In OOH, "static" is used constantly and defined rarely. Here's the plain-language version, because the word carries real implications for your creative and your buy.

A static unit displays one fixed, physical piece of creative: printed vinyl, paper, or material, installed once and unchanged for your whole flight. No motion, no rotation, no swapping without a new print. The opposite is digital: a screen rotating multiple advertisers' creative electronically.

"Static" sometimes describes a digital screen showing a non-animated image (a static creative on a digital unit). Context usually disambiguates, but when it matters (and it does, for specs and cost), ask which sense is meant: static unit (printed, physical) or static creative (unmoving image, possibly on a screen). This single clarification prevents a surprising amount of confusion.

Printed artwork against physical dimensions, with production lead time (design, print, ship, install; see the creative deadlines article) and production cost per unit. One creative per unit per flight; a mid-flight message change means reprinting. Design accordingly: no dates that expire mid-flight, no offers that might change.

Static inventory is typically sold in fixed 4-week posting periods, priced with media plus production plus installation, and exclusively yours; no sharing a rotation. The economics reward longer flights, where production cost amortizes across more weeks. See the digital vs. static article for the full decision framework.

Every listing states it, and plans can filter by it. If a proposal line carries a production cost, it's static; digital lines never do. When in doubt, the production line item is the tell.