Decide how you will judge it before the boards go up. Take a baseline of your brand search and site traffic, build in QR codes where they are safe, a survey question, a promo code and a landing page, then compare the flight against the baseline.
Out of home is harder to track than digital. Nobody clicks a billboard. So plan the measurement with the media, never afterwards.
Our out-of-home advertising page covers how we plan and buy. This is the measurement plan that sits beside it. Still deciding whether to buy at all? Start with is out-of-home advertising worth it.
Two questions, two sets of numbers
A founder wants to know two things. Did people see it? And did it do anything for the business?
The industry now answers the first one for you. Since 16 March 2026, MOVE, run by the Outdoor Media Association, has been the official audience standard for planning, buying and reporting out of home in Australia. It covers more than 180,000 sites and estimates how many people are likely to see each one (DRNO, 10 Mar 2026).
That tells you what you bought. It cannot tell you whether anyone searched for you, came to your store or used your code. That second question is the one we plan for.
The five signals we use
QR codes, where it is safe to scan them. Station platforms, gym screens and shopping centre panels, where people stand still. Never on the side of a bus. On a government campaign for students, we said no to QR codes on buses, because asking someone to scan a moving vehicle is not safe.
A survey question. "Where did you hear about us?" on your checkout, enquiry form or booking page. Add out of home as an answer before the campaign starts, so you know what the replies looked like without it.
Device IDs at activations. If there is a physical event and you have the ability, device IDs show whether people who passed your screens turned up.
Lift in brand search. Some people see a board, then search your name later. Branded search and direct traffic rising during the flight, against your baseline, is one of the clearest signs it is working.
Lift in your digital results. Out of home has an accumulator effect: it makes your other channels work harder while it runs. Watch your Meta and Google results during the flight and compare them with the weeks before.
The checklist: before, during and after
Before the boards go up
Pull a baseline of brand search, site traffic and your Meta and Google results for the weeks before launch.
Write down the one result that would make the campaign worth it. If you cannot name it, wait.
Add "where did you hear about us" to your forms, with out of home as an option.
Decide which sites carry a QR code, and which never will.
During the flight
Send every QR code to a dedicated landing page, so out-of-home visitors are easy to separate.
Run a promo code that only appears on the boards.
Run geofenced mobile ads around the sites, so the people who passed your boards see you again on their phone.
Use device IDs at any activation, where you can.
Check brand search every week.
After it comes down
Compare brand search, site traffic and digital results against your baseline.
Count code redemptions, landing page visits and survey answers.
Write down what you would change while it is fresh.
What it looked like at Bondi
For Cebu Pacific, we ran digital out of home across weekends to build awareness of an activation at Bondi Beach. We booked it programmatically through Vistar, so it could switch on when the client was ready.
We chose the sites by foot traffic and time of day, because we did not have movement data at the time. The question that mattered was whether more people came to the activation. They did. Foot traffic went up.
We knew which number we were watching before we spent a dollar. That is the whole method.
FAQ
Can you track out-of-home advertising?
Partly. QR codes, survey answers, promo codes, device IDs and brand search lift together give you a fair read on whether to go again.
What is MOVE?
The Outdoor Media Association's audience measurement system, the official Australian standard since March 2026. It estimates who is likely to see each site. What happens in your business afterwards is yours to measure.
Should I put a QR code on my billboard?
Only where people can stop and scan it safely, such as platforms, shelters, gyms and shopping centres. Never on the side of a bus, or anywhere you would be asking a driver to look at a phone.
How long should my baseline be?
Long enough to show your normal pattern, usually the few weeks before launch.
Next step
Planning a campaign and want the measurement built in from day one? See how we plan it on our out-of-home advertising page, or get in touch.
Book a free Growth Plan. Thirty minutes with the person who would do the work. No deck, no pitch.