Regional Partners, Inventory, and Retail Media in OOH
Luís Felipe Loli Argello details We OOH's operational model across 35 markets and its expansion into retail.
Expanding out-of-home advertising beyond major hubs requires local market expertise and disciplined inventory management. Speaking on Marketing - The Podcast, Luís Felipe Loli Argello explains the company's regional network structure and retail media strategy.
Expanding out-of-home (OOH) media inventory relies on combining physical presence across cities with commercial relationships tailored to each region's local culture. In a conversation with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast, Luís Felipe Loli Argello, CCO of We OOH, detailed how the company structures operations across more than 35 regional markets in Brazil, while addressing best practices in programmatic media delivery and investments in emerging retail formats.
In the video above, Argello explains how a decentralized operation enables ad space negotiations tailored to local market dynamics, ensuring that ad-serving technology keeps pace with network growth.
Regional partners and expanding across 35 markets
To operate outside Brazil's traditional São Paulo and Brasília corridor, We OOH employs a model built on partnerships with local stakeholders. According to Argello, having representatives with a proven track record in each market eliminates commercial friction and strengthens relationships with regional advertisers.
"We are currently in over 35 markets, with regional partners bringing their local flavor to We. That's extremely important. In Cuiabá, for example, our regional partner is a local who speaks the local dialect," says Loli. As examples of longstanding partners, he points to João Pedro in the South and Maurício in Rio de Janeiro, a newsstand advertising pioneer and founder of Pronex.
Safety margins in programmatic inventory management
Selling digital screens programmatically requires predictability to prevent campaign underdelivery. To manage technical fluctuations or daily variations in ad impressions, the company enforces a deliberate buffer on inventory sales.
"We always maintain a safety buffer in our inventory. If we have 100 slots to sell, we only sell 70 so everything stays aligned and no client campaign suffers from underdelivery," Argello explains. The goal is to ensure technical hiccups never lead to delivering less volume than contracted.
The push into retail media over the next 12 months
Beyond street-level presence, the network's next strategic move focuses on point-of-sale environments. The company has structured a dedicated retail media arm to integrate digital screens into the consumer journey within retail operations.
"The next frontier in OOH is what everyone is talking about: retail media. We already have a dedicated retail unit within the group that's just getting started. We expect to have this division fully consolidated over the next 12 months," says Argello. According to the executive, the key differentiator for this format is direct access to on-shelf purchasing metrics.