“A Valuable Performance Medium:” A Deep Dive into New Cross-Media Analysis from OAAA

May 21, 2026

IRL advertising drives bottom-funnel conversion rates double that of television and current attribution practices may be missing half of it, according to new research from OAAA and Kochava.

Released last week at OAAA’s 2026 OOH Media Conference in Dallas, OOH – A Valuable Performance Medium measured in-person outcomes from by IRL advertising exposure as well as digital outcomes from IRL media, CTV/streaming, and broadcast television, analyzing the data to answer the question of whether IRL media delivers incremental, measurable lift. Spoiler alert: it does!

Here’s what researchers found.

IRL Media Delivers 2x the Action Lift of Broadcast TV.

The top line on the study is that IRL advertising drives in-person outcomes and digital outcomes more effectively than both CTV/streaming and broadcast television.

Those exposed to IRL ads took 20% more in-person actions (like store or restaurant visitation) and 14% more digital actions (such as website visitation, app downloads, or online registrations) compared to those not exposed.

By comparison, television ads only drove about a 10% lift in digital actions compared to those not exposed to them.

Frequency Is a Critical Performance Driver.

The unobtrusive, contextual nature of IRL advertising builds consideration without irritation, generating a sustained positive response upon repeat exposure. That’s true across product verticals and it’s especially true for ads intended to spur digital action, with conversion rates strengthening steadily with repeat exposure.

The conversion rate for IRL media on the tenth impression (1.28%) is six times stronger than on the first (.24%). Meanwhile, broadcast television starts in last place and barely moves (from .18% to .22%), while CTV’s digital activation rates lag behind IRL media after the third impression and never catch up.

When it comes to in-person action, IRL advertising has a strong and steady effect, converting proximity-driven intent at a .65% rate on the first impression and .64% on the tenth.

What does that mean for advertisers? It means that an extended flight duration can pay big dividends, as can market saturation, with five to ten exposures the optimal target for digital conversion and seven to nine exposures for in-person conversion.

The Recurring Seven-Day Bump Is Real.

Most advertisers measure an ad’s performance for seven days and then stop. But when that window is stretched to 30 days, what researchers found surprised them.

IRL ads intended to drive footfall see spikes in conversion rates seven days after exposure, also at day 14, then day 21, and again at day 28. This reflects weekly shopping habits, planning cycles, and recurring consideration windows. As for digital conversion, the weekly bump is less pronounced but still there.

This isn’t happening with TV advertising – just IRL media. Since the traditional seven-day attribution window misses the pattern, media buyers may be underestimating the value of their outdoor campaigns by 40% to 60%.

Expanding measurement windows to 21 days can capture 85% of total conversion value; it’s especially important for weekend-driven verticals like QSRs and retail as well as high-consideration purchase categories like travel and auto.

IRL Has the Longest-Tail Impact on Digital Outcomes.

IRL media drives sustained digital conversion all the way through day 28, maintaining its baseline demand 4x longer than broadcast television. In fact, IRL media had the slowest decay rate of all media types, evenly distributed across days.

By the ninth day of a campaign, IRL media retains 47% of its day zero engagement rate, pointing to sustained digital engagement that lasts across the full attribution window, while TV advertising sits at about 18%.

IRL Ad Exposure Drives Search and Social Activity

The historic assumption behind attribution is that physical ads drive awareness and interest at the top of the funnel and digital channels drive action at the bottom.

But when analysts looked at the QSR category, they discovered that IRL ad exposure preceded search 95% of the time. That means that while search gets the credit for the conversion, it was the IRL ad that drove the intent.

The story is the same for social engagement, which is preceded by IRL ad exposure 94% of the time. This indicates that IRL media is creating the awareness that makes social retargeting effective.

But without cross-channel analysis, last-touch attribution doesn’t see it. So media planners undervalue IRL media and underinvest in it.

IRL Media Performs Best Against IRL Outcomes.

The OAAA study drilled down into vertical-level data and they found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that IRL media performed the best in categories where the conversion itself happens in real life too.

In-person conversion lift from IRL ad exposure was 25% for retail, 20% for auto, and 14.5% for QSR.

The overall median lift for digital outcomes was 22% for IRL media, compared to 10.5% for CTV and 10% for broadcast. There is however a tradeoff. CTV has much less variability in its lift – about half the spread of IRL media – which makes it more predictable, even if it doesn’t work as well.

The Complete Story: IRL Advertising Drives Measurable Results

Grant Simmons, VP at Kochava Foundry, noted the results. “What stood out in this analysis is how clearly OOH drives measurable, incremental outcomes across both physical and digital environments,” he said.

“When you combine sustained engagement, and more comprehensive attribution windows, the performance story becomes much more complete,” he added. “OOH is not only competitive with other channels; it consistently delivers stronger impact when measured holistically.”

Anna Bager, President and CEO of OAAA added, “At a time when marketers are under pressure to prove performance, this study makes one thing clear: OOH delivers…with a measurable impact that stands up against other major media channels.”

When you’re ready to drive results in real life, get in touch with OUTFRONT.

Author: Jay Fenster, Senior Manager, Marketing Content @ OUTFRONT

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