Everything You Need to Know About Digital Billboard Advertising

Read on digital billboard advertising, the price of billboard advertising, and how to design a billboard that gets people to engage with your brand.

I own a car in Edmonton but traffic sucks so, I also do take the train (it’s called the “LRT” here). Most of my commuting friends spend the time glancing at their telephones. I typically find myself observing the world — and many billboards go by during that time.

I own a car in Edmonton. However, I also do take the train (it’s called the “LRT” here). Most of my commuting friends spend the time glancing at their telephones. I typically find myself observing the world — and many billboards go by during that time.

Digital Billboard Advertising

Billboard advertising is the process of using a large-scale digital advertisement (a billboard or hoarding to those in Europe) to market a company, brand, product, service, or campaign. Digital Billboard Advertisings are typically located in high traffic areas, such as highways and cities, so the highest number of drivers and pedestrians can see them.

Billboard advertising efficiently increases brand awareness and broadcasting your business to a large group of people. Because they’re in such busy areas, digital billboard advertising tends to have the most significant number of views and impressions when matched to other marketing methods.

Billboard Advertising Cost

The value of a digital billboard advertising campaign depends on many factors. Including the location of your billboard, the total traffic in the area, and how many individuals are expected to see your campaign. Billboard advertising costs are generally priced daily to monthly and range anywhere from $100 on a rural highway to upwards of $20,000 in Times Square.

Billboard advertising is classified as out-of-home (OOH) advertising. OOH is any advertising that reaches customers when they’re outside their houses. Each OOH advertising opportunity (e.g., personal digital billboard) is given an OOH rating, which eventually defines its value and the consequent cost to merchants.

Geopath is a nonprofit organization that uses technology and media research to evaluate the weekly impressions of every billboard in the country and give OOH ratings. (OOH advertising companies [e.g., the organizations that own the billboard spaces] pay Geopath for this data to share with potential sponsors.)

There are up to 10 determining factors that make up an OOH rating and, therefore, the cost of each billboard advertising opportunity.

Here are the three main factors:

1. Circulation is the total number of traffic that passes by the billboard each week. Local transportation authority’s this information.

2. Demographics relate to the age, gender, income level, and other traffic characteristics that pass the billboard. This data is collected from travel surveys and local transit officials.

3. Impressions are the number of people who see that billboard advertising. This information is calculated based on the billboard’s circulation, the size of the billboard, how close it is to the road, its visibility, the speed at which traffic is passing by, and more.

The cost of billboard advertising doesn’t stop with “paying” for ad space. However, you also have to consider the cost of designing the billboard and printing and constructing it if it’s not a digital billboard. Printing and construction will cost around $500, depending on the size and location of your billboard.

If you use a third-party billboard design company, expect the cost to range from $150 to $1000, depending on what agency or designer you choose, as well as the complexity of your desired design. However, if you’d like to design your own, check out the billboard design tips in the next section.

Billboard Design

If you’re going to spend on a billboard advertising potentially seen by millions, you want it to do its job. Here are a few billboards design tips that’ll ensure your billboard is practical and eye-catching.

Tell a story.

Strong billboards advertising takes viewers on a journey. Most digital billboards tell it’s narrative with imagery and possibly some text. Studies show that most drivers stop reading after a few words. It’s crucial to use your billboard to convey the nature of an idea or campaign rather than describing it with text.

Bold and simple.

Drivers or onlookers only have a few moments to get a flash of your billboard advertising. To reach the highest number of observers (and potential clients), keep your billboard design simple. After all, some people may be blown by your billboard at 70 mph. A best practice is to use bold fonts against contrasting background colors and avoid narrow script fonts.

Also, choose colors that stand out to viewers. If your billboard is in a rural area, avoid greens, blues, and browns.

Consider its location.

I’m not originally from Edmonton, but I’ve been here long enough to foster a certain sense of self-esteem. So, when I pass by billboards that play on the Oilers or the FC Edmonton soccer team or make jokes about the weather or traffic, I pay attention.

Attractive billboards are a reflection of their location. They take advantage of companies, areas, slogans, or issues related to the area. A great design can make the billboard that much more responsive to those who see it.

Choose an Interactive billboard design.

You may be able to design your billboard so that it can interact with its encircling environment. This approach helps your billboard advertising campaign to stand out and garnish more attention. (Which we’ll talk about more in the next section).

Make it memorable.

