Media Selection Process

Out-of-home advertising, also known as OOH, has stood the test of time as a reliable and powerful advertising medium. However, even the most beautifully designed billboard or poster won’t sell your product or service if it is not carefully thought out. Advertisements need to be carefully thought out and planned out. The media selection process of a billboard or other OOH advertising contributes to the success of an advertising campaign.

Media Selection Process

Goals and Objectives In the Process of Media Selection 

The initial step in the process of media selection is to consider what you wish to achieve from your outdoor advertisement. What is the primary goal? Is it to increase sales? Is it to establish a brand presence? Or is it to promote a particular event? Setting these goals at the beginning of your project will map out the necessary efforts to achieve these specific objectives.

Media Planning and Strategy Audience and Demographics

Many factors go into media selection, but many focus on your audience’s characteristics. One of the first steps in media planning and strategy is identifying the target audience, which will help you focus your marketing efforts and budget on groups most likely to become customers.

Your advertising campaign can only generate business leads well if it’s effectively exposed to the target audience. Even an outstanding billboard will fail to meet your goals if you target the wrong audience or are in the wrong location. Media choice is determined by the number of viewers and other target audience demographics such as income, gender, family size, and education level. If product demand is higher within a particular demographic, you can research design and communication trends that cater to that audience, which you can later incorporate into your advertisement.

Media Planning and Strategy

Competition and Product Demand

Market research into your brand’s competitors is crucial to media planning. You don’t want your ad to be drowned out by competing ads. You also don’t want to take the same approaches your competitors take. Ultimately, you want to stand out and be memorable.

Placing your advertisement in areas where product demand is high can increase your market share in the area. On the other hand, strategically placing advertisements in areas with lower product demand can boost brand presence in a new geographical market.

Market research will give your team valuable insights into product demand according to the location and demographics mentioned previously.

Media Planning and Advertising Budget

For your business to generate a profit, you must invest in a media planning and advertising budget. Having a budget will help you better understand advertising requirements and their costs, helping you monitor expenses and ensure advertisement activity is within budget. Setting a budget will depend on existing market share and competition, product life cycle, and frequency of the advertisement. Billboards in high foot-and-vehicle traffic areas can be more costly, but they can also generate a more significant ROI than choosing an affordable billboard with less viewership. An inaccurate budget can increase overall costs if the target of the original budget can’t be met, so it’s essential to consider the budget carefully.

Media Type, Location, and Season

Once a budget is set, the next step of the media selection process is determining what type of billboard and which location is the best for your advertisement. Marketing teams should ask themselves:

  • Which billboards are most appropriate for their marketing goals?
  • How can your message be communicated in the most effective way possible?
  • Do you want to make your ad digital, or is the old-fashion static billboard the best route?

It’s crucial to leverage key locations that match your target demographic. If you are a company selling luxury goods, you’ll want to advertise in areas that will allow you to get the correct information to the right people.

Companies can also leverage the season they choose to advertise. If you’re promoting a new children’s toy, an optimal time to advertise would be during the holidays. If you’re advertising your new pool cleaning service, you might want to advertise during the summer. Being mindful of different consumer holidays and seasons with increased product demand can help ensure your ad gets delivered to your consumer at the right time.

Effective billboard designs

Effective billboard designs

The design and message of your billboard will capture the viewer’s attention. There’s no one-size-fits-all design technique for a billboard. However, bright colors and sharp contrasts make for an attention-grabbing billboard. Proper font usage and readability will also play a role in increasing reach. The key is to keep it simple. A rule of thumb is to use fewer than seven words and more irregular than three visual elements. You want your billboard to be easy to understand and digestible.

Grabbing the consumer’s attention is half the work. The next is to get them to take action. How can you design your billboard in a way that will want people to act on your message? Thoughtfully planning the different design elements of your billboard will allow

bMedia – Puerto Rico’s Advertising Experts

bMedia are Puerto Rico’s advertising experts. If you want to grow your business on the island, we’re here to help make that happen. Let our team of experts guide you through the media planning process from beginning to end. bMedia has a wide selection of outdoor media, like billboards, to choose from. On our website, you can click on each billboard type and learn more about the specific advertising format. 

