MCDecaux, Japan branch office of JCDecaux, the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, announces that MCDecaux is today (April 1st, 2025) launching the programmatic purchase of the premium digital inventory in Japan. The inventory starts with 55 digital screens all available in top 2 airports in Kansai region, Kansai International Airport (KIX) and Osaka International Airport (ITAMI) which are now available for programmatic purchase - via VIOOH, the leading premium global digital out of home (DOOH) supply-side platform -  a unique opportunity for advertisers to reach their audiences in spring 2025, the year of Osaka Expo 2025. Digital screens in 10 cities of Street Furniture will join in the inventory in Q2 this year.

Brands will be able to book a DOOH campaign in a captive and exclusive environment in an ultra-flexible, simple and fast way, in combination with data. Programmatic DOOH offers more control and transparency, as well as more flexibility in targeting, contextualisation and optimisation. It will, for example, be possible to broadcast a campaign depending on the specific time of the day, days of the week and passenger movements: domestic or international, arrival or departure.

Programmatic buying will be a key growth driver, improving media buying experiences and passenger engagement at KIX and ITAMI Airport with more precise targeting and relevant messaging. Thanks to this new feature, advertisers will be able to be in contact with the extremely qualitative and contributing audiences of the two airports while making optimal use of their media budgets. Indeed, the airport's environment makes it possible to target extremely influential, captive and rapidly increasing travellers, both international and domestic. 

A recent global survey demonstrated that airport advertising media offer the highest perceived value for brands. As air travel resumes and passenger traffic rebounds strongly, advertisers can once again strengthen their brand affinities with key business executives and affluent leisure travellers at KIX and ITAMI Airports in the heart of Asian countries. 

Premium DOOH inventory of KIX and ITAMI will be available through VIOOH and joins the programmatic DOOH airport offering available on 7,500 screens in 26 JCDecaux international airports, including 15 of the busiest ones: in the US in Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Miami, in Europe in London Heathrow, Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Paris-Orly, Milan-Malpensa, Brussels, and Milan-Linate, as well as in Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, and Macau¹.

In recent years, MCDecaux has intensively developed its digital out-of-home offer nationwide in two environments, airports and street furniture. The programmatic offer is now available at airports, and will shortly be also in Japan’s top cities with 180 digital screens of bus shelters and city information panels, which are Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Sendai, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Kobe.

Jean-Christophe Conti, chief executive officer at VIOOH said, “At VIOOH, we are committed to growing our programmatic DOOH offering globally. Already available in 26 markets, we're pleased today to launch in our twenty-seventh market, Japan. Initially available at airport locations, we plan to expand our DOOH footprint in Japan later this year. Programmatic DOOH now offers advertisers, both those buyers within Japan and overseas, to connect with a multitude of new potential customers. The flexibility, efficiency and omni-channel campaign opportunities are infinite.”

Malik Roumane, president of MCDecaux said, “We are pleased to announce our entry in the programmatic DOOH market in Japan, which has rapidly expanded and is a major growth factor of the OOH industry in Japan. We start with KIX/ITAMI, which are two top airports in the west area of Japan. With the two airports, advertisers can reach the highest number of inbound travellers from Asian countries as well as domestic travellers both for business and leisure. Tailor-made communication with data makes it possible to broadcast the right message at the right time, and contribute to the best return on advertising investment. With street furniture to join in the programmatic inventory, advertisers will see opportunities to leverage the nationwide pDOOH network in Japan soon.”