You've picked your DSP. You've set your triggers. Your targeting is dialed in. Then your creative gets rejected or worse, it runs, but the video stutters, the text is unreadable from the sidewalk, or the HTML5 unit never loads before the slot ends.
In pDOOH, the media buying might be automated, but the creative isn't. Every file still has to pass through a publisher's approval process before it airs on a real screen in a real public space. Get the specs wrong, and it doesn't matter how well your programmatic buying is set up the ad never plays, or it plays badly in front of an audience that can't skip it or scroll past it.
This guide breaks down exactly what you need to know before you traffic your next pDOOH campaign: the three creative types, the specs for each, and the design rules that separate an ad people notice from one they don't.
Quick answer: Programmatic DOOH supports three creative types static (JPG/PNG, RGB), video (MP4, 15-30 seconds, under 5,000 kbps), and HTML5/DCO (dynamic, publisher pre-approval required). Most screens run 1920×1080 (landscape) or 1080×1920 (portrait), and every creative must pass a media owner's manual review before it airs, unlike open web ad exchanges.
Why pDOOH Specs Are Stricter Than Web or Social
Open web and social ad exchanges mostly run on trust a creative that technically meets spec gets served automatically, no human ever looks at it. DOOH doesn't work that way.
DOOH operates as a closed-screen ecosystem. Every media owner the company that actually owns the digital billboard, transit panel, or mall screen reviews and approves creative before it's allowed to run on their network, even when the campaign was bought programmatically through open real-time bidding. Broadsign's specs guide for media buyers frames this well: DOOH has technical and approval requirements that simply don't exist in web-based environments, because a DOOH failure is public a frozen screen, a stretched logo, or a broken HTML5 unit isn't a private embarrassment, it's visible to everyone walking past it.
That's the core difference to design around. Build your creative to the tightest common spec across your target networks, not the most generous one.
The Three Creative Types in pDOOH
Nearly every pDOOH campaign uses one of three creative types.
1. Static Display
The simplest and most universally supported format - a still image that holds for the full duration of the ad slot.
- File types: JPG and PNG
- Color mode: RGB (not CMYK this is a common and completely avoidable rejection reason)
- Resolution: 72 ppi is the standard baseline, matched to the screen's native pixel resolution
- Best for: simple, high-impact brand messages, especially on networks with limited bandwidth
2. Video
Full-motion creative, typically capped at 15 or 30 seconds.
- File type: MP4
- Frame rate: 30 fps standard
- Resolution: even-numbered pixel dimensions (odd dimensions can break encoding on some players)
- Bitrate: generally kept under 5,000 kbps some networks cap lower depending on screen bandwidth
- Duration: industry data consistently shows 15-second creative dominating video spend, with 30-second units as the secondary standard
3. HTML5 / Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO)
The format that makes real-time, condition-triggered creative possible swapping messages based on weather, time of day, or a live data feed.
- File type: self-contained HTML5 package
- Support: varies significantly by publisher always confirm HTML5 support and get pre-approval from the media owner before you build
- Complexity: because these units pull live data, they need more testing time before launch than static or video creative
- Best for: campaigns already using dynamic creative optimization triggers like weather and time
As Moving Walls explains, HTML5 is what makes real-time, data-driven creative possible in DOOH giving advertisers the flexibility to adapt messaging by demographics, location, and environment in ways a static file simply can't. That flexibility is exactly why publisher pre-approval and testing matter more here than for any other format.
Common Resolutions and Aspect Ratios
Most place-based DOOH screens retail, transit, street furniture, office towers are standard TV-style panels running 16:9 landscape or 9:16 portrait, in sizes roughly 32" to 80"+ diagonally.
| Orientation | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape | 1920×1080 | 16:9 | Roadside boards, retail, office lobbies |
| Portrait | 1080×1920 | 9:16 | Transit panels, street furniture, elevators |
| Landscape (alt) | 1920×1200 | 16:10 | Some legacy or non-standard panels |
Recent industry trend data backs this up clearly: 83% of video ad spend goes to just these two sizes, 1920×1080 and 1080×1920, which makes sense given how much of the network is built on standard widescreen hardware. On duration, roughly 62% of video spend runs on 15-second creative so if you're only going to build one video length, that's the one.