Our seasoned team can work with you to plan and execute your next extensive advertising campaign. We have the reach, analytics, and knowledge to help you get your message out to the public in the most effective way possible.

How to Promote Your Business in the Community

Promoting your business is essential if your goal is to stand out from your competitors and gain brand recognition in the community. Therefore, it’s important to take advantage of promotion opportunities in your area that will generate more customers and help solidify a trusted brand-consumer relationship in your community. In today’s digital age, promotion opportunities are endless. Businesses can spread the word about their product through search engines, social media channels, online directories, or even go with the ever-so-trusted billboard. To reach your target audience, you must make your brand visible on multiple platforms. Here are some different ways how to promote your business in the community.

how to promote your local business

Out-of-Home Advertising (OOH)

The first step to promoting your business is to make it visible. What better way to do it than out-of-home advertising (OOH). Outdoor advertising techniques include street signage, flyers, street teams, promotional events, and the beloved billboard.

The most trusted and original forms of OOH advertising are billboards. Billboards work because they are eye-catching and one of the most trusted forms of advertising for consumers. The majority of Puerto Ricans live in urban areas, and the great thing about billboards is that they can target local high-traffic areas where customers can interact with your campaign.

Today, we are seeing billboards evolve, boasting endless advertising potential for business. Digital billboards continue to rise in popularity because it allows users to directly engage with the advertisement, creating a memorable experience that highlights the product/ service you are offering.

To ensure a successful billboard campaign, we have determined some best practices to help maximize your promotion:

  • Keep it simple
  • Use borders and cropping appropriately
  • Be intentional with colors and contrast
  • Leverage key locations and seasons
  • Be careful of fonts

Establish a Social Media Presence

There are 2.32 million social media users in Puerto Rico as of January 2021, equivalent to 81.6% of the total population. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest are great marketing tools because of the ability to engage with existing customers while reaching out to new customers. As of December 2020, Facebook received 80.3% of all social media site visits in Puerto Rico. Facebook advertising is all about getting your message on the right news feeds using targeting options. Facebook allows you to advertise using images, videos, and even polls for interactivity.

Additionally, social media can be used as a marketing tool by creating brand-specific content. Social media has provided us with a range of posting formats such as images, short video stories, live sessions, tutorials, and more. Creating content for these platforms is an opportunity for business owners to engage with consumers while promoting a specific product, service, or event.

promote business with SEO

Take Advantage of Search Engines Like Google

Being visible on Google is great for your brand, it puts you directly in front of consumers seeking solutions. Creating and verifying your Google Business profiles allows your business to show up on Google Maps and caters results to the searcher’s current location. Creating a Google My Business account is free and once verified, you can optimize your listing to show up as a high-ranking result for relevant searches using a good SEO strategy.

Be Involved in the Community

If you’re wondering how to promote your business in the community, a good place to start is to be active and attentive in your community. Businesses can sometimes be involved in the community for the wrong reasons and they show. Be sincere, be genuine. Don’t push your business if it’s not relevant or actually helpful. In one way or another, your business will come up and your community will support it after they’ve seen and felt your support.

Being involved in the community involves giving back to it. Donating to a local charity will bring your business closer to locals by making it more approachable. Consumers are likely to support your business if you’re associated with a charity or cause close to them. You can give back to your community in several ways including:

  • Annual contribution to charity
  • Special promotions with a percentage of sales going to a cause
  • Donate products or services to local schools or community centers

5 star reviews

Get Online Customer Reviews

Set up profiles on platforms like Yelp and Tripadvisor to increase brand exposure. These platforms are used by locals and visitors when looking for local businesses. 92% of consumers purchase from a business after viewing it on Yelp. These platforms allow customers to leave reviews, making it easy for business owners to monitor and respond to any business inquiries. Make sure all business information, such as hours, phone number, address, and website are all accurate for potential customers.

Importance of a Good Marketing Strategy

A good marketing strategy is a blueprint that will determine how your message will reach out to your target audience. Your business might be making a profit, but to remain successful, you must consistently stay ahead of your competitors. The best way to ensure this is to have a good marketing strategy in place. Not only will good advertising give you an edge, but it can also give you insight into how your business is performing, allowing you to make the right business decisions.

