Deepening Commitment, Embarking on a New Journey in Digital Out-of-Home Advertising in Subways
ShanghaiJune 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In recent years, subway media, centered on urban rail transit spaces, has been steadily advancing its digital transformation. High-quality, wide-coverage digital media are accelerating their deployment in core city subway scenarios, effectively reaching mainstream commuter populations and laying a solid foundation for the development of programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) advertising. With the continuous deepening of digital marketing, brands have increasingly clear demands for quantifiable campaign effectiveness and traceable paths, driving out-of-home advertising to evolve further toward digitalization, intelligence, and contextualization. As a result, omnichannel digital marketing has become a key pathway for the industry to break through traditional out-of-home limitations and integrate into the broader integrated marketing ecosystem.
JCDecaux China Subway Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home White Paper
As a core operator of subway media in China, JCDecaux has long been driven by data capabilities, continuously advancing its digital layout. From initially deploying the “4D Strategy” in 2019, initiating media digitalization, data infrastructure, and broadcast control system construction, to launching the mainland’s first subway programmatic trading platform in 2023, releasing the iScreen Smart Display in 2024 to strengthen hardware foundations, and achieving scaled growth in subway programmatic trading in 2025, JCDecaux has witnessed and participated in the entire process of China’s subway programmatic trading from concept to practice. Throughout this journey, out-of-home media has gradually integrated into brands’ omnichannel operations, demonstrating a robust ability to support long-term brand value growth.
Sony’s programmatic advertising case on JCDecaux Shanghai subway media
In 2026, JCDecaux China officially released the “Subway Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home White Paper” (hereinafter referred to as the “White Paper”). The White Paper systematically outlines the development logic and industry potential of subway programmatic digital out-of-home advertising, comprehensively presents JCDecaux China’s technological accumulation, data practices, and development trajectory in the subway pDOOH field, and distills multiple typical cases, providing actionable and referential practical guidance for brands and industry partners.
Based on JCDecaux China’s long-term deep cultivation in core city subway scenarios, continuous insights into mainstream commuter populations, and accumulated achievements in omnichannel digital practices, the White Paper constructs four core sections, offering systematic guidance and references for the industry and brands:
1. Clarifying Industry Development Logic: Explains the inevitable trend of subway programmatic digital out-of-home development from the dual drivers of technology and demand, combined with global and Chinese market data and research findings, to identify industry growth potential and help brands plan ahead.
2. Deconstructing Core Operational Capabilities: Presents five data targeting capabilities and a full-chain effectiveness quantifiable mechanism, which have received widespread recognition, addressing core challenges of traditional out-of-home advertising at the data level.
3. Curating Cross-Industry Practical Cases: Includes cross-city cases covering seven major industries, detailing strategy formulation and execution effectiveness, providing replicable operational templates for brand campaigns.
4. Foreseeing Industry Development Trends: Summarizes eight value-enhancing capabilities, clarifying the core value of subway programmatic out-of-home in brand campaigns while injecting innovative momentum into future integrated marketing trends.
1664’s programmatic advertising case on JCDecaux Beijing subway media
Ms. Zhou Qian, CEO of JCDecaux China, stated: “Every technological innovation is a crucial opportunity for industry restructuring and value enhancement. The rise of programmatic out-of-home advertising enables out-of-home media to evolve from ‘broadcasting to the masses’ to ‘efficient targeting’ while solidifying its core advantages. The industry is currently in a critical period of transformation. In this process, JCDecaux China, with the responsibility and commitment of an industry leader, actively promotes the standardization of programmatic out-of-home advertising. In the future, programmatic out-of-home advertising will continue to develop steadily along the paths of compliance, contextualization, and intelligence, driving the construction of a more efficient, transparent, and trustworthy new marketing ecosystem.”
The release of the “Subway Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home White Paper” establishes a comprehensive reference system for subway pDOOH, from theoretical frameworks to practical operations, helping brands and the industry gain clearer insights into the practical value and development direction of programmatic out-of-home advertising. JCDecaux China hopes to use the White Paper as a bridge to explore new development paths with industry peers, jointly advancing a new industry future of “digital intelligence empowerment, omnichannel symbiosis.”