Matt Hamill has joined Displayce as Head of Sales UK, bringing nearly two decades of experience spanning out-of-home and adtech. He spoke to New Digital Age about why programmatic DOOH has reached a tipping point, and how he plans to unlock new growth for the channel.
What attracted you to Displayce, and how does it connect with your career journey?
This is my nineteenth year working in media, and I actually started my career in out-of-home. I worked at JCDecaux twice, spent time with Westfield in Australia, and was part of the early team at a company called PostCo in Sydney. Back then, digital out-of-home revenue was just overtaking static for the first time, which was a seismic moment.
At the same time, people were beginning to talk about programmatic, but it was still theoretical. I could sense something big was coming, but I didn’t yet have the digital expertise to participate in it.
So I stepped away from outdoor and spent the past eight or nine years in adtech, selling across paid search, social, programmatic, influencer marketing, essentially the full spectrum of digital paid media. That gave me a strong understanding of how modern media trading works.
Now it feels like programmatic out-of-home has reached another tipping point, and I wanted to be part of that.
When I was looking for my next role, I had three criteria. First, I wanted to work in a channel with clear growth potential. Second, I wanted to join a company that could genuinely make a difference for advertisers globally, not just offer incremental improvements. Third, culture mattered.
Displayce ticked all three. It’s a pioneer in programmatic DOOH, with strong technology and a clear vision, and it felt like a role that perfectly matched my background across both outdoor and adtech.
What impressed you most about Displayce itself?
What stood out immediately was that this is a company built by people who genuinely build technology. That sounds obvious, but in adtech it is not always the case. There is a strong engineering-led mindset, and the focus is on creating tools that advertisers and agencies actually want to use.
The company has been operating for over a decade and has developed deep expertise in programmatic DOOH. It has also built strong partnerships with media owners and agencies, which is essential for scale. What has impressed me since joining is the openness to feedback and the willingness to evolve the product. That creates stickiness with clients and long-term value, rather than short-term transactional relationships.
There is also a strong culture, which is incredibly important in adtech. When you join a new company, there is always a moment where you look behind the curtain. In this case, I’ve been reassured by both the quality of the technology and the clarity of the mission.
Why do you believe out-of-home is entering such an exciting phase now?
Out-of-home has always been one of the most loved advertising channels, but historically it was somewhat disconnected from the broader digital ecosystem. It was difficult to integrate into digital-first planning and buying strategies. What programmatic is doing now is bridging that gap.
Digital-first platforms allow advertisers to plan, activate and optimise out-of-home in the same way they approach other digital channels. That is hugely important because it brings outdoor back into the mainstream of media planning.
At the same time, we are seeing increasing digital fatigue among consumers, which is prompting brands to look for ways to reconnect with audiences in the physical world.
Location is becoming central to media strategy. Out-of-home is inherently location-based, and it allows brands to deliver contextual, relevant messaging in real environments. It also has a powerful brand effect. When people see a brand on a public screen, there is an implicit signal of scale and credibility. It creates visibility and trust in a way that many digital formats cannot replicate.
How is the expansion of new digital screens reshaping the channel?
The definition of out-of-home is expanding rapidly. Traditionally, the market was dominated by large media owners with roadside and transport inventory. Now we are seeing a surge in digital screens across gyms, office buildings, residential developments, retail environments and many other locations.
These newer networks are often built around specific audience profiles rather than just physical locations. For example, screens in premium residential buildings or fitness environments offer access to highly defined audiences. That shift from location-only to audience-informed planning is incredibly powerful.
Programmatic technology plays a key role in unlocking that opportunity, because it enables advertisers to access a fragmented ecosystem of media owners efficiently. It democratises access to premium inventory and allows smaller networks to participate alongside the largest operators. This ultimately expands the reach and versatility of the channel.
Where do you see the overlap between out-of-home and retail media?
The boundaries between retail media and out-of-home are becoming increasingly blurred. Retailers are investing heavily in in-store screens and digital signage, applying many of the same principles that have existed in outdoor for years.
Out-of-home has long been a channel built around contextual messaging, location intelligence and real-world engagement.
Retail media is now adopting those same approaches, but within store environments and with additional transactional data. The convergence of these ecosystems creates new opportunities for advertisers to connect brand activity with real-world consumer behaviour.
What are the biggest challenges the industry still needs to overcome?
One of the main challenges is infrastructure. Many digital screens were installed years ago, before programmatic trading became a priority. Integrating those assets into modern programmatic workflows requires investment and technical development.
There is also some skepticism within parts of the industry about whether programmatic brings incremental revenue or simply shifts existing budgets. Addressing that concern requires demonstrating that programmatic can attract new advertisers and unlock new use cases, rather than just repackaging existing demand.
Standardisation is another issue. Unlike online advertising, the programmatic DOOH ecosystem is still evolving, and different media owners have different technical capabilities. That creates complexity, but it is improving as the market matures.
What will your focus be in growing the UK market?
My role is fundamentally about bringing incremental revenue into out-of-home. That means engaging advertisers who may have overinvested in certain digital channels and showing them the value that programmatic DOOH can deliver.
Out-of-home offers something unique, a premium, brand-safe environment with real-world impact. It is a proven channel, but it remains under-utilised relative to its potential. We need to be more assertive in communicating its strengths and ensuring it earns its place within modern omnichannel strategies.
There is nothing quite like seeing a campaign you worked on out in the real world. It brings advertising to life in a tangible way. With programmatic technology making the channel more accessible than ever, I believe we are entering a defining growth phase for out-of-home in the UK.