Market research is crucial in creating your promotional strategy. Data and information collected from this research will allow you to develop your product or service to boost profit potential. It can also help you create a detailed organization plan, ensuring optimum utilization of resources to get the message in front of the target consumer.

How to Measure the ROI of Your Campaigns

Once you’ve learned how to promote your business in the community, it’s then important to know how to measure the effectiveness of your promotional efforts.

Marketing ROI involves attributing profit or revenue as a direct cause of marketing growth initiatives. To determine whether your advertising campaign is successful or not, there’s a straightforward formula you can use:

ROI = (Sales growth – organic sales growth – Marketing Cost) / Marketing Cost

Marketing costs include but are not limited to:

  • Overhead and internal expenses
  • Agency fees
  • Media buys
  • Creative costs

ROI helps determine budget allocation for ongoing and future ad campaigns. It’s important to consistently evaluate KPIs such as reach, frequency, and impressions so you can determine if your marketing efforts are benefiting business growth and help you allocate your budget accordingly.

Strategize with bMedia Group

If you’re looking for ways to promote your business within your community, reach out to bMedia Group. We are Puerto Rico’s leading experts in outdoor and billboard advertising. Our professionals can help you strategize, execute and maximize the effectiveness of your promotional campaign and market research.

Contact us today! We’ll guarantee your ads will be seen and remembered, helping you unlock unlimited business growth.

How Much Does a Billboard Cost?

They’ve been around for centuries and have proved valuable, but what is that worth? It’s the question we all want answers to – how much does a billboard cost? Well, that depends on a few things. Let us explain.

How Much Does a Billboard Cost

What is a Billboard?

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Miriam Webster Dictionary defines a billboard as a flat surface, panel, wall, or fence on which information is posted, specifically outdoors. They can be on giant sides of the road, on buses, in airports, or pretty much any other surface you can imagine. Also, there are now many great digital options to allow for ever-changing and interactive billboards.

How Prevalent are Billboards?

Some estimate that there are between 425,000 and 450,000 billboards dotting the landscape along American highways.

The effectiveness of billboards is not limited to the United States. bMedia Group contends that billboard advertising is an ideal way to promote products and services and build brand awareness in Puerto Rico.

Effectiveness of Billboard Advertising

In a Forbes study, almost twenty-five percent of those surveyed stated that they visited a store the same day that they saw a billboard advertising their products. And even when they didn’t, the brand often lodges in their mind to return next time they find themself considering that product or service.

Financial experts have calculated that the return on investment for billboard advertising is almost six dollars for every dollar spent.

It is little wonder that companies like Cracker Barrel spend almost half of their advertising dollars on outdoor advertising.

How Much Do Billboards Cost?

Exactly how much does it cost for billboard advertising? The answer to this question is not as simple as it sounds. Several factors determine the cost of a billboard. However, here is one example:

If you print an advertisement on a fourteen-foot by forty-eight-foot billboard, you will need seven hundred square feet of vinyl. The cost of the materials will run anywhere from three hundred to five hundred dollars.

Renting the advertising space for your ad will cost between five and eight hundred dollars a day. Prices vary with location, as well as how many days you want the ad space.

How Much Do Billboards Cost

How Much Does It Cost to Get a Billboard?

The question of how much do billboards cost has multiple factors that go into the answer.

Location

As with real estate, the location of your billboard is crucial. Your aim is maximum viewing by your niche market.

How much does a billboard ad cost in cities around the US? In New York City, renting a billboard for a month will cost between $1800o and $12,000. In Los Angeles, the same space would cost between $1500 and $9,000. Chicago billboard space rents for between $1200 and $6,000. Philadelphia billboards cost between $1200 and $6,000 while in San Francisco, you can rent space for the same costs.

Size

It is not surprising that billboard costs increase with size. Studies show that the larger the advertisement, the more impressions it will make and the bigger the impact on the consumer. Larger billboards require more material and higher labor costs to erect them.

