IAB Australia and OMA Bring Powering DOOH Back to Sydney and Melbourne This August
Programmatic out-of-home is having a moment in Australia, and the industry’s two peak bodies are giving it a dedicated stage again. IAB Australia and the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) are reviving Powering DOOH, a pair of half-day summits designed to unpack where digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is headed next — and how agencies, brands and platforms can actually make automation work for them.
Two Cities, Two Half-Day Sessions
The summit will run as two standalone events rather than one national roadshow stop:
- Sydney — Tuesday, 18 August 2026, 8.30am–12.00pm, NSW Teachers Federation Conference Centre, Surry Hills. Full agenda here.
- Melbourne — Thursday, 20 August 2026, 8.30am–12.00pm, PwC Melbourne. Full agenda here.
Both events follow the same half-day format, mixing technical, practical content with higher-level strategic sessions — so attendees get both the “how it works” and the “why it matters” sides of programmatic OOH in one sitting.
What’s On the Agenda
Expect the program to move across the full DOOH value chain rather than staying at a surface level. Topics span industry growth drivers and automation on the technical side, through to ROI case studies and omnichannel amplification on the strategic side. The speaker line-up is expected to draw from across the ecosystem — platforms, publishers, agencies and brands — giving attendees a rounded view of how each part of the supply chain is adapting as programmatic trading becomes the default way DOOH inventory gets bought and sold.
That focus lines up with where the category is actually heading. Programmatic’s share of Australian DOOH sales is on a clear upward trajectory as automated trading pipes replace manual, reservation-based buying, cutting campaign lead times from weeks down to hours in some cases. For brands and agencies still buying OOH the traditional way, sessions like these are becoming less optional and more of a required update.
Why This Matters for Australia’s Ad Industry Right Now
The timing isn’t incidental. Australia’s OOH and DOOH market is in solid growth mode, with digital screen deployment expanding across transit networks, airports and retail precincts in both Sydney and Melbourne. As more advertisers shift budget from linear formats toward high-impact digital street furniture and transit screens, understanding the mechanics of programmatic buying — audience data, real-time bidding, measurement — is becoming a baseline skill for media planners rather than a specialist niche.
For marketers and media agencies already investing in DOOH, or weighing whether to start, that’s exactly the audience Powering DOOH is built for.
Getting a Ticket
Pricing is identical across both the Sydney and Melbourne events:
| Ticket Type | Price |
|---|---|
| IAB & OMA member organisations | Complimentary (2 free tickets per organisation) |
| Additional member tickets | $125 |
| Marketers & media agencies investing (or considering investing) in DOOH | Complimentary (2 free tickets per organisation) |
| General admission | $220 |
Given the free-ticket allowance for both member organisations and qualifying marketers/agencies, most people actively working in media planning or buying should be able to attend at no cost — it’s simply a matter of registering through the event pages before seats fill up.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Brands and platforms interested in sponsoring either leg of the summit can reach out to IAB Australia’s Director of Marketing & Memberships for details on packages and availability.
