The news: T-Mobile made its first-party mobile data, including signals on app ownership, usage, and location—exclusively available for digital out-of-home (DOOH) targeting through Vistar Media, a DOOH platform it acquired in 2025.

The insights went to Vistar due to tightening regulations around location data and targeting based on mobile device IDs, said Jess Zhu, T-Mobile head of advertising products and development, per Ad Exchanger.

Advertisers can build custom audiences from T-Mobile’s data or activate thousands of audience segments. T-Mobile is also testing AI-assisted audience creation and planning new DOOH measurement capabilities for next year.

Zooming out: DOOH has lagged behind channels like display and connected TV (CTV) in targeting precision and measurement, Zhu said. T-Mobile and Vistar are trying to close that gap, making it easier for brands to evaluate performance and encouraging more programmatic budget allocation to DOOH.

T-Mobile’s app-usage patterns—such as how often a consumer opens a specific app—help build audience segments, then location data is layered in to measure when a user passes a specific OOH ad.

By connecting signals about digital intent with physical media, marketers can build audiences based on ecommerce and competitor-app behavior, then reach them through in-app ads, online display, and DOOH screens.

Programmatic is growing, but its share of DOOH ad revenues is plateauing. Worldwide programmatic DOOH ad revenues is expected to reach $2.59 billion in 2026, accounting for just 9.3% of total DOOH spending, per World Out of Home Organization data.

Implications for marketers: Tackling DOOH’s lack of cookie-like tracking could help narrow the precision gap with display and CTV, giving marketers and agencies a stronger argument and incentive to shift spend. Setting up deals with specific billboards or locations based on audience data could help brands access high-impact smaller screens.

However, the lack of campaign lift, CPM, or reach figures—coupled with the fact that T-Mobile controls both the data source and the platform that activates it—means next year’s measurement tool could be crucial for proving its claims.