What to Expect from Billboard Advertising

Posted on October 25, 2019 by admin

In 1867, the first billboard was leased. This billboard was used to hold a large advertisement. Since then, billboards have become one of the most popular forms of advertising. They are unique with visual designs, large size, guaranteed audience, and the ease in which they can be set up on roads and highways.

Billboard advertising industry began in the late 19th century. It started off slowly. But by 1870, there were around three-hundred bill-posting and sign painting companies. Then, in 1891 the Associated Bill Posters’ Association was founded. This expanded the concept of poster advertising, allowing advertisers to see the potential that the medium offered. Today, billboards have risen to one of the most popular forms of advertising. Below we’re discussing what to expect from billboard advertising.

What Is Billboard Advertising?

When the 20th century began, billboards were a popular form of advertising, but nowhere near as popular as they soon became. With the rise of the automobile, billboards rose to one of the dominant forms of advertising.

Roads and highways were built to accommodate the automobiles that everyone was buying. Billboards were advertising a variety of different products and services on these roads and highways. Everyone saw these billboards as they drove.

Today, billboard advertising is one of the most popular advertising mediums. A billboard is a giant poster that is visible to hundreds of people. Unlike other forms of advertising, billboards always have a sizeable audience. By making the right choices, you might be able to reach the right people at any given time.

The billboard advertising industry began in the second half of the 19th century
In the 20th century, billboard advertising became a dominant form of advertising, due to the automobile
Billboard advertising is one of the most popular forms of advertising in today’s world
Every billboard is guaranteed to have an audience

What Do You Do Before Purchasing Your Billboard?

Billboards can be costly upfront. You should know what to expect from billboard advertising. For one, you should consider a consultation with a billboard advertising agency. During your consultation, you should finetune the needs of the billboard. You should also investigate your target audience, the proper location, and what your billboard advertisement conveys and expresses.

Purchasing a billboard is a process, and it begins by being aware of your audience, and the exact message that you would like to convey. If those two elements of the process are uncertain, then your billboard will be hard-pressed to succeed.

When you understand those two elements, you can set up a consultation with a billboard advertising agency. Throughout your consultation, you will be able to finetune the individual components of your billboard. These are components include:

specific audiences that you would like to reach
the message you are expressing
placement of your billboard
what the billboard says and what it looks like.

Once all of that information has been organized, you’ll be able to look at billboards that the consultant feels are right for your business. Make sure to visit each billboard in person, so that you can see what it really looks like, and whether or not people can actually see it as they drive by.

Make sure you understand the message you need to convey and your target audience
Setup a consultation and fine-tune the individual components of the billboard, including the design, placement, and specific audience you need to reach
Visit the billboards your consultant has suggested for you and find one that looks and feels right to you

What Happens Once You Purchase Your Billboard?

When you purchase your billboard, the next step is for you to work with your consultant on designing the billboard advertisement. All of the preparatory work you did earlier is incredibly valuable in this stage of the process.

Earlier, before and during your meeting with the consultant, you finetuned the different aspects of your billboard. Aspects that include your target audience, the message you want the billboard to convey, and the overall design of the billboard.

When you work with your consultant on designing your billboard, all of that information will be put to good use. For the words, you’ll need to keep it short and sweet – six-words or less is ideal – while making sure that you’re saying something that speaks to your target audience, and conveys your intended message.

Words are only a small portion of a billboard, though. Billboards are visual mediums, and you’ll be spending a lot of time working with your consultant on the visual design of your billboard. Every visual element must align with what your audience needs, what you are selling, and the message that you intend to convey.

For example, if you are advertising a motorbike that goes very fast, then you should integrate visual motifs that are related to speed and momentum. That way, the words are a supplement to the visuals, rather than the other way around.

When you purchase your billboard, it’s time for you to design it
Make sure your design is in alignment with your audience, what they want, and the message you want to convey
Focus on making the words a supplement to the visuals; billboard advertising is a visual medium

What Makes A Billboard Effective?

When a billboard is in the right spot, has the right visual design and the right words, and successfully introduces people to your product, that billboard is effective. If a billboard is in the wrong spot, has a clunky visual design and a strange choice of words, that billboard is unable to properly introduce potential customers to what you are selling.

In order for your billboard to be effective, it must be in the right spot, have the right visual design, and the right words. Those elements lead to a billboard that conveys what it is that you are selling, in a manner that ensures that the right people see what you are offering.

If you are advertising designer clothing, you probably wouldn’t want your billboard to be located on a road somewhere deep in rural Puerto Rico. Instead, you would want to place that billboard in a place where people with lots of disposable income will see it.