Rental Time/Campaign Duration

Writer Kelly Main points out that size, location, and duration all play a part in billboard costs. For example, billboard costs average between $750 and $1,500 per month in rural areas. In small to midsize cities, the costs rise to between $1, and $2,000. In larger cities where many more people will see them, the cost of billboards rises to between $14,000 and $15,000.

Billboard Type

Costs also vary with the type of billboard. There are three types:

  • Classic or print billboards are typically vinyl.  They usually cost less than the other types.
  • Digital billboards are more dynamic advertisements than static billboards. They incorporate elements like a moving image. Digital billboards can be easily switched, based on your market and the time you want the bulletin board to appear each day. This can benefit you if you are targeting an off time, but raise costs if you want prime time.
  • Billboard advertisements on busses, cars, and other moving vehicles are called mobile billboards. They are more likely to be seen by your target audience because vehicles move while they showcase your brand, products, or special event.

Market or Demographics

Demographics consider the people who pass by the billboard. Your niche market considers the age, gender, socioeconomic level, education, and occupation of the people you are trying to attract with your advertising. If you are trying to attract a larger audience, higher-income individuals, or those with higher education, the cost will likely be higher.

Market Population

Generally speaking, the larger your target market, the higher the cost of billboard advertising.

How Much Does It Cost For Billboard Advertising

How Much Does it Cost to Put a Billboard Up?

Aside from the costs associated with the physical structure of the billboard, there are also other costs relating to the creation and setup of a billboard. So, how much does a billboard cost?

Designing the Billboard

When it comes to the actual design of the billboard, it’s not something you want to take shortcuts on. You can pay premium fees for a billboard in a prime location, but if it looks low quality, it can actually hurt your brand.

There are essentially three aspects to a billboard ad: the concept or idea, the copy (the words), and the visual design.

Definitely consider hiring a specialist for all three of those areas. Many people think they can come up with an idea, write it, and then pay a graphic designer to whip up a beautiful image. That can work, but creating ads is a skilled craft (especially considering the strategy involved in outdoor media), so you may be surprised at the quality (and return on investment) you’ll get from expert help.

For any stage of the process, you essentially have three options:

  • Create it in-house: If you or someone at your company is creative, good with words, and skilled with visual design, this method keeps the most control. The downside is time, costs of doing it yourself, and it’s sometimes a disadvantage to not have an outside perspective.
  • Hire a freelancer: With the prevalence of sites like Upwork and Fiverr, this has never been easier. It can be fast and cost-effective, but the downside is it can take time to find a quality freelancer, and they aren’t always available when you need them.
  • Working with an agency: Many billboard companies keep the necessary staff to be able to design quality outdoor advertising. And considering it’s their business, they can be pretty good at it! There isn’t a huge downside here, just make sure you understand the pricing structure before getting started, as well as who has ownership over the designs they create.

The prices for these different options can vary significantly depending on your location and who you hire. A rough estimate is everything from $30 to hundreds per hour. In many cases, it will take striking a balance between quality and affordability.

Physical Cost of the Billboard

An obvious, but sometimes overlooked, cost with billboards are the actual materials. This really will only come into play if you’re building your own sign because any outdoor advertising agency should already have this factored into their cost structure (but, double-check!).

If you are building your own, you will have to consider the cost of the real estate, the building materials for the structure, the vinyl for the sign, the printing on the vinyl, and the construction and maintenance costs.

Maintenance and Other Recurring Costs

The costs don’t necessarily stop once the sign is installed. Depending on the local climate, you have to maintain the billboard to keep it looking fresh. Most billboard companies will have any fees built in the initial contract, and they usually cover the agreed-upon time period. Keep in mind that you may again have these costs if you decide to extend.

Billboard Variations

Rapidly changing technology has made it easier for billboard advertisers to capture the attention of those who drive or walk past. Interactive technology has transformed billboards from static images painted vinyl frames, walls, and vehicles. The Internet has made billboards increasingly smarter. These electronic billboards appear next to bus benches, shopping centers, or on walls in high traffic areas.

Once popular, digital billboards proved easy to ignore. On the other hand, new interactive billboards speak—literally and figuratively—to your niche market. “Smart” advertisements can dynamically react to their environment. They can send and receive data. These billboards can adapt to demographics, weather, and time of day. Billboards of the future will react to their environment and audience by changing the content based on information collected about those who view them.

