Episode 14: Digital Out-of-Home: Big screens, big promises

Tom Barbour, Sales Director UK at Vistar Media

Welcome to Legends of Adtech: the podcast where we go beyond the buzzwords and straight to the people at the coalface of the adtech industry. Every two weeks, we sit down with the industry’s boldest thinkers, pioneers, and disruptors, to find out how they’re rewriting the game. This is their story.

Digital Out of Home is having a moment. It now accounts for the majority of OOH spend, it’s programmatic, data-driven, and increasingly positioned as a serious player in the performance marketing mix. But behind the growth and the headlines, there’s a bigger question: is it actually working as well as we think it is?

In this episode of Legends of Adtech, Julia Linehan sits down with Tom Barbour, Sales Director UK at Vistar Media, to unpack the reality of programmatic DOOH: what it does well, where it's headed and what brands are getting wrong.

From measurement challenges and attention myths, to creative limitations and the role of AI, this is a no-nonsense look at one of the fastest-growing channels in media.

About Tom Barbour

Tom is a proven commercial leader with 14 years of experience driving revenue growth for prominent ad-tech businesses. Most recently leading the successful launch of Vistar Media's programmatic digital out-of-home offering to top tier media agencies in London.

Prior to Vistar Media, Tom worked for a raft of digital media companies including Opera Mediaworks, Blis and GumGum. At GumGum he was managing a team of five and looking after the revenue of major agency holding companies including Dentsu, Publicis and Omnicom. Growing this agency patch from circa £1m in 2019 to £15m+ in 2024.

Tom’s career trajectory reflects deep expertise in programmatic advertising, international sales management, and business development across the evolving digital media landscape.

Want to connect?

• Connect with Tom on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Vistar Media