Examples of Effective Advertising

When advertising that designer clothing, you need your billboard to convey the status and prestige that comes with wearing your clothing. Instead of using a visual design that appears clunky and lacking in polish, use a visual design that comes across as sophisticated and classy.

To make your billboard extra special, you need to use the right words. For designer clothing, you wouldn’t use words such as “affordable” or “inexpensive”, you would use words such as “elegant” and “luxury”.

No matter what you are advertising, make sure that all three of those elements come together. What you should expect from billboard advertising:

Your billboard must be in the right spot, have the right visual design, and the right words
Make sure that your billboard is somewhere people can see it, and where the people who will buy your product are likely to see it
Ensure that the visual design is in alignment with what you are advertising
Make sure that you use as few words as possible, and that every word has an impact

bMedia Can Assist

For Puerto Rico billboard advertising, bMedia Group has you covered. We have years of backed experience and can help you craft the right message and the winning graphic to help boost your business. Our form of advertising isn’t just effective, it is proven. Contact us today for a consultation and clarification on what to expect from billboard advertising.

Amazing Billboard Ads

Posted on September 30, 2019 by admin

We are constantly bombarded by messages enticing us to buy something. Look at a website and the next thing that pops up is an array of ads for that item from competing companies. Open your e-mail and there are full-color, animated sales flyers whether you asked for them or not. Ads come in many forms including posters, window displays, newspaper and magazine ads, t-shirts, web, and social media, but the most effective type is still in the form of amazing billboard ads.

Advertising is big business. This year it topped $100 billion dollars in the USA alone. Outdoor or billboard advertising accounted for 7% of that.

Some billboard ads appeal to certain potential clients. Others garner more attention from a different niche market. But what, exactly, makes an outdoor effective? The most amazing billboard ads follow certain designs and creative elements, and we’re giving you some intriguing information on them below.

Why are Outdoor Ads so Effective?

Billboard ads have been proven to be highly effective. Who can resist reading a big, bold billboard or a colorful ad the full length of a city bus? It’s difficult to miss an ad that covers an entire wall.

Outdoor ads are limited only by the imagination of advertisers. Have you noticed ads in cab windows, on bus shelters, affixed to park benches? You will find them on kiosks in shopping malls, plus trains, in airports, and even front lawns. Most commonly, however, outdoor ads occupy space nearest to roads in the form of billboards and with good reason. Every day, people commute t0 work, home, stores and more, and within that drive time, they either knowingly or unknowingly pass by a captivating billboard.

We spend more time away from home than we do inside so it follows that outdoor signs catch our eye and lure us to buy. Still, what makes amazing billboard ads effective?

Outdoor Signs Have High Impact

Where magazine or newspaper ads have to capture a viewer to the medium, outdoor advertising requires no such invitation. It’s right there. It’s in your face. It’s part of your environment. You can’t close it like the newspaper, shut it off like the TV, or shut it down by clicking your mouse.

You have no control over whether you view it. The longer and the more often you see it, the greater the impact.

Outdoor Ads Grab Your Attention

Outdoor ads stand alone. They aren’t competing with other ads the way TV, internet, and newspaper ads do.

Outdoor ads are often visible from afar. They stay in your visual range for several minutes. Outdoor advertisers strive for color, movement, and creativity that make them attention-grabbing and memorable even long after you’ve seen them.

Outdoor Advertising is Surprisingly Cost-Effective

Studies on return on investment (ROI) for outdoor billboard ads found that outdoor advertising is very cost-effective when compared with other types of advertising. The reason, again, is that they’re hard to ignore and they even subconsciously entice buying decisions.

Outdoor Advertising Reaches A Wide Audience

If you’re trying to reach a wide niche market, outdoor advertising is an excellent marketing platform for your brand, company, organization, or enterprise. Outdoor advertising has a broad audience. Being outdoors, businesses have the eyes of thousands of potential consumers. Many of them are hard to reach in other advertising media forms.

Where Do People Shop?

The short answer is: Not where they used to shop. Surveys discovered that over seventy percent of things purchased are not bought in retail centers and shopping malls. When it comes to advertising, location is crucial. Outdoor advertising is the most effective medium when it comes to making an impact on shoppers before they purchase.

Consumers Like Outdoor Ads

Ads on TV are hated! DVR companies make a fortune on providing the viewing public with a means of ignoring ads. On the other hand, outdoor ads are actually popular with consumers. An Australian study proved that locals and tourists preferred buses with ads than those without them. Over a third of American drivers said they welcomed the distraction of billboard ads.

Outdoor Ads Combine with Other Advertising

Outdoor advertising need not stand alone. It has been shown to combine well with other types of advertising. The result is a heightened impact on both types of ads.