If a specific screen falls outside these standard sizes, most DSPs and ad servers can letterbox or resize your creative automatically but that's a fallback, not a design strategy. Building natively to the dominant sizes gets you better quality and wider reach.
File Size: The Silent Campaign Killer
This is the spec advertisers most often ignore and the one that causes the most real-world playback failures. Unlike a slow-loading web banner, a DOOH file that's too large for the network doesn't just load late. It stutters, freezes, or drops entirely, in front of whoever happens to be standing there.
A few practical rules:
- Always build in RGB. CMYK files are one of the most common rejection reasons for static creative.
- Keep bitrate and file size within the network's stated limit, not your own internal default. Limits vary by publisher and screen hardware.
- Even-numbered pixel dimensions for video. Odd dimensions can cause encoding and playback errors on certain media players.
- Test before you submit. If your DSP or the media owner offers a creative preview or QA step, use it catching a spec issue before launch is free; catching it after launch means a screen playing broken creative in public.
Design Best Practices for Outdoor Viewing
Meeting technical spec gets your ad approved. Designing for the actual viewing environment is what gets it noticed. DOOH creative is seen for seconds, at a distance, often in motion, and competing with sunlight, traffic, and everything else in a public space. A few rules consistently hold up:
- High contrast, bold visuals. Outdoor lighting conditions wash out subtlety small text and fine detail simply don't register.
- One message per creative. A viewer walking past or driving by has time to process a single headline, a single visual, and a single call to action. Anything more gets lost.
- Motion draws the eye. Even subtle animation outperforms a fully static frame in a busy environment one more reason video and HTML5/DCO formats tend to outperform static where the network supports them.
- Design for the trigger, not just the screen. If you're running dynamic creative tied to weather or time of day, build each variant as its own clean, single-message unit don't just overlay text on one base creative.
Pre-Launch Creative Checklist
Before you traffic anything, confirm:
- Creative type (static / video / HTML5) is supported by every network in your buy
- File format matches spec (JPG/PNG for static, MP4 for video, HTML5 package for DCO)
- Color mode is RGB, not CMYK
- Resolution and aspect ratio match the target screens (1920×1080 or 1080×1920 covers most inventory)
- Video is even-numbered resolution, ~30fps, bitrate under the network's stated cap
- File size is within the specific network's limit not a generic internal default
- HTML5 units have publisher pre-approval and have been tested with live/sample data feeds
- Creative carries one clear message, legible at a glance and from a distance
- You've built for the dominant durations (15s primary, 30s secondary) unless a network specifies otherwise
Final Thoughts
Programmatic buying automated the media side of DOOH but the creative side still runs through human approval, real hardware, and real bandwidth constraints. The campaigns that launch smoothly aren't the ones with the most ambitious creative; they're the ones built to spec from the start, tested before submission, and designed for a few seconds of attention in a public space.
Get the technical foundation right, and everything else you're already doing dynamic triggers, audience targeting, DSP-side optimization, and measuring the results actually gets the chance to work as intended.
Frequently Asked Questions
What creative formats does programmatic DOOH support?
Programmatic DOOH supports three creative types: static display (JPG/PNG), video (MP4, usually 15-30 seconds), and HTML5 for dynamic creative optimization (DCO). Static is the most universally supported; HTML5 support varies by publisher and needs pre-approval.
What is the standard resolution for pDOOH creative?
The two dominant resolutions are 1920×1080 for landscape screens and 1080×1920 for portrait screens, together covering the large majority of place-based DOOH inventory. Some legacy or non-standard panels use 1920×1200.
Why does pDOOH creative get rejected?
The most common reasons are building in CMYK instead of RGB color mode, exceeding a network's file size or bitrate limit, using odd-numbered pixel dimensions for video, and submitting HTML5 units without publisher pre-approval.
What's the best video length for programmatic DOOH?
15 seconds is the dominant duration for pDOOH video creative, with 30-second units as the secondary standard. Industry trend data shows roughly 62% of video spend running on 15-second creative.
Does HTML5 creative need special approval?
Yes. Unlike static or video files, HTML5/DCO units pull live data feeds and vary in support by publisher, so they typically require pre-approval from the media owner and more testing time before launch.