How Much Does a Billboard Cost to Rent

Why Invest in Billboards?

If you want to get higher brand recognition, you have an event to publicize, or you want to drive more traffic to your website, billboards are an economical and effective tool.

Billboard advertising broadcasts your business, products, services, or an upcoming campaign to a wide audience.

People spend an average of 70% of their time outside their homes. Compared to other types of marketing, billboards give you maximum exposure.

How to Get Started

  • Whether you want to advertise your brand on billboards or you want to start a billboard advertising business, you have some decisions to make first.
  • What are your advertising goals?
  • Where is the best place to locate your billboard?
  • What is your market audience?
  • What message do you want to give them?
  • What types of billboards do you want to utilize?
  • What skills/information do you need?

Why Choose bMedia Group?

Now that you have the answer to the question how much does a billboard cost, you may be wondering about next steps or other additional information. Advertising experts like bMedia can break down billboards according to price, type, format, and message.

They can help you achieve your advertising goals using their experience in outdoor advertising and their technical skills. bMedia Group offers a wide variety of out-of-home media choices. They have one that will fit your goals and your budget. They have proven success at targeting any audience.

To discuss how bMedia Group can help you achieve your advertising goals, learn more about our billboard advertising.

Go To Market Strategy for Startups

We don’t mean to intimidate you (and maybe you were already aware), but there’s something you need to know: Studies show that 90% of all startups fail within five years of formation — not a very reassuring statistic, right? But what’s the story behind this damning figure?

It all comes down to obscurity. Simply put, nobody knows about your business or what products/services you offer. In an ideal world, you could pour endless amounts of cash into a marketing push that announces your presence to the world with gusto, but, as we’re sure we’re both painfully aware, this is no ideal world.

Not only are advertising budgets rather meager for startups, you’re up against other businesses with established product-market-fit, which is daunting, to say the least… but there is a way to cut through the competition and get your voice heard – an effective go-to-market strategy for startups.

marketing strategy for startups

What Exactly Is A Go-To-Market Strategy, And Why Is It Important For Startups?

A go-to-market strategy for startups is precisely what it sounds like – an advertising game-plan that breaks an unknown product or service into a target market; it’s your key to the locked door of commerce!

Your go-to-market strategy is a blueprint that illustrates how you will reach the people you want to reach with the message you want them to hear. It’s considered a separate entity to standard marketing stratagems, as they imply an established market position, whereas GTM is a way of reaching an initial audience from nothing.

It’s the foundation on which all your future marketing campaigns will be based, and a strong foundation inspires confidence, not just within your target audience, but among your investors, too. Creating a GTM strategy is the ultimate way to position your business for success moving forward. Other GTM benefits include…

  • Weeding out potential risks
  • Generating profit quickly
  • Developing your business and product/service
  • Attaining you a competitive edge over other startups

Creating a Go-To-Market Strategy For Your Startup

The three pillars you’ll need to know for a go-to-market strategy for startups are the What, Who, and How

  • What are you trying to sell?
  • Who needs what you’re trying to sell?
  • How are you going to introduce your offering to those who need it?

If you can answer these questions, you’ll have laid the foundation for a successful entrance into your particular niche of the market, so let’s consider how this can be done.

Step 1. Know Your Audience

You may well have come up with the concept of your product or service through finding gaps or weaknesses in the market yourself, and that’s great; it means whatever you come up with has some form of real-world appeal, but now you have to find others like yourself and figure out what makes them tick.

Hone in on your target audience, and try to map out their behaviors and general way of thinking. Forget about trying to sell something to the world; focus on this very finite group of people and figure out exactly what they’re looking for.

Modern consumers expect businesses to know all about their wants and needs, but we’re not mind readers, so instead, we can build up a customer persona by… This applies to all types of businesses. It doesn’t matter if you are a digital service providing with a nationwide audience, like providing legal wills online, or a brick and mortar business creating tangible products to specific locations, like a vodka distillery, knowing your audience is crucial.