Outdoor Ads Offer a Fresh Message

Thanks to modern technology, outdoor advertising gives brands and enterprises a novel, creative, attention-grabbing approach. It’s a way to reach potential consumers in an open, fresh appealing way.

Why are Billboards one of the Best Types of Outdoor Ads?

On average, people spend more than twenty hours a week in their cars. Here are some interesting statistics on commuters by state. For billboards, these drivers and their passengers are a captive audience.

Amazing billboard ads are big, bright, visually appealing, easy-to-read as you pass without undue driver distraction. Moreover, studies have shown that these messages leave a lasting visual impression.

Best Copy for Outdoor Ads

When it comes to compelling copy for an amazing billboard, you have to remember that you are competing with the driver’s smartphone, GPS, radio, and morning coffee. So, your message needs to be big, bold and easy to read in passing. It also needs to be clever but not cutesy.

A good rule of thumb in copy is six words or less. Six seconds is the usual time spent passing a billboard. Also, consider the words and their length.

You want to get noticed but not be a distraction whether you are a traditional roadside billboard or a mobile billboard on a bus or truck side.

You’re not trying to get a response. You want to entice a potential consumer, provide information, and get your brand out there. Billboards promote products and support brand campaigns.

Best Visuals

Good visuals are big, bright, bold. They elicit a feeling from the viewer and provide a lasting memory of what they have seen for only a few seconds. Thanks to computer-aided design and vinyl sign software packages these visuals can be created effectively for both stationary and mobile billboards.

Outdoor Ads Faux-Pas

Not all billboards are effective. Here are some things to avoid when designing a billboard:

Ineffective Use of Color

Thanks to computer-aided design the sky’s the limit when it comes to color. Your ad must be attractive to grab the viewer’s attention and provide a lasting visual.

Hard-to-Read Fonts

Choose fonts carefully. Stylized fonts, curly print, thin letters are a bad choice on billboards. Aim for easy and fast reading format.

Too Much Text

As cosmetics maven, MaryKay, said of women’s makeup, “Less is more!” Avoid large chunks of text. Six words is a good rule of thumb.

Poor Placement

As with real estate, in the world of billboards placement is a major decision. Not selecting the right location can be the demise of your add no matter how effective the design.

Amateur Design

Hire a professional. Many companies hoping to save a dollar try to use a software package to create their own billboards. The results are often poor if not disastrous. The money spent on professional billboards more than pays for itself in return on investment.

Let us help. bMedia billboards have proven customer satisfaction and results.

DEC Calculator

Posted on May 3, 2019 by admin

A DEC calculator can be used to calculate the daily effective circulation or potential billboard exposure for an outdoor media installation in a given location. Please use our DEC Calculator below.

Daily Effective Circulation Calculator

[CP_CALCULATED_FIELDS id=”1″]

Specifications

According to the OAAA the DEC is calculated by assuming that each vehicle contains 1.38 people (18 years and older). That variable is divided into two (to measure only one direction of the road). This data was provided from the Ministry of Transport and Public works of Puerto Rico which was published in January 2005 with data pertaining to 2003. These statistics assume outdoor media is featured with 24 hours of illumination.

Vintage Billboards

Posted on April 29, 2019 by admin

Advertising has evolved much over the ages. Before the advent of cheap, high-quality photo printing, painted illustrations were required to cover the large area of billboards. This meant that vintage billboards were works of art in and of themselves. Due to the limitations imposed by the use of illustrations, even the design of such ads was different.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the most effective, beautiful, and well-crafted vintage billboards to analyze and deconstruct.

Vintage Pepsi Billboard

For anyone who has seen the classic 1985 popcorn science fiction film, “Back to the Future”, this billboard might bring back a bit of nostalgia. There’s a scene in which the main character travels from an empty lot in 1955 to the same space in 1985, except the area is now occupied by a newly built suburban neighborhood. While this ad is clearly about Pepsi, it still manages to be highly representative of its era- a time when suburban development was on the rise as the American middle class prospered.

Perhaps the most interesting and striking aspect of this billboard is that it uses the scale in order to defy the expectations of the viewer and catch their attention.

Small objects such as the Pepsi bottle cap are drawn to dwarf traditionally larger objects such as the house being constructed. The technique is quite subtle, yet still manages to disarm and interest viewers.

Vintage Coca-Cola Billboard

Of course, if we are to look at old Pepsi ads, it is inevitable that vintage Coca-Cola ads be brought up as a contrasting point. The evolution of the marketing behind Coca-Cola is an always fascinating subject. Here is a rare snapshot of the brand’s humble beginnings. Simple, yet ever present, this ad was found in Puerto Rico and was among the first of the brand’s international marketing efforts.

Coca-Cola’s presence has been felt around the world for decades, this image highlights just how long Coca-Cola has been at the forefront of popular culture.

