New study says OOH delivers $7.58 marginal ROI, outperforming print, radio, and linear TV

New research from Keen Decision Systems, a next-generation marketing mix SaaS company, in collaboration with Accretive, an OOH data and technology platform, reveals that out-of-home (OOH) advertising delivers well-above-average marginal ROI (mROI)—the return on the next unspent incremental dollar based on Keen’s proprietary response curves-making it one of the most efficient yet underfunded channels for growth. The analysis, supported by Accretive’s OOH insights, shows why OOH is effective, driving strong incremental returns compared to other media, and how significantly it is underspent relative to its potential impact. 

The analysis, covering media spending from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, found that OOH achieved an mROI of $7.58, outperforming the average media type mROI of $5.52 and exceeding print ($7.18), radio ($6.61), and linear TV ($6.53). The results indicate meaningful headroom for growth, as each new dollar invested in OOH is expected to generate more incremental sales than the same investment in other channels. 

“Search, social, and streaming video have become extremely saturated, accounting for more than half of all media dollars spent, which leads to diminishing returns,” said Justin Jefferson, VP of Strategy and Analytics at Keen Decision Systems. “Marketers who shift spend from saturated channels to high-marginal channels like OOH are coming out ahead as they boost total marketing efficiency and ROI.” 

When examining ROI by industry, Keen’s report found that OOH is competitive across sectors, with an average ROI of $1.58. Top-performing industries included Retail and Ecommerce ($3.64), Travel and Hospitality ($2.96), Consumer Goods ($2.49), and Sports and Fitness ($2.47)—all exceeding the OOH average. However, Keen’s research highlights that ROI alone can mask diminishing returns in saturated channels, underscoring why mROI is a more accurate indicator of where to invest the next marketing dollar.  

In its mROI-by-industry analysis, OOH again stood out, well above the overall industry average mROI of $7.54, with especially strong performance in Sports and Fitness ($9.51) and Food and Beverage ($7.72).   

 “OOH has proven its ability to produce outsized returns compared to incremental returns in other channels,” continued Jefferson. “Marketers should consider reallocating spend to OOH to improve overall marketing efficiency and ROI,helping them weather economic headwinds.” 

To build on these findings, Keen has partnered with Accretive, an OOH data and technology platform, to help marketers validate and optimize their OOH investments. Through this collaboration, Keen clients can integrate Accretive’s activation data to better understand how current or future OOH placements enhance overall media mix performance.   

“Accretive was founded on the premise that OOH has always been an effective channel—it just needed to be proven,” said Craig Benner, Chief Executive Officer at Accretive. “By partnering with Keen, we’re helping marketers prove and maximize the role of OOH as a pivotal, yet often underfunded, part of the marketing mix.” 

This partnership enables marketers to unify planning and activation, simulate performance scenarios, and optimize spend across retailers and media channels. The result: faster, data-driven decisions that drive measurable growth and maximize financial return on retail media investments.