Why venue standardization matters
OOH / DOOH screens are located in many different environments, including airports, shopping malls, offices, roadsides, transit systems, and residential buildings. Without a shared classification, the same environment may be described differently by each media owner or supply platform. The OpenOOH taxonomy provides a common language for media owners, SSPs, DSPs, and media buyers. It improves venue-based targeting, reduces ambiguity during campaign planning, and makes OOH / DOOH inventory easier to package and compare across supply platforms.How the taxonomy works
Lynx SSP uses two levels:
When selecting a venue, choose the most accurate parent and child combination available. Grandchild categories exist in the OpenOOH specification but are not currently used in the Lynx inventory form.
When to select a venue
Select a venue when creating or updating a DOOH screen. Venue classification is required for specification (see Specification, Type & Category): • Roadside • Place-Based • Fleet Choose the venue based on the physical environment and audience around the screen, not only on the screen format, resolution, or advertising size.Parent venue categories
Child venue categories
01 — Transit
Important: Taxi & Rideshare TV is only for screens inside taxi or rideshare vehicles. It is not a general DOOH category.
02 — Retail
03 — Outdoor
04 — Health & Beauty
05 — Point of Care
06 — Education
07 — Office Building
08 — Entertainment
09 — Government
10 — Financial
11 — Residential
Common examples
How venue types improve DSP targeting
Venue classification gives DSPs a consistent signal about the environment and audience around a screen. This allows buyers to target specific DOOH contexts instead of treating all screens as the same inventory.
Standardized parent and child values help buyers compare similar inventory across different supply sources. The parent supports broader targeting, while the child provides more specific targeting. For example, a buyer can target all Retail environments or narrow the campaign to Retail → Mall.
Accurate classification also helps reduce irrelevant bid opportunities. A screen in a mall should not be represented as a roadside billboard, and a screen inside a clinic should not be represented as a general retail screen. Select the category that best matches the actual physical environment so buyers can make reliable targeting decisions.