1920’s Spanish Tile Billboard

The ad pictured above is from a relatively recent photograph, meaning that this advertisement has remained intact for almost 100 years at this point, all thanks to the quality of craftsmanship and the materials used.

This billboard found in Sevilla, Spain dates back to the 1920s and is a beautiful and quite rare find. Comprised of painted tiles, it has more in common with traditional Spanish art than advertising materials. The amount of detail, care, and raw artistry that has gone into this piece come off as incredibly uncharacteristic with what audiences have come to expect out of ads. Thrilling and interesting they may be- modern ads are ultimately understood to be disposable and fleeting.

Motorcar Silhouettes Retro Billboard

Flat design is highly distinguished by shape and color instead of perspective, lighting, and detail. These two elements are commonly found being manipulated in vintage ads. This ad is a prime example of how shape can be used and taken advantage of in an ad.

This ad for some motorcars is focusing specifically on the shapes of the front of each car, relying upon the highly distinctive and iconic silhouettes of the vehicles to add impact to the billboard’s message.

1967 Chevrolet Camaro Vintage Billboard

This famous ad for the then brand-new Chevrolet Camaro is worth highlighting thanks to its striking use of bold colors.

As previously mentioned, color is the other side of the coin when it comes to flat design. While the last advertisement made great use of shapes and silhouettes, this Camaro ad chooses to shift the focus mainly to its usage of color, though the shape here is still very distinctive and clear.

The high contrast between the yellow, red, white, and black, makes it stand out and leaves an impression in the mind of the viewer. Such imagery has had a drastic impact on popular culture, inspiring visual effects in movies such as Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” and in video games such as “The House of the Dead”.

2.5D Oldsmobile Retro Billboard

In this example, the vintage billboard is comprised of multiple 2D elements layered in such a way to give the impression of depth, guiding the eye from the front left to the back right.

The beauty of billboards as an advertising medium comes from the fact that they exist within three dimensions. Many modern billboards take advantage of this by making use of models and other 3D constructs. As previously mentioned, however, many vintage billboards favored flat designs and thus approached the use of the Z-axis in a different way, utilizing a method

Interested in more creative outdoor media? Check out our article on funny signs and billboards.

Funny Advertising Fails

Posted on March 27, 2019 by admin

Advertising is all about creating associations. People who see a clear message alongside your brand will connect the two in their mind even if they don’t consciously realize it. But this effect is a double-edged sword; if someone attaches their brand to a poorly made advertisement, it can really hurt their image. Of course, if an advertisement is so bad that it’s funny when people share it online. So these advertisements are either fails or successes depending on whether or not you believe that all publicity is good publicity.

Yahoo 404 Error?

For any website, serving a user up a 404 error is an embarrassment. For one of the world’s largest search engines, producing a 404 should probably never happen, so the unfortunate number placement in this baseball stadium next to the Yahoo banner makes for funny advertising fail. Location always matters!

What Does That Say?

If you’re having trouble reading this on a screen that’s standing still imagine trying to read it while you drive past at more than sixty miles per hour. This sign seems like a real traffic hazard. Even if you can read it the slogan “see your teeth as we do” doesn’t feel worth the effort required.

Hunters and Hygienists

So I’m confused, are they holding my dental hygienist hostage? Listen, it’s great if you have hobbies and sometimes you can even work your favorite pastime into your ad campaign. But your job and your hobby need to align in some way for it to work. All this sign makes me think of is my teeth mounted on the wall beside some antlers.

Quality Control is Crucial

Even great designs can blow up in your face if the idea isn’t executed correctly. This ad must have looked great on the screen it was designed on but because the people putting the sign up didn’t put care into their work the whole impact was ruined. It just goes to show how important everyone, from the ad executive down to the person who actually has to physically put the ad up.

Diabetes, Straight Ahead

This sign placement is either incredibly unfortunate or ingenious. If the diabetes sign was there first, then McDonalds made a huge mistake. But if the McDonalds sign was the original sign then the people at the Ad Council found a great way to spread their message and make people question their unhealthy eating habits.

Join the Fun!

Because of the way the picture was cropped we can’t tell what the full sign says. What we can say for sure is that this sign seems to be encouraging people to die, and that’s always going to be a bad advertising move.

Celebrating Remarkable Women

Mixing social issues and personal promotion always requires a tricky balancing act and the people behind this sign handled the challenge with the grace of a boozed-up bull in a china shop. Honoring women is a worthy goal, but when that’s your goal you probably don’t want to make it look like your company doesn’t have any female leadership.

