Research Reveals Powerful Role of Office Media to Influence Business Travel Decisions

VIOOH, the leading premium global digital out of home (DOOH) supply-side platform, in partnership withECN, a world leading digital out of home office media publisher, has released a new report ‘Office to Onboard: How Programmatic DOOH reaches the Travelling Professional’. The research reveals that UK business professionals are not only the most premium-focused travellers in Europe but are also reshaping how and where brands should engage with high-value audiences.

Today’s professionals are not only travelling; they are also returning to city-centre offices in large numbers and with greater frequency, providing greater opportunities for brands to reach this highly desirable audience. The report examines their travel habits, workplace patterns and attitudes toward advertising.

Premium travel preferences set UK apart

UK business travellers demonstrate the strongest appetite for premium experiences across all travel modes. When flying, 56% choose Business or First Class for short-haul flights - the highest rate among the three markets studied - rising to 71% for long-haul journeys. This premium focus extends to rail travel, with almost half (49%) booking First Class when travelling for business. UK business travel professionals also show a preference for rideshares and taxis (75%) when accessing transport hubs.

The research shows that 47% of UK C-suite business professionals travel three or more times per month for business purposes, with an overwhelming 77% of C-Suite executives expecting to increase their travel frequency over the next 12 months - slightly higher than senior leaders in Germany (75%) and significantly higher than equivalent leaders in France (47%).

The office is the starting point for business travel decisions

Perhaps most significantly for advertisers, the research identifies offices - particularly those in Central Business Districts (CBDs) - as the most consistent and high-frequency environment for reaching business travellers. For UK respondents, office environments in particular offer advertisers unmatched visibility and contextual relevance when professionals are actively planning and booking business travel.

UK respondents were notably more likely to expect technology and business advertising in office environments, with 66% citing offices as the primary location for IT/technology brand advertising, surpassing airports (62%), rail stations (41%) and roadside / service stations (22%). Personal banking (60%) and business banking brands (60%) were second most likely to be seen in offices, with airports being the most likely advertising location for travel brands (82%) and luxury brands (75%).

The role of the office with relation to advertising extends beyond expectation to actual behaviour: 68% of UK business travellers book their travel and 58% arrange accommodation from the office. This positions the office as a crucial conversion point for brands seeking to engage professionals at the moment of decision.

Attitudes towards advertising

The ability to tailor messaging to specific environments ensures pDOOH campaigns resonate with business travellers at the right time and place. This combined with easy access devices means that ads can be actionable in real-time, without delay.

UK business travellers are most interested in seeing advertising from IT/technology brands (72%), closely followed by travel brands (68%) and personal banking/finance (55%). Automotive (37%) and luxury brands (39%) were of least interest. While the overall category interest patterns are similar, the UK figures skew higher than the European averages, with IT/technology brands (60%) and travel brands (56%) taking the top spot.

Forty percent of all European respondents trust indoor OOH advertising, and this trust is even higher among high-value segments: 46% among C-suite executives, 43% among CBD-based professionals, and 44% among employees at large firms.

“UK business travellers represent a highly valuable, premium-focused audience that's reshaping the media landscape,” said Jean-Christophe Conti, chief executive officer at VIOOH. “The office has emerged as the most reliable and frequent touchpoint for reaching these professionals, offering brands repeated, predictable impressions at the crucial moment when travel decisions are being made. For advertisers seeking to connect with today's mobile professional class, city-centre offices should be a central focus.”

“This research confirms what we see daily: business travel begins in the office,” said Charles Parry-Okeden, global CEO at ECN. “For brands, the office isn’t just a place of work – it’s where decisions are made, from booking flights to buying luggage and planning experiences. ECN’s premium office media network connects advertisers to professionals in these decisive moments, delivering high attention, trust, and a video first, content rich relevance that few other environments can match.”

Together, VIOOH and ECN are redefining how brands engage with Europe’s travelling professionals.

The full report is available here.