Festive OOH: Digital-first brands fuel demand, up to 80% of prime OOH already booked

For brands that built their businesses on screens, the festive season is increasingly becoming a reason to step off them. E-commerce, quick commerce, smartphones, fintech, BFSI and other digital-first categories are becoming more visible in the OOH market this festive season, as brands look beyond feeds, apps and performance campaigns to create a physical presence in the cities where consumers are travelling, shopping and spending. Festive OOH spends are expected to grow 15–20% over 2025, according to estimates from industry players.

MOMS Outdoor Media Solutions CEO Jayesh Yagnik puts the festive opportunity at approximately ₹2,300–2,400 crore, while Laqshya Media is projecting 20% growth. Platinum Communications CEO Dipankar Sanyal and Srishti Media Founder & CEO Mandeep Malhotra expect growth in the 15–20% range.

“I would argue the true figure is higher, because festive is exactly when the transit, municipal, pandal and street-level inventory that never fully gets counted switches on,” said Yuvrraj Agarwaal, Chief Strategy Officer, Laqshya Media.

But the more interesting shift may not be the size of the kitty. It is who is entering the market, and where they are spending. Agarwaal called e-commerce and quick commerce “the new money and the biggest share gainers” in festive OOH. “These are categories born online now buying the street for real-world credibility.”

For Agarwaal, the shift is happening beneath the traditional category hierarchy. “The change versus last year is not at the top, where real estate still leads. It is underneath: the digital-first cohort is buying a larger slice of festive OOH than it did a year ago, and jewellery is defending its rupee share on price even as it sells lighter products.”

Malhotra is also seeing the advertiser base broaden. “Another important development is the widening advertiser base. Festive OOH is no longer dependent on only a few traditional categories. We are seeing greater participation from premium and digital-first brands that increasingly recognise the value of creating a strong physical-world presence alongside their digital campaigns.” 

Is OOH moving up the festive media plan?
The growing participation of digital-first brands is also changing how OOH is being positioned within the media plan. “More importantly, OOH is increasingly moving from being an amplification medium to becoming a strategic component of the festive media plan. Brands today are looking at OOH not only for reach, but for stature, contextual relevance and the ability to dominate key consumer touchpoints,” said Malhotra.

Agarwaal sees the festive period as a particularly competitive physical environment. “Festive is the one window where no category sits out. From the jeweller to the quick-commerce app, everyone wants to be on the same street at the same time.”

The four-to-five-month festive cycle, he said, is “the single most important commercial window of the Indian consumer year”.

That extended window is also putting pressure on premium inventory, particularly as brands increasingly want OOH to do more than simply extend an existing digital campaign.

Almost 80% of prime inventory already booked
The pressure is most visible in premium locations. Srishti estimated that roughly 70–80% of prime festive inventory is already booked or committed across key markets, with some premium locations running at even higher occupancy. Malhotra estimated booking momentum to be approximately 15–20% stronger than the corresponding period last year.

“The important distinction is between overall inventory and premium inventory. High-visibility arterial roads, affluent catchments, airports, malls and key transit environments are getting locked in much earlier. Brands increasingly understand that premium OOH inventory is finite, so campaign planning and commitments are happening earlier.” Sanyal said the pressure is particularly strong on key roads as Diwali turns the festive period into a national advertising window. “Festive season starts from being a regional phenomenon to a national one when it comes to Diwali. It’s also important to note that the traditional media on road hoardings (static/DOOH) and BQS, have the highest traction, and that’s where the fight is. In this season, key arterials are booked 100%.”

Laqshya saw the scarcity play out as early as Onam. “With the onset of Onam there was not a single decent site available across Kerala. Premium inventory was 100% booked. It was sold out, and it sold out earlier and harder than last year.”

“A November Diwali handed brands a longer runway, and they are using every inch of it. The best sites are being locked now, weeks before the festivals arrive,” he added. 

But the expansion of premium OOH is also being shaped by regulatory constraints in some markets. Agarwaal points to Mumbai as a case in point. “One caveat on the static side. Since Mumbai’s draft 2024 OOH policy and the post-Ghatkopar safety crackdown, festive permissions have tightened, sizes are capped and no-hoarding zones are enforced. Compliance is now non-negotiable, and it is pushing spend toward permitted, verified and premium formats. It rewards exactly the legal, audited, landmark static that leads festive demand, and it accelerates airports, transit and DOOH rather than reversing any of them.”

Is TV’s measurement gap creating room for OOH?