Love Your Curves

On the topic of mixed messages, here we have another case of good intentions and poor execution. If you want to sell your product to women who identify as curvy, then you should probably hire some models who aren’t so skinny. This advertisement manages to feel pandering, tone deaf, and insulting all at once. In that way, it’s actually quite an accomplishment!

This is Bland Flavor

Always triple check your font choice. Look at it yourself, show it to a friend, then show it to a stranger. If the designer behind this ad followed those steps, someone might have pointed out that the cursive I and S come together to look like a B, turning “island” into “bland.” It doesn’t help that the food in the picture ranges from black to brown to white. A little bit of garnish might wouldn’t have hurt.

Technical Error

Just as technology has opened up new avenues for success, it has also created plenty of new chances for failure. In the old days, a billboard ad would never need to be rebooted. Then again, this might be a good advertisement if it was put up by one of Intel’s competitors as a way to paint their products as faulty.

1-800-CALL

Last time I checked 1-800 numbers needs a few more numbers than this. What are the last three numbers? I know that CALL translates into 2255 but what three numbers do you get out of four generic looking lawyer types? Who thought this sign was complete? So many questions, so few answers.

For more humorous advertisements check out our article on: Funny Signs and Billboards.

How Does Facebook Spend its Advertising Budget? Billboards.

Posted on February 26, 2019 by admin

Have you ever seen a billboard ad for Facebook and stopped to wonder why one of the top online advertising powers in the world invests its marketing dollars into outdoor advertising?

Maybe not, but oh the irony. We personally think it’s pretty powerful that Facebook – an online marketing tool that stresses using its advertising tools to promote business – spends it’s own marketing dollars on a traditional form of marketing in billboards.

Live What You Love Campaign

One of the more noticeable Facebook billboard campaigns took place early last year across India. The campaign, entitled “Live What You Love” pushed groups, pages and events to Indian users in an effort to encourage them to join groups to find like-minded people.

The ads aired on prime time tv, and across prominent billboards in Mumbai, New Delhi, and several other cities.

Spam Is Not Your Friends Campaign

Perhaps the better-known example of Facebook using TV, print ads and large billboards is the most recent campaign that began in March of last year around America. The sparse billboards and bus stop signs proclaimed “Spam is not your friends”, “false news is not your friends” and “clickbait is not your friends” along with a promise to change the way things appear in the newsfeed.

This campaign was in response to bombshell revelations about how Russian bots used Facebook to disseminate false information, spam, and clickbait to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Facebook then went on to launch a summer campaign in the European Union to advise users of their rights under the General Data Protection Regulation Act.

Traditional Advertising is Still Key

Facebook’s efforts to reach its users not only on its own platform, but through traditional advertising methods like TV commercials, print ads and outdoor advertising on billboards, bus stops, subway signs and more underscore that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

In fact, outdoor advertising and billboards are the only advertising industry that is seeing more forecasted growth. In 2018, outdoor marketing was expected to grow 2% to account for an $8 billion market.

On the other hand, other traditional advertising saw a decline last year:

National TV Advertising: -1.5%
Local TV Advertising: -3.5%
Newspaper Advertising: -19%
Magazines -15%
Radio: -4%

The fact that outdoor advertising is the only section of the market seeing profitability amongst a mix of other traditional advertising methods shows us that outdoor media, billboards and signage are still one of the most effective ways to reach consumers when not on a digital platform.

Digital is the Difference

However, there is a marked difference between the success of traditional billboards and of digital billboards. Digital options are proven to be more cost-effective, and the bright, eye-catching effects that allow for multiple ads to appear on a single billboard makes the display more profitable for agencies and billboard owners.

Industries are taking notice of this, too.

Across a span of 10 years (2013 forecasted to 2023) spending on traditional billboards remains flat at $6 billion total. However, digital billboard advertising climbs year over year. From $646 million spend in 2013, the market is expected to hit $2 billion in 2023.

Billboards of the Future

In the world of digital advertising and smartphones, some of the biggest streaming and service providers spend a huge amount of their marketing budget on strategic outdoor displays. In fact, even the iPhone has poured marketing funds and innovation into billboard strategy, with its iPhone X selfie campaign. Netflix also invests in billboards everywhere.

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America estimates that for every dollar spent on an outdoor advertising ad, it delivers $5.97 in return on investment. With new developments in location data and tracking, this is only forecasted to grow.

That’s because billboards are being fitted with tech and sensors to recognize when a person is nearby, or even analyze their smartphone data to specifically target passerby with curated content. Technology integration is revealing new advertising avenues every day, including computers analyzing data and statistics to decide when and where to place digital ads for the best impact.

In addition, new surfaces for advertising are being explored, including stationary car and taxi windows, as well as interactive and targeted directories, bus stop signs, retail windows and more. The outdoor advertising industry shows no signs of slowing, and the future of the digital billboard is bright!

