After nearly two hundred years of use, traditional advertising billboards are now being replaced by digital ones.
For centuries, businesses have advertised their wares and services to passersby. Before most people could read, it was done using symbols. For example, blacksmiths use horseshoes and pawnbrokers use three spheres.
As more people learned to read, the way companies advertised changed and firms began to put up written signs that indicated what their business was. Anyone that walked past knew instantly what they could get by visiting that shop, workshop, or business.
Nearly two hundred years of billboard use
It was not until 1830 that billboards started to be used to attract customers from farther afield. They had the added advantage of being able to be seen by passing traffic, which greatly increased footfall for those firms that used what was then a brand-new marketing tool. When in 1860, companies were able to erect a billboard anywhere their use soared.
There are 340,000+ billboards in the USA alone
In 2020, a survey of the USA revealed that there are 343,000 billboards in regular use. The figures for other developed countries, per head of population, are similar. However, the numbers have fallen in recent years. In 2016, the number in use was hovering around the 369,000 mark. This drop occurred largely because states tightened up or started to enforce legislation relating to outdoor advertising.
The growth of smaller billboards
Many of those that still exist are not the huge ones that you see alongside highways. Smaller urban billboards have become increasingly popular as companies that draw their customers mainly from a few square miles’ radii want to focus their marketing efforts in that area. This has led to considerable growth in the street furniture billboard market.
Advertisers switch from paper billboards to digital screen ads
This trend towards smaller billboards has played a role in increasing the number of digital billboards out there. According to Statistica, as of 2020, 9,600 of the 343,000 outdoor space billboards in use are already digital.
Digital billboards lend themselves particularly well to being used for adverts that have a relatively small physical footprint. With the added benefit that the adverts being displayed can be changed throughout the day.
This creates the opportunity for a single billboard to be used for more than one client. Something that is leading to higher profits for advertising firms. OutFront Media, which is one of the USA and Canada’s leading outdoor advertising firms, made 1.1 billion dollars in 2018.
Digital screens are cheaper to run
Being able to use this advertising real estate for more than one client generates more revenue. As does the fact that these billboards require a lot less maintenance. There is no need for someone to drive around the city changing the posters. Instead, someone in a central control centre changes the display at the touch of a button. ´
Good green credentials
The fact that no fuel is being burnt maintaining them is good for the environment as well as for the advertising firms’ bottom line. Provided the billboard is solar-powered, it is virtually carbon neutral. Particularly, if the materials previously used for that billboard´s adverts were the vinyl type. Materials that are difficult to recycle.
Opening the door to new marketing innovations
Increasingly, public transport billboards are digital. Some even feature touch screens, which makes it possible for people to interact with the adverts. It is now theoretically possible for firms to carry out market research in the form of short surveys. Incorporating QR codes that take consumers to the relevant ordering page makes it possible to catch the attention of a potential buyer and make a sale almost immediately. The fact that the advert can be changed at any time of the day makes it possible for a fashion retailer to switch from advertising summer dresses on their digital billboards to raincoats during a summer shower.
Digital screens leading to more stores creating their own outdoor advertising
However, it is not just marketing firms that are using digital screens. Increasingly, stores, gyms, clinics, takeaways, cafes, and restaurants are setting up their own digital outdoor advertising boards. It is not hard for a business owner to hook a screen up with a digital signage player and turn it into a billboard. One that can potentially display any type of advert. As well as be used to share information with customers, workers, passers-by, or anyone else that happens to glance at the screen. In areas where theft or vandalism is an issue, screens are simply set up behind a window.
There is no doubt that digital advertising screens are here to stay. Their use is set to become even more prevalent.
