard.
What file formats does DOOH accept?+
Static creative: JPEG (baseline) or PNG-24 in the sRGB color space. Animated creative: MP4 (H.264 High Profile) or MOV (H.264) at a constant 25 or 30 fps. GIF, WebP, HEIC, ProRes, and AVI are rejected by every major DOOH SSP (Vistar Media, Place Exchange, Hivestack, Broadsign Ads, VIOOH).
How long should a DOOH ad spot be?+
Programmatic DOOH transacts in 8, 10, 15, and 30-second spots. 15 seconds is the dominant length across roadside, urban panels, transit, and place-based inventory. Long-dwell environments — gyms, doctor's offices, EV chargers, salons — support 30 seconds. Highway and taxi-top inventory should treat the message as a glance: under 5 seconds of comprehension time.
Do DOOH ads need audio?+
No. DOOH is a sound-off medium by default. Every creative must work fully muted. Audio is supported on a minority of venues — primarily gyms, some bars, select EV chargers, and a handful of mall installations. When delivering an audio version, supply a parallel muted master so the SSP can serve the right version per venue.
What is the safe area for DOOH creative?+
Keep all critical text, logos, and CTAs inside the inner 80% of the canvas. Networks crop and rescale differently — what looks centered on a 1920×1080 master can be cropped on a 1888×1062 publisher panel. Background art should bleed to the full frame.
How small can text be on a DOOH ad?+
Use 1 inch of letter height per 10 feet of viewing distance as the baseline. For a 14×48 bulletin viewed at 500 ft, that is roughly 50-inch caps. Inside digital, headlines should be at least 8% of frame height (≈86 px on a 1080p canvas). Body copy and legal under 3% of frame height should only be used in long-dwell venues like waiting rooms or gym cardio screens.
How far in advance do DOOH creative assets need to be delivered?+
Deliver creative at least 3 business days before flight start. Vistar Media and Place Exchange creative review runs ~1 business day; premium spectaculars and airport inventory require publisher-side approval and add 2–5 business days. Regulated categories (alcohol, cannabis, pharma, gaming, political) require category-specific review and per-state policy checks — add another 2–3 business days.
What is the recommended naming convention for DOOH creative files?+
Use Brand_Campaign_WxH_Length_Version_Date.ext — for example Acme_Spring_1920x1080_15s_v2_2026-04-01.mp4. A consistent naming convention dramatically reduces trafficking errors, makes per-version reporting possible, and prevents the wrong cut being served when SSP review batches multiple assets.
Can I use the same creative for OOH, DOOH, and CTV?+
No — and you shouldn't try. DOOH is sound-off, glance-only, served at variable resolutions, and viewed in public environments. CTV is sound-on, attentive, served at fixed 16:9, and viewed in private environments. Static OOH has unlimited dwell but no motion. Adapt the message, pacing, and end-frame for each channel. The shared brand system (color, logo, type) should stay constant; the execution should not.
How do programmatic DOOH platforms ingest creative?+
Programmatic DOOH uses OpenRTB 2.6 with the DOOH extension. You deliver one master to your DSP (The Trade Desk, StackAdapt, Adelphic, Yahoo DSP, Hivestack DSP). The DSP transcodes once and distributes the file to every SSP — Vistar Media, Place Exchange, Hivestack, Broadsign Ads, and VIOOH — along with the click-through URL, measurement pixels (Nielsen DAR, Comscore, Adsquare, Geopath), and IAB content-category code.
Take this guide with you
Download the full PDFSources: Goldfish Ads live inventory · IAB / DPAA DOOH creative guidelines · OAAA outdoor specs · Vistar Media · Place Exchange · Hivestack · Broadsign · VIOOH