Evolution of Outdoor Advertising

Posted on January 27, 2019 by admin

Outdoor advertising isn’t a new marketing method. In fact, it’s been around since ancient times. The earliest outdoor advertising methods were chiseled on monuments in ancient cultures- including in Ancient Egypt! Hieroglyphics have been found describing laws of the country. Travelers were meant to stop and learn the rules of the civilization before entering. In this way, it can be described as an early form of outdoor advertising.

However, actual billboards as we know them didn’t evolve for many more centuries. Let’s take a look at a brief history of the evolution of outdoor advertising and where the industry is headed today.

Early Forms of Advertising

Many people have heard of the famous Gutenberg press. Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing in 1450. He was most likely influenced by primitive examples from China, Japan, and Korea. These traveled by traders along the Silk Road to Europe cultures. His inspired invention, the Gutenberg Press, rang in modern forms of advertising as we recognize them today!

In particular, handbills became very popular. Handbills, which were exactly what they sound like, were leaflets with advertising information handed out. They can be likened to early versions of newsletters!

In 1796, the first major form of outdoor advertising emerged- the illustrated poster. Using lithography, companies could create large numbers of posters for advertisement to be hung in storefronts, store windows, and even street corners.

Primitive Billboards

Primitive versions of billboards have been in use for centuries. The most common example would be posted by trails to notify travelers of an inn ahead. Travelers on foot, horseback or being pulled in a carriage would learn how far the inn was ahead, as well as what they had to offer in the way of amenities.

Posted signs along the roadside served the purpose to aid travelers to find food and shelter rather than advertising many types of goods that are found today. Widespread advertising using billboards didn’t become popular until the invention of the car.

Automobiles & Outdoor Advertising

As automobiles were created and boomed, pioneering marketers realized that there was a prime opportunity to use long stretches of road to advertise products. After all, automobiles encouraged travel and mobility. This, in turn, created a need to inform travelers of what they could expect from landmarks, attractions, and hospitality on the road ahead.

Advertisements lauding local sights, national parks, and curiosities sprang up just before towns in an attempt to encourage travelers to stop and spend their money in town. Restaurants and hotels quickly followed suit, creating a real demand for enticing designs that drew travelers into a town.

Bigger Becomes Better

Billboards and outdoor advertisements had to grow larger and larger over the years for an interesting reason. As motor vehicles evolved and gained speed, advertisers needed to make their billboards bigger in order to be seen from further away! If advertisers didn’t make their billboards big enough, the motorist would zoom past their sign without being able to read it!

However, bigger didn’t mean better to everyone – in particular, the United States Government. In the 1960’s, President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the Highway Beautification Act, which prevented billboards from overtaking America’s roadways. This legislation was passed in an effort to check outdoor advertising companies from blocking America’s scenic landscape with various advertising.

Digital Technology Changes the Game

Prior to digital technology, meticulously handpainted billboards were the norm. However, beginning in the 1990s, computer-painted and printed materials became standard. More recently in the first decade of the 2000s, LED lighted and completely digital billboards have become popular. Technology has allowed smart sensor billboards or even billboards that scroll through several images in a minute.

As the industry continues to evolve, more unique effects can be expected in outdoor advertising. 3D elements and visually engaging details have emerged. For example, the famous cows on the Chik-Fil-A signs that “graffiti” billboards to plead consumers to “eat more chikin.” The sides of buildings and skyscrapers are cleverly used for enormous posters and advertisements (such as the now iconic Times Square!) Full vehicle wraps have placed outdoor advertising on the sides of buses, cars, and even planes.

Smart sensor technologies and facial recognition technologies have created bus stop advertisements that interact with viewers. From games to targeted advertisements with videos and audio, outdoor advertisements have evolved to capture consumer attention in a multitude of different types of digital billboards.

Outdoor Advertisement is Still Evolving

It seems that every day, new innovations and methods for advertising outdoors occur. Driven on by market competition, development of new capabilities and polishing of existing processes makes the sky the limit with outdoor advertising.

Largest Billboard in the World

Posted on December 3, 2018 by admin

It’s been a big year for Ford, in more ways than one! In February, the vehicle company unveiled a record-breaking billboard in Madrid, Spain. The installation featured an advertisement for the new Ford EcoSport SUV, but that wasn’t what made it such a huge deal.

The billboard measured approximately 56,672 square feet square feet, making it the worlds largest billboard.

For one month, the advertisement proudly inspired Madrid with the bold statement, “Life is out there. Are you?”

It was awarded the official Guinness World Record for Worlds Largest Billboard soon after installation. The previous record had been set four years prior, in 2014.

