Digital Billboards: Bridging the Past With the Future

According to Wikipedia, the earliest known billboard rental can be traced back to the year 1867.  Over the last 144 years, billboards have stood the test of time as still one of the most effective ways to broadcast your message to millions of viewers.

The first Digital Billboard installed by Daktronics was erected in 2001 and billboard advertising has never been the same ever since.

Amazingly, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America states that, “of an estimated 400,000 billboard faces in the United States; about 2,000 of those are digital, or one half of one percent.”

Most digital billboards utilize one minute loop lengths, with eight slots being made available for advertisements and/or public service announcements.  Each message will typically be displayed for about seven seconds.  Not a terrible amount of time, until you remember people are usually driving by at 65+ mph.

In 2008, Arbitron conducted a research survey in Cleveland to find out the what the public thought about digital billboards.  Arbitron’s research concluded, “Among younger demographics, digital billboards are even more popular. The Arbitron studies found high percentages of those 18-34 consider digital billboards attractive, while a majority agreed digital billboards help the community by providing emergency information. More than three quarters of 18-34 year olds said digital billboards are a “cool way to advertise.”

The cost to advertise on a digital billboard varies based on the number of faces you are interested in, as well as the demand by other advertisers, additional information on digital billboard pricing can be found here.

What is your long term view on Digital Billboards?  Do you think they will eventually replace all static boards?