Out-of-home advertising trends in 2026: insights from an advertising agency in Hull

Covid had struck and out-of-home advertising (OOH) had lost most of its audience.

Bluestorm is an advertising agency in Hull and we saw the industry’s response first-hand. Spend swiftly shifted online and social media, streaming, TV – anything that could reach people at home – absorbed investment that had previously gone into the physical world.

For the marketing industry, it felt like out-of-home advertising was on a slippery slope. Except that's not quite what happened next.

In fact, as an advertising agency in Hull working with brands across the UK, we’ve seen how OOH didn’t just recover – it came back stronger, smarter and more relevant than ever.

Five years, in numbers

2020: The floor drops out
UK out of home advertising collapses from £1.3bn to £699m in a single year – a near-halving of revenue as footfall disappears.

2021: Faster than expected response
Recovery begins almost as soon as restrictions lift with a nearly 30% annual growth in OOH spend as advertisers rush back to physical space faster than most industry forecasters had predicted.

2022: Reinvestment, but smarter
Brands returning to outdoor advertising want the flexibility they've grown used to and digital screens now account for 63% of all UK OOH spend. The technology has caught up.

2023: Pre-pandemic levels surpassed
OOH revenue in the UK reaches £1.3bn – up 10% on the previous year and back to 2019 levels. Digital OOH grows another 7% within that. Colleges and universities, legal services and hotels are among the fastest-growing categories.

2024: A new record
OOH hits an all-time high of £1.4bn. Digital screens now account for 66% of all OOH revenue. The channel that everyone wrote off in lockdown has, in four years, grown beyond where it was before the pandemic began.

2025: The new normal
As proof that recent upwards trends are here to stay, UK OOH spend hits another record. According to data from Outsource, spend for last year rose another 2.6% year-on-year, this time topping £1.44bn.

Why the return was stronger than anyone expected

When people came back outside after the pandemic, they didn't come back the same way.

As an advertising agency in Hull, we began to see new patterns as more people moved to hybrid working. City centres were quieter during the week, but suburban retail was busier. People were choosing to walk more, drive less, and the commute – the backbone of traditional OOH planning – had become more variable.

Brands that had moved entirely to digital started to notice something: online audiences were increasingly feeling oversaturated with advertising, while people who’d spent 18 months trapped indoors were suddenly, almost gratefully, paying more attention to things outside.

Outdoor inventory was also still recovering from Covid price cuts and therefore offering good value for money (a stark contrast with digital ads that kept getting more expensive), and our OOH advertising services were suddenly back in the game.

*according to Route.

Why presence and performance matter

At Bluestorm, here's what that reinvestment actually looked like in practice as a full-service advertising agency in Hull: brands picking up the phone and asking for outdoor again.

They'd remembered (and we kept reminding them) something the pandemic had temporarily hidden – being visible in the real world is part of what makes a brand feel real.

What OOH offers, above everything else, is the feeling of genuinely showing up in the places where people actually go.

The mix of formats that works hasn't changed dramatically. Roadside billboards for reach. Transport advertising for frequency. Digital screens for flexibility and impact in high-footfall locations, but those formats are now being planned together.

Does out-of-home advertising still work in 2026?

Yes, and more effectively than many brands realise. As audiences become harder to reach, digital channels are finding it harder to carry the burden alone and out-of-home advertising continues to deliver consistent impact.

Here’s why OOH is still a powerful channel in 2026:

High visibility

Out-of-home ads are unmissable. Whether on busy roads, high streets or transport networks, they place your brand directly in front of large, real-world audiences.

Cannot be skipped

Unlike digital ads, OOH isn’t affected by ad blockers, scroll fatigue or skip buttons.

Supports digital campaigns

OOH works best alongside digital activity, often driving online searches, website visits and brand recall after initial exposure.

Strong local reach

Outdoor advertising allows brands to target specific towns, cities and regions, making it especially effective for businesses aiming to reach local audiences. Our further education clients are some of our biggest users of OOH advertising.

What the last five years actually prove

As an advertising agency in Hull, we’ve experienced the year-on-year growth for OOH first-hand. From Hull city centre to regional retail parks across Yorkshire, we’ve seen first-hand how the demand for outdoor placements is now stronger than ever.

A lot of inventory is now selling out, so booking in advance is essential to get the spots you really want – especially on bus advertising, which has rebounded stronger than arguably any other format.

The pandemic proved that when brands disappear from physical space, they don't just lose impressions, they lose the sense of being there for their customers.

Brands that treated the pandemic as proof that digital was sufficient are now watching competitors occupy the bus shelters, the hoardings and the digital screens at the train station – building awareness and driving potential customers into their digital funnel.

The physical world is back. The only question worth asking now is: whose name is on it?

If you’re looking to work with an advertising agency in Hull to plan your next OOH campaign, we’d love to have a chat. Get in touch with our advertising team here.