Taylor Fielding.
TFM CEO, Taylor Fielding, argues why OOH and digital audio were already destined for greater things in 2026 before Nine’s QMS acquisition/restructure
The balance of media planning shifts again in 2026. OOH and Digital Audio continue their rapid growth from the past few years. With new innovations like MOVE2, the OOH planning tool coming at the back end of last year, along with programmatic improvements in both sectors across media publishers, I predict larger slices of media budgets for each this year.
We’ve been highlighting their expanded opportunities for a number of years now. Across our clients’ Local Area Marketing (LAM) campaigns, we’ve seen the often untapped power of direction messaging that Digital OOH (DOOH) offers for bricks and mortar stores. Similarly with Digital Audio, brands are able to reach the right people, at the right time, in their local areas, delivering impact for multi-location organisations not found elsewhere.
While OOH revenues increased at 11.5% in 2025, the broader advertising industry grew at just 5.2% last year. It represents growth at more than double the industry average. And digital audio is matching the double digit increase in market size last year, with new 2026 projections likely available next month around IAB’s Audio Summit.
For further proof of their importance, look at Nine’s recent actions, choosing to acquire OOH business QMS (with strong assets across the country, including digital screens). The move, along with selling off its traditional radio assets, caught many by surprise, yet the action taken was a bold statement on where growth and margins are heading in 2026 and beyond.
I genuinely believe they represent the channels with the most value for advertisers, and the signals from the industry back this up too.
Publishers backing the innovation
ARN’s upfronts last year were notable for many reasons. One of which is the financial commitment to digital audio through iHeartRadio. Its unified audio network is a genuine draw for advertisers, and will look to command more budgets in 2026. Its next-gen adtech stack pioneering the way where others will follow.
Planning across broadcast, streaming and podcasts is easier now, with privacy built-in for brand’s first-party data, and advanced targeting helping to measure and act on behaviour signals, instead of broad demographics. This was from ARN, but Nine’s refined model announced at its Upfronts reorganising into three divisions, including broadcast and streaming, a previously very siloed, “now it's our obligation to make sure that every dollar that we spend on content, we're really optimising the value of that in a truly integrated media ecosystem,” according to Matt James
Nine’s decision to maintain its digital audio assets shows it recognises greater developments for targeting consumers across platforms and will be able to offer a single dashboard to purchase intent across multiple platforms which is a compelling case for advertisers.
Signs have been there
OOH remains one of my favourite channels given the creativity available, thanks to driving programmatic and digital screens. Playful creative for driving intention around sites and day-parts really works for our multi-location clients.
It’s a sentiment shared by Brodie Baile, Head of Marketing, Brisbane Racing Club, who believes programmatic DOOH is playing an increasingly important role in delivering both scale and precision for modern marketing campaigns.
“Programmatic DOOH has evolved into a highly sophisticated channel that allows us to extend our reach while delivering targeted, contextually relevant messaging to specific audiences.
“As part of a broader media mix, OOH remains one of the most effective ways to achieve mass reach across Australia, and when layered with hyperlocal planning and daypart targeting, it becomes a powerful driver of new audience acquisition and business growth,” Baile added.
The sector is thriving with continued investment across innovations. It’s a point TFM’s new Sydney-based BDM, Katie-Jane Michael commented on having worked across Hold Cos in the industry: “For the past couple of years, we’ve seen international brands really buy into both digital audio, and in particular DOOH. These two channels reach people where they want to be, and the reward comes in the action, communication and messaging they can achieve.”
Globally OOH continues its rude health with an almost 11% CAGR forecast until 2034, topping USD$58 billion.
Building on industry momentum
At TFM we’ve been following these trends over the past few years, tapping into the changes for our clients behind the scenes. And it’s a space that more agencies are capitalising on themselves, with many building podcasts with strong numbers (TFM moves into this space with a new podcast providing expert commentary and how-to’s on the evolution within marketing - expect the first to drop as we move into Q2).
While there have been reductions in spend across advertising channels in Australia in recent years, both of these channels continue to buck some wider trends, with digital audio cited as offsetting a number of the declines in traditional broadcast audio. It's a very savvy move from Nine, with many citing the higher margins in the assets Nine gained/kept, over the ones they shed.