Year in Review 2025: Sandra Scott

Every year, StopPress catches up with a group of industry leaders from across Aotearoa to talk about the year that was. From the highlights and the lowlights to their favourite foods, fruits and Christmas traditions, they give us a little insight into 2025 as well as a look forward to 2026.

Sandra Scott is sales and partnerships director NZ at Vistar Media.

What was the best part about working in out of home in 2025?

The best part of working in out of home in 2025 has been the growth ​​and the people driving that growth. From agencies to media owners​ and the tech partners in between, there’s been a collective push to embrace and prioritise programmatic DOOH, ​scaling it to a genuine core channel.

It’s been driven by hard work, collaboration, and a shared belief in what OOH can be when the industry moves forward together.

What was the biggest challenge facing the industry this year?

Measurement has long been one of the industry’s biggest challenges. But in 2025, it also became one of our biggest breakthroughs. The launch of knOOH, New Zealand’s first unified audience measurement system, marked a new era for OOH.

Delivering a single measurement solution across both digital and static is incredibly powerful, and reflects what makes out-of-home a truly unique channel.

How did you feel about AI this year?

This year, my relationship with AI has been equal parts excitement and unease.​ Professionally, I’m genuinely excited about the efficiencies it can unlock, particularly in data, targeting and creative capabilities within OOH.

At the same time, wearing my parent hat, I’m more cautious. The rapid evolution of AI and the emergence of outcomes like deepfakes highlight very real risks around misuse. From image manipulation to online extortion​, are all things I’m too terrified to think about yet. So​, while the opportunity is undeniable, it reinforces the need for responsible adoption and strong safeguards as the technology continues to advance.

What is next in the world of OOH in 2026?

In 2026, OOH will continue to get smarter, faster and more connected. AI is already transforming how campaigns are planned and optimised, accelerating insight generation and sharpening creative decision-making. This is a natural fit for making OOH more data-driven and measurable at every stage.

More campaigns will be activated using store-level and real-world signals, from sales data and inventory availability to time-of-day triggers. This kind of contextual targeting isn’t a future promise; it’s already happening, and in 2026, we’ll see it scale.

We’ll also see platforms like Vistar Media’s Adstruc increasingly connect the dots, allowing buyers to plan and activate both static and digital OOH from a single environment, and significantly streamlining cross-format execution.

If you could sum up 2025 in five words, what would you say?

​What a year. Still standing!

Quick fire five:

Favourite campaign?

BNZ’s Take Your Sweet Time stood out for me. Ironically​ (and embarrassingly), in the chaotic Christmas rush, I was ​busy, tired, distracted, and nearly fell for an NZ Post delivery scam — this campaign popped into my head just in time. It smartly uses humour to show how rushing online makes us more vulnerable, reminding us that slowing down can be the smartest move. Plus, the close-up detail of the snail combined with the song choice? Mesmerising.​

Favourite Christmas tradition?

I’ve very much made a rod for my own back with this one. Baking “Advent Calendar Gingerbread Cookies” with my kids. This year, that meant baking about 70 cookies (extras for friends!), and icing them on a Saturday morning with a mild hangover – a moment that prompted some serious reflection on why I ever started this tradition.

Favourite recipe?

​Pineapple Chilli Margaritas will be my (homemade) drink of the summer.

Favourite sandwich?

​At this time of the year? Leftover Christmas ham, mustard and fresh white bread. No notes.

Favourite podcast?

We Don’t Have Time for This. For any full-time working mother in media juggling a thousand things at once, this podcast ​is uncomfortably relatable​ and hilarious. If you haven’t already heard me enthusiastically recommend it over lunch, have we even lunched together?

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