Resources · UAE OOH Guide

How OOH advertising works in UAE.

Updated May 2026 5 min read

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising in UAE means buying physical or digital placements that the public sees when they are outside their home: billboards, mall screens, lamp posts, transit wraps, and street furniture. This guide covers how OOH works specifically in UAE: what is available, how pricing works, lead times, asset requirements, and what makes a campaign succeed.

Section 01

What you can book.

The UAE OOH market spans four main categories. Each suits different campaign goals and budgets. Click any card to browse live availability.

Format 01 →

Digital landmarks (DOOH)

Full-motion LED screens at iconic locations: towers, spectaculars, bridge displays.

Format 02 →

Static placements

Vinyl billboards, hoardings, unipoles, lamp posts, MUPIs.

Format 03 →

Mall placements

Indoor digital screens, MUPIs, static wallbanners across major retail centres.

Format 04 →

Transit & moving media

Bus wraps, taxi wraps, metro and underground sheets.

Section 02

How OOH pricing works.

Every UAE OOH placement on Media.co.uk is priced per-flight in AED. The price you see is the price you pay: no auction, no buried surcharges. Production and creative adaptation are quoted separately when needed.

Four factors determine what a placement costs:

Audience size

A digital screen in Dubai's busiest mall reaches more people per hour than a roadside billboard.

Format

Digital and full-motion placements cost more than static. Larger formats cost more than single screens.

Flight length

Many operators discount 4-week flights versus 2-week.

Location prestige

Landmark locations carry premium rates.

Section 03

Lead times & booking flow.

Standard lead time in UAE is 5 to 10 working days from booking confirmation to flight start. High-demand digital landmarks need 2 to 4 weeks of advance notice.

Pick a placement

Browse by city, audience, format. Filter by budget.

Choose a flight

2 or 4 weeks. Live pricing updates with your selection.

Book online

Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, or pay by invoice for larger campaigns.

Upload creative

Match the spec listed on the product page. Studio support available if needed.

Receive proof of posting

Photos and screen logs within 7 working days of flight start.

If your ad doesn't run as booked, we re-deliver at zero cost. No questions, no fine print.

Section 04

Asset specifications.

Each placement page lists the exact spec. These are the typical formats you will need to prepare for UAE OOH. Our studio can adapt creative for any placement at additional cost.

Digital screens (DOOH)

.MOV or .MP4 at the screen's native resolution and aspect ratio. 30fps. No audio.

Static placements

.AI, .PDF, or .EPS files at print resolution (300 DPI). CMYK with 5mm bleed.

Mall LEDs

.MP4 (H.264, 30fps) at exact panel resolution. Each mall has a different ratio. Check spec sheet.

Transit

Print-ready .PDF supplied 14 days before flight. Bus wraps require finished-art templates.

Section 05

Glossary.

The OOH industry has its own language. Here are the terms you will see across this site.

OOH: Out-of-Home advertising. Any advertising medium consumed outside the home.
DOOH: Digital Out-of-Home. The subset of OOH that's screen-based.
CPM: Cost per thousand. Total flight cost divided by total impressions, multiplied by 1,000.
Flight: The booked duration a campaign runs.
Reach: The published estimate of how many unique people see a placement over a defined period.
Dwell time: How long an audience stays in proximity to a placement.
Impression: One viewing of an ad by one person.
Proof of posting: Documentary evidence (photos, screen logs) confirming a placement ran as booked.
Re-delivery: Re-running a campaign at zero cost if the original flight didn't run.

Section 06

Tips for UAE campaigns.

01

Match format to message

Single-image static suits brand awareness. Full-motion digital suits product launches.
02

Plan for cultural context

Local language creative outperforms translated copy in non-English-first markets.
03

Combine formats

A mix of premium DOOH plus high-frequency static gives better reach efficiency than either alone.
04

Book longer flights when CPM drops

If a 4-week CPM is meaningfully lower than 2-week CPM, the longer commit is the better trade.
05

Send a brief

Our planners can hand-pick the best placements for your audience, route, daypart, and budget.