Your OOH billboard advertising campaign has to stand out amongst the herd. Your billboard shouldn’t be any different. Your billboard needs to tell a story and share a call-to-action in a way that’s exciting and unforgettable. Whether you call on happiness, passion, insight, or ingenuity, use emotional selling strategies in your billboard design to make it memorable.

Billboard Advertising Statistics

Let’s talk about some billboard advertising statistics that prove the impact of billboard advertising.

1. According to the 2016 census, 1.5 million Canadians spend at least 60 minutes communicating to work. (Source)
2. There are currently 222,000 digital billboards in Canada. (Source)
3. 6% of the global advertising budget is spent on OOH advertising. (Source)
4. 71% of people consciously look at billboards when driving. (Source)
Over 50% of people say they’ve been highly engaged by a billboard they’ve seen in the last month. (Source)
OOH, advertising is 382% more effective at driving online activity than TV ads. (Source)
5. When paired with search engine optimization (SEO), OOH advertising boosts its effectiveness by 40%. (Source)

Billboard Advertising: The medium you never knew you needed.

Billboard advertising does not fall under the digital marketing umbrella; however, it can still be a highly impactful way of advertising your services and boosting your brand awareness. It can also work to strengthen other inbound marketing efforts you’ve invested in, such as blogging, online lead offers, or Search engine optimization.

Billboard Advertising Builds Brands

Billboard’s advertising is the pinnacle form of marketing. While one of the oldest, 2021, is showing encouraging growth for the advertising medium. With 45% of consumers seeing OOH ads more now than pre-pandemic, and 66% of customers using their phones after seeing an OOH ad, the chance to attract and interact with consumers through digital billboards is endless.

Localbillboards.ca offers multiple billboards in top neighbourhoods across Edmonton. Our dedicated sales team can find the perfect OOH media fix to fit your budget. We are here for you at every step of the way. We help to strategize how brands are built on our Edmonton roadways with high-impact digital media primed for your messaging. Our billboards are explicitly on critical highways, crossings, and high traffic areas. Your branding will receive a long-term presence and enormous visibility, with over 80% of travellers noticing a billboard in the past month. Digital billboard signs help us decide what to do and where to go, acting as guides, helping us find businesses and services, and helping companies find customers. Billboards work well alone or in bundles with outbound marketing such as TV, radio, online, social, and mobile!

Billboard advertising is a wise investment.

Billboards Are everywhere in edmonton now

Billboard signs are worth every single penny. The investment and many locations are available for total brand amplification: 3D billboards that make people stop and stare, billboard augmentations that make for the ideal photo op, QR code insertion on authorized digital billboards that drive consumers to apps, breathtaking hand-painted walls, and bright, colourful posters.

Billboard Advertising Cost

Billboard pricing will depend upon the season, markets, how long your ad will run, and other factors that our sales team is more than happy to discuss in detail. Contact us today to inquire about billboard advertising costs for your brand.

8 Ways Billboard Advertising Drives Up Sales

According to Arbitron, 71% of Canadians “often look at the messages on roadside billboards.” That means outdoor billboard advertising has a significant impact on how consumers interact with your brand. Make no mistake about it – billboard advertising is here to stay.

Think back to the latest billboard you’ve seen this week. Chances are, it featured an eye-catching design that made you look at it, and more importantly, remember it despite the countless distractions on the road – from speeding cars, pedestrians, and even weather conditions.

For instance, here at LocalBillboards.ca, many of our clients ask us to create billboard designs that catch attention and make a mark. They know just how competitive billboard advertising can be, and they know they can rely on our creative chops.

Want to give LocalBillboards.ca a try? Contact us today!

Despite lockdowns implemented to curb the spread of the virus, people are still bound to go outside for necessary travel.
How does billboard advertising manage to maintain the industries attention for over 60 years? Let’s explore the factors below.

1. Billboard Design Opportunities

Billboard advertising allows for much-needed space and freedom to explore your creative ideas. a lot of space and privilege to be creative. Utilize your creativity to stand out from your competition by enforcing outdoor marketing strategies that work. Consider these types of billboard design opportunities:

Many brands made a work of art with their billboards. They have extended their creativity to the peek of human intelligence, and that’s a good thing because it shows their company culture. Coca-Cola’s latest billboard is a perfect example. They did more than place a few texts over an image, no. Instead, they put their ad in an old building and created an illusion of having multiple straws from different windows. And it seems that everyone was drinking from the same bottle.

