#OAC 2026: OOH needs better infrastructure to unlock its true potential: Ichiro Jinnai of Japan Perion

Ichiro Jinnai, President – Japan Perion, made a strong case for treating OOH infrastructure as an investment rather than an expense. In his session at OAC 2026, “OOH as a Global Platform – Developing the infrastructure to expand the OOH market is not a cost, but an investment,” he explained why the industry’s next phase of growth depends on building common standards, measurement systems and easier ways to trade OOH globally.

Ichiro began by reminding the audience that the physical world continues to drive most of the economy, even in an increasingly digital age. While the digital economy contributes around 13% of the US GDP, the larger share still comes from real-world businesses and experiences. Yet, advertising spend tells a different story. According to data shared by him, ‘real’ media, including OOH, receives only about 18% of total US advertising expenditure, leaving significant room for growth.

He argued that if advertising investment reflected the size of the real economy, spending on real-world media could be 4.8x times larger than it is today. This gap, he said, highlights the untapped potential of OOH.

A major focus of the session was the need to build OOH as a truly global platform. According to Ichiro, this requires three essential building blocks – a common media currency, standard trading rules and easy market access. While digital advertising already operates with globally accepted standards such as impressions, OpenRTB and programmatic buying, OOH still lacks universally accepted systems in many markets.

Sharing developments from Japan, Ichiro said the country is building its own independent OOH audience measurement system through the Japan OOH Audience Measurement Association (JOAA). The initiative aims to provide detailed audience metrics and eventually cover all OOH environments across the country, beginning with the Kanto, Chubu and Kansai regions.

Moving to trading standards, Ichiro spoke about adopting common specifications that make OOH easier to buy, sell and integrate with digital advertising systems. On improving market access, he shared examples from the UK, including the SPACE planning system and Inventory Management System (IMS), which organise OOH inventory using detailed information such as GPS coordinates, display format, lighting, visibility and road positioning. These systems make planning and buying campaigns more efficient and transparent.

Concluding his talk, Ichiro urged the OOH industry to think beyond competition and work together to expand the overall market. Quoting the saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats,” he said collaboration on common standards and infrastructure will benefit every stakeholder and create long-term growth for the global OOH industry.