Scheduling Interviews with Potential Users

Interviewing people takes time, but you won’t find more rich, accurate, and enlightening results via any other means, so it pays to talk to prospective customers face-to-face.

Far more fluid and personal than standardized surveys, interviews give you a real insight into the lives of people who your product/service could help, which is a great way to gather data you can use at a later date to refine your offering.

Be wary of time constraints and ask effective questions, such as…

  1. What are their preferred channels of communication (e.g. email, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, billboards, etc)?
  2. What are they disappointed by or lacking?
  3. In their eyes, what makes a product or business effective and valuable?

survey your audience

Questionnaires

Interviews are fantastic sources of information, but they’re almost too focused. Although you’re narrowing your research to drum up a customer persona, you still need to venture further afield to ascertain splits in that persona in terms of age, profession, location, etc, and questionnaires are a great way to do so.

The wider net you cast will give you more of an insight into what pain points are simply individual woes and which are felt universally, ripe for capitalization.

However, do bear in mind that you’ll need to provide some form of incentive to encourage people to complete your questionnaire, and try to keep it short and sweet, too — we’re all busy people.

Purchase Pre-Existing Data

There are countless other companies that have had to study their target audience before you founded your startup, and you can use this to your advantage.

Paying for research carried out by similar companies gives you effort-free results. Now, they’re not going to be quite as accurate as the results you’ll get from your own studies, but they can certainly help to create a more substantive customer persona in a short amount of time.

Due to its immediacy, this method is often employed first as a sort of scattershot data drive. It gives you a rough estimate of things like target consumer age, location, profession, income, pain points, and purchase triggers.

Step 2. Know Your Competitor

If you’re going to offer something new, you need to know what your competitor is already bringing to the table. If an established entity has beaten you to the punch, your chances of gaining traction with a GTM strategy are slim-to-none. Find ways around it.

Step 3. Coming Up With a Value Proposition

In a nutshell, a value proposition is a snappy headline followed by 2–3 sentences that divulge why your product/service:

  • Is relevant to the user
  • Solves the user’s problem
  • Is unique and cannot be found elsewhere

For example, let’s say you’ve invented an automatic garlic clove peeler. Your value proposition should establish that garlic is one of the most common ingredients in cuisine around the globe (relevance), it makes the tough job of peeling cloves effortless (problem solved), and it’s a patented design (unique).

It’s important not to get caught up in mentioning features alone. To entice customers, you need to tell them in no uncertain words how it will make their life easier or more enjoyable.

Step 4. Establish The Best Lines Of Communication For Reaching Your Target Audience

With your target audience in sight, it’s time to find out how to reach them. People of different age groups and professions communicate and are exposed to things in unique ways.

For example, younger people will consume a lot of adverts on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, while older generations may only use Facebook or perhaps even just email.

Another example is that people working from home will engage with mostly digital adverts, but for those who commute to an office, billboard advertising will be highly effective.

Don’t feel you have to settle for just one mode of communication per faction of your target audience. Research has shown that omnichannel approaches to customer communication have a much higher retention rate than single-channel approaches.

go to market strategy

Step 5. Zeroing In On Marketing Tactics

People don’t just use different channels of communication, they also have preferences in regard to how they’re engaged with.

For instance, certain demographics may respond well to the personal/celebrity touch of paid partnerships, while others will be distrustful of this tactic as the pecuniary aspect of the agreement makes the brand representative seem disingenuous and the product seem weak.

Step 6. Don’t Stop Testing

Even if you think you’ve got everything figured out, you need to keep on testing your theories by measuring advertising effectiveness. Test different styles of ad copy, test the efficacy of different images, test different marketing tactics… test everything!

Marketing is a trial and error process, so the more mistakes you get out of your system early on by putting plans through their paces, the fewer you’ll be paying for later with a poor campaign.

Step 7. Budget Planning

Once your research has provided all the answers you need to shape your GTM strategy, it’s time to map out what your budget may look like and how it will be split across different marketing tactics.

Step 8. Implementation

At this stage, you’ve done most of the heavy lifting, and now it’s time to use what you’ve learned to implement your marketing strategy!

bMedia and Developing a Go-To