28 September 2026 edition | Norway / London
VIOOH and Arla Foods released a report on 23 September examining nine programmatic digital out-of-home campaigns run in Norway during 2025. VIOOH’s official announcement reports positive store-visit lift for every campaign compared with pre-campaign levels.
The study is titled *The Proof is Physical: How Arla Foods Delivered Performance with Programmatic DOOH*. The reported findings concern store visitation; they do not establish product purchases or sales revenue.
How the reported attribution worked
The announcement distributed through ExchangeWire describes how Spotzi and JCDecaux used foot traffic attribution with virtual boundaries around screens and retail locations. Anonymous mobile signals were used to identify devices entering those boundaries and subsequent store visits over an approximately five-day window, compared with a pre-campaign control group.
VIOOH reports an average interval of less than two days between inferred exposure and the first store visit. The findings are campaign-participant claims, rather than an independent BillboardGuide audit.
What retail advertisers can learn
BillboardGuide’s analysis: A store-visit study can help advertisers ask a more precise question than whether their campaign attracted attention. It can investigate whether a defined audience subsequently appeared at retail locations. Its usefulness depends on how exposure, visits and the comparison group are defined.
The distinction matters because a mobile signal inside a screen boundary represents an inference about exposure. It does not demonstrate that someone looked at the advertisement. Similarly, a device detected at a store does not confirm that its owner bought the advertised product.
For planners considering this approach, BillboardGuide’s programmatic DOOH guide provides a reference for the buying format. The measurement brief should be agreed alongside the media brief, with both tied to a clearly defined retail objective.
Evaluate the comparison before using the headline result
Before commissioning a similar study, ask the measurement provider how the comparison group was selected, how repeat visits were treated and which devices qualified for the analysis. Request an explanation of the baseline period and the factors that might change shopping behaviour during the campaign.
A seasonal promotion, changing distribution or a concurrent advertising campaign could also affect store visits. A useful evaluation should explain how those influences were considered, and how much confidence the methodology supports in attributing a change to outdoor advertising.
BillboardGuide’s guide to OOH metrics advertisers should evaluate together offers further context for keeping delivery, audience estimates and business outcomes distinct. They can complement each other without answering the same question.
Translate research into the next campaign brief
For a retail brand, a practical planning sequence would start with the stores and audience it wants to reach, then assess suitable inventory and the creative proposition. Only then should the team decide whether a visit-based study can answer its main question.
The BillboardGuide media planning brief can help organise the audience, geography and timing. Ask the proposed research partner to specify the reporting scope before booking, including uncertainty and any evidence that would be needed to assess purchases separately.
The report adds a useful case study to the discussion of outdoor performance. Its wider value for buyers lies in examining the measurement design, rather than treating one campaign’s reported lift as a forecast for another advertiser.