2. People usually can't avoid billboards

You will be assured an audience when it comes to billboard advertising. The area of your billboard ad makes it hard to overlook. It’s tremendous and eye-catching, pushing people to look at your message. This method contradicts digital advertising, where your ad is scrolled past in less than an instant. The cost of advertising to the ordinary person is exposed to has created “advertising blindness”, making ads skip over. Still, the sheer size of billboards makes them hard to ignore.

In addition, more people can turn off these pop-up ads online because, quite frankly, it affects the overall experience. On the other hand, you can’t block billboards advertising. Not many people will deliberately stay out of their usual route to avoid a tremendously blatant billboard.

3. Billboards over more advanced technology

Advertisers tend to make the mistake of thinking billboard advertising only offers one medium. However, that is certainly not the case. You can choose a billboard that will work best with your business and the people you target. Here are some to different forms of billboards advertising:

A. Digital billboards

This billboard form displays several advertisements on one massive board. Digital Billboards could be an excellent opportunity that will enable you to share the billboard cost with other companies.

B. Colour-Changing Billboard Displays

Colour-changing displays are a great way to attract notice and put the limelight on your campaign.

C. Interactive Billboards

Interactive billboards use motion sensors and display data depending on the user’s information.

C. Interactive Billboards

This option offers full-motion, full-colour, and high contrast images using ambient light to improve picture quality. As the name implies, it’s much like ink on paper. Build creative, powerful campaigns efficiently. Meet your conversion goals using visuals that stand out.

4. Billboards are Exposed To More Than One Audience

What separates billboard promotion is how it shows an advertisement to the highest number of people without any technicalities. Digital media needs the audience to turn to their mobile devices to see your ads. Most Canadians spend more than 40% of their time outside, making digital billboard ads very intrusive and likely to be seen. Top Media also says 71% of consumers often look at roadside billboards, thus proving billboard advertising’s effectiveness.

5. Affordable Advertising Medium

Digital Billboard ads offer increased consumer exposure minus the added value. Top Media says paying for billboard ads is 80% less expensive related to TV.

Despite being an affordable route, Top Media says four of the biggest billboard spenders are big ventures that continue to thrive in their fields. These ventures are Apple, Google, Amazon, and Netflix. What does this mean for marketers? Even if it’s more affordable than TV advertising, it’s a tool utilized by big companies with enormous resources. That means you need to step up your game for your billboard to be noticed alongside those of more significant ventures.

6. Less Effort for the Target Market

What makes billboard advertising different is how it shows an ad to a maximum number of people without much effort. Digital media require the public to turn to their gadgets to see the ad. For instance, in social media ads, people would have to use the platform and browse to see ads that target them.

7. Increased Consumer Exposure

One of the advantages of billboard advertising is its constant availability. Just look at billboard advertising examples you regularly see during your daily commute. Chances are, you’ve somehow remembered some of them because you’re shown them every day.

8. Encourage Impulse Purchases

One reason why billboards are an effective medium is their power to influence people to purchase right away.

9. Build Brand Trust Among the Market

People trust brands that use traditional channels for promotions. People do this because they are becoming now of how false information could easily travel online. So if they see online digital advertisements on their smartphones, the level of trust is not the same compared to seeing it outside.

Regardless if you have the best ideas for your marketing promises online, nothing beats putting a giant billboard outside. It gives your brand the impression that you are confident and bold enough to expose yourself to the real world.

10. Things will go back to normal sooner or later

At the height of the pandemic, most people were required to stay at home. Or if they needed to go out, these were limited to essential errands. However, once our fight against the pandemic is over, you will see more people going out. There will be volume traffic because everyone wants to have a piece of outdoors.

And if your brand does not have a billboard space, you are losing thousands of potential eyes that could see your business.

11. Shopping Decisions are Made While Driving

Did you know that 72% of billboard viewers shop on their way home from the office? That means your primary viewers are also your decision-makers. If you can tap their brains through your billboard, they can immediately go to your shop and buy from you.

12. Strong Visual Appeal

Cynics can argue that billboards aren’t as eye-catching as moving ads like TV and social media videos. Furthermore, it’s not as mobile as print ads that you can take with you and keep as long as you want. Despite these constraints, billboard ads continue to flourish because of their main strength – their size.

12. Strong Visual Appeal

Moreover, one tech solves the issue of billboard’s immobile nature: the rise of digital billboards. Statista says there are 342 thousand large format outdoor displays listed in the United States in 2019. Out of this number, 8.8 thousand shows were under the digital billboard category. Without a doubt, digital billboards that change colours and display movements boost the impact of billboard advertising.