Television's BARC ratings blackout has added another layer to festive media planning. “Television is entering the biggest ad season of the year under the BARC ratings blackout, which has run right through the festive planning window with no live common currency and no firm timeline for return. The money leaving under-measured TV is mostly chasing accountability, and that means digital, CTV and commerce. OOH was the only traditional medium to grow in 2025, up 13%, a third straight year of double digits, while television fell 10.3% and radio 7%. Overlay the BARC blackout and the rule writes itself: under-measured media get under-funded,” said Agarwaal.  

“OOH is gaining festive share on its own logic, not as TV’s runoff: it is the top of a funnel that every brand has now made commerce-obsessed, and you cannot convert a consumer who never considered you,” he added. 

Yagnik, however, does not describe the current OOH growth as simply money moving from television or digital. “I wouldn't simply describe it as money moving from TV or digital into OOH. The bigger shift is towards integrated media planning, where digital drives targeting and engagement, while OOH delivers scale, physical presence and contextual impact.”

Malhotra similarly sees a change in the structure of media plans rather than a straightforward channel shift. “I would not necessarily describe this as a straightforward shift of money away from television or digital. What is changing is the architecture of the media plan.”

The distinction matters as brands increasingly use different media for different roles, with OOH becoming the physical layer within an otherwise digitally connected consumer journey.

OOH goes beyond the billboard
The move offline is also not limited to traditional billboards. Yagnik said large-format billboards continue to provide scale, while “transit, airports and DOOH are seeing particularly strong demand for premium and high-impact campaigns.” “DOOH is clearly the fastest-growing part of the market. Industry estimates put its share at roughly 18 - 24% of OOH, depending on the market definition, while some operators have reported DOOH accounting for close to 40% of their Diwali bookings,” he added. 

Malhotra expects 15–20% growth in demand for premium digital OOH formats this festive season. “The appeal of DOOH goes beyond replacing a static creative with a digital screen. Brands can increasingly use dynamic and contextual creative, multiple messages across the day and shorter tactical bursts around key festive moments.”

Sanyal pointed to the format's ability to accommodate more advertisers. “DOOH has been a boon which allows more brands to share space on these routes.”

Airports and premium malls are also seeing demand as brands look for environments where consumers are spending more time. “Airports and premium malls are also seeing strong interest because they provide access to high-value audiences in environments where consumers have significant dwell time and are often already in a consumption mindset,” said Malhotra.

“When the diaspora flies home and the city goes shopping, the airport and the arterial billboard stop being media. They become the meeting point,” said Agarwaal.

It’s not just about where the ad sits
As more digital-first brands enter OOH, the way advertisers evaluate the medium is also changing. “One of the biggest changes we are seeing is a shift from buying sites to buying audiences and impact. Advertisers are paying much greater attention to location quality, audience profile, dwell time, visibility and the role an asset plays in the consumer journey,” said Malhotra.

The formats are increasingly being planned together rather than treated as isolated purchases. “The opportunity isn't really about choosing between static, transit or digital,” said Yagnik. “The strongest festive campaigns are increasingly using them together, large formats for stature, transit for frequency, DOOH for flexibility and contextual messaging, and retail environments closer to conversion.”

That combination is particularly relevant for digital-first brands accustomed to planning around audiences, journeys and measurable actions online. Instead of simply asking which billboard is available, the question increasingly becomes who sees it, where they are going, how long they are exposed to it and what role the location plays in the wider consumer journey.

Can OOH make you hit ‘buy now’?

The connection between physical visibility and digital commerce becomes even more relevant as digital-first brands become increasingly commerce-led.

Agarwaal said every festive plan now has a commerce component. “Every festive plan now has a commerce tail. Quick commerce alone is projected to pull ₹11,000 to 12,000 crore in GMV over a 30 to 35-day window. The industry language has moved from festive visibility to festive conversion.”

But he underscored OOH's role as beginning before the transaction. “My point to CMOs is simple: conversion is the last step, not the first. OOH is the presence layer that makes the consumer consider you before the app closes the sale.”

Malhotra also sees OOH influencing consumers closer to purchase during the festive period. “During the festive period, consumers are travelling more, shopping more and spending considerably more time outside their homes. OOH therefore has the ability to influence consumers close to both consideration and purchase.”

That does not necessarily make OOH a substitute for digital. Instead, it gives digital-first brands another physical touchpoint before consumers return to their screens to search, compare or buy. The result is a festive OOH market that is not only growing in size but also broadening in advertiser mix, format choices and the role the medium plays within the wider media plan.

And with 70–80% of prime inventory already booked across key markets, the competition is increasingly not just for consumer attention, but for the physical spaces in which brands can command it. As Malhotra puts it, “The festive season is ultimately a battle for consumer attention.”

This festive season, for an increasing number of digital-first brands, some of that battle is taking place offline!