Ford Sweeps Worlds Largest Billboard Record

An official Guinness Records judge confirmed the measurements in February and certified the EcoSport installation as the record-holder for worlds largest billboard.

Engineers mounted the billboard on the front of the magnificent Edificio España in Madrid. The building is the eighth tallest in all of Madrid. It accommodated the huge billboard — which was the size equivalent of 20 tennis courts– for most of February. Engineers removed the 4,409-pound billboard at the end of the month. However, all that effort wasn’t wasted. Ford then donated all materials used on the billboard to the Apascovi Foundation. The foundation is renowned as an employment center for people with disabilities. The center will repurpose all donated materials used in the construction of the worlds largest billboard, giving the achievement a second life.

The decision to design the largest billboard in the world which was enough to sweep the Guinness World Record was inspired by Ford’s famous tagline, “Go Further.” In tandem with the unveiling of their new EcoSport SUV in the European market, Ford decided to take their famed motto literally. The company aimed to “go further” figuratively and literally. In fact, Ford went further than the previous record holder by over 2,000 feet.

Choosing the Building

The Edificio España is one of the most iconic buildings in Madrid. It was finished in 1953 and is a stunning neo-baroque building.

It also was a record-holder in its own right, reigning as Madrid’s tallest building until 1957 when it was overtaken by the Torre de Madrid.The Ford billboard wrapped around the impressive facade of the building.

It has stood empty for several years, with plans for the enormous structure to be refurbished into a luxury hotel with 650 rooms in 2019.

Breaking the Previous Record

Although Ford wanted to advertise its brand new EcoSport SUV, it also wanted to beat the previous record holder. Surprisingly, however, the record wasn’t held by an automotive competitor. Instead, Ford found itself competing against popular electronics maker LG.

The LG cell phone company partnered with King Khaled International Airport in Saudi Arabia to build the previous record-holding billboard.

It was unveiled at the airport in Dhahran in 2014. An official Guinness World Record judge then certified the amazing feat.

LG’s billboard took an incredibly long time to commission and build. Engineers constructed the previous worlds largest billboard over three months. Construction took nearly 12,000 labor hours. When the billboard was finally erected, its official measurement was 32,291 square feet. The Ford billboard towers over the Dhahran installation by over 2,604 square feet.

Who Will Be Next?

Competition in the auto industry is particularly fierce.

Advertising experts agree that the next record seeker looking for bragging rights on the worlds largest billboard will most likely come from one of Ford’s competitors.

Billboard wars in the auto industry are particularly fierce and common. Several have made headlines, such as the decade-long billboard war between automakers BMW and Audi. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if either of the two auto titans decided to try for the record next.

However, the American auto manufacturer can be proud to hold the largest billboard in the world record for at least a few years. Particularly in a time of reorganization for the company, the achievement is incredibly important.

Which State Has the Most Billboards?

Posted on October 29, 2018 by admin

Have you ever wondered which state has the most billboards? A recent statistics report counts 341.61 thousand billboards in the United States between local, state roads and highways.

The federal government tracks the number of billboards through each state. This is part of the Highway Beautification Act (HBA) of 1965. Each state reports their outdoor advertising statistics differently. Oftentimes different legislation at a state level impacts the number and concentration of billboards.

One thing is for sure- there are four states that will never make it onto this list! That’s because Hawaii, Alaska, Maine, and Vermont have banned billboards. This is because of their fame as a scenic landscape, where billboards might interrupt the natural beauty and affect tourism.

In contrast, the southeast corner of America has a high concentration of billboards. This encompasses Florida, Georgia, Mississipi and Alabama to name a few. One of these states holds the most– read on to find out which state has the most billboards in 2018.

1) Florida

Florida leads the pack with a whopping 11,109 active permits on file for billboards throughout the entire state.

Orange County, Florida comes in first with 801 billboards in the county alone. Outfront Media leads the pack on 3,532 billboards in the state, with Clear Channel Outdoor coming in second -946. The state has several lobby groups and organizations to promote the interests of the outdoor advertising world in Florida, including the FOAA, or the Florida Outdoor Advertising Association.

2) Georgia

Peaches aren’t the only thing that plentiful in Georgia! Georgia is just behind Florida with 9,871 billboards throughout the state.

Bartow County, which is just northwest of Atlanta holds a few hundred of these billboards alone. Generally, Georgia city centers and long stretches of interstate highways make up for a bulk of the nearly 10,000 outdoor advertising elements in the state. Travelers going west to Alabama, east to South Carolina, north to Tennessee or south to Georgia are sure to see a few hundred on their way.

3) California

Surprisingly, California only holds just over 8,700 billboards. This may seem like a lot until you consider how much land mass California has as it takes up a huge percentage of the West Coast!

This number means the billboards are more evenly distributed throughout the state, with respect to the natural beauty of the coast, national parks, mountains, and valleys. This is in contrast to several other states on this list that are packed full of billboards!

4) New Jersey

For being such as small state, New Jersey has an impressive amount of billboard permits on file. In fact, New Jersey is just behind California with over 8500 between all its counties.

Clear Channel holds the bulk of billboards in the area. If you consider the long and winding byways of California condensed into smaller New Jersey, it’s hard to imagine moving more than a few feet without seeing a billboard.

5) Missouri

Largely considered a travel-through state, it only makes sense that Missouri had nearly 2,100 billboards.

These billboard permits on file on controlled routes are as of January 2018. St. Joseph has one of the highest concentrations of billboards in the northwest corner. The same goes for Kansas City to the west, St. Louis area to the est, and around Springfield and Columbia city centers. This catches the attention of motorists crossing state lines on road trips and alerts them about what Missouri has to offer.

6) Utah

Utah has recently passed billboard-friendly legislation that makes this is a prime location for billboards all over the state. As a result, billboards have begun flooding the main routes through the state.

The highest concentration is along the I-15N that runs from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, with a large majority just inside the “corner” of Utah from Nevada and another thick concentration by SLC. The I-70W also sees a bulk of the over 1,660 billboards that hold a permit with UDOT. This number is forecasted to climb, and by this time next year it’s entirely possible that Utah will climb higher on this list.

Grammar Mistakes in Advertising

Posted on August 22, 2018 by admin

It’s true, grammar mistakes can happen anytime. Unfortunately, that includes when creating billboards and advertisements, too! Here are our favorite examples of marketing messages with mistakes that made it past the editors. Next time you’re thinking of skipping the proofreading process, remember these hilarious examples of grammar mistakes in advertising. It might pay to take a look at your work just one more time!

A Tasty What?

Oops. We love an ice-cold Miller as much as the next person, but we can’t get behind this confusing billboard. We’re just curious how this simple phrase made it through the editing process all the way to a billboard without anyone noticing the misspelling of contradiction.

Don’t Write Copy In a New York Minute

This Reebok ad on the subway is a great reminder of why it pays to take your time. The copywriter missed an E in “everything”. It certainly highlights everything that’s wrong with rushing! This isn’t the worst typo we’ve ever seen, but it’s embarrassing for the company. Not to mention the cost of replacing these ads when they catch wind of the mistake!

Servers Are Unsung Heroes

One of the biggest problems with roadside business billboards like this is the lack of space… and spacing. It’s clear that this Days Inn board meant to commemorate Veterans. However, without a space in between the two lines, it seems like they’re commemorating hot breakfast servers. Hey, hot breakfast is pretty important, so maybe they have a point.

Stay In School, Kids

Perhaps even more embarrassing than a big company letting a typo slip through in their signage is a college! Cincinnati State College put up this billboard not realizing that an extra N had snuck into “technician.” Being a place of higher education, we’re sure they didn’t hear the end of it for quite a while.

I Don’t Think That Word Means What You Think It Means

While not a billboard, this car decal certainly gave us pause. We’re not sure who would print such an error-filled message or if the driver came up with it themselves. The incorrect form of but is in use here. Plus, the sentence should read “you’re abusing that privilege.” The irony speaks for itself.

No, This Is Not the Krusty Krab

Another case of no punctuation gave drivers a laugh on this roadside billboard. The signage of a popular food chain probably meant that Spongebob toys were finally at the location, and they were hiring managers. Unfortunately, these two different messages got combined. While amusing, this tends to look poorly on the business and would probably make quality manager candidates think twice. Plus, is Spongebob even qualified to hire managers?

Punctuation Saves Lives

This cautionary sign is designed to warn hunters that pedestrians use nearby trails. However, without the necessary grammar and punctuation, it seems to reference hunting the pedestrians themselves! While the sign may give you a good giggle, consider what a costly and dangerous mistake this could turn out to be. Please note that it is illegal to hunt pedestrians.

What’s In a Name?

This is a fairly harmless grammatical error compared to some of the others on this list. The problem with this sign is that we’re pretty sure this is a sports bar, not a bar belonging to Sport. There’s no need for the apostrophe. We wonder if anyone came in asking to talk to Sport recently?

I’m Suddenly Not Hungry…

This is the worst example of careless spelling and advertising mistakes we’ve seen. By leaving off the letter G, this hamburger special turned into a hamburger horror! This image from a popular American fast-food chain went viral, although we’re sure they fixed it pretty quickly. That’s just another reminder that proofreading your work is incredibly important. In the age of viral images and video, a mistake like this could bring you an awful lot of publicity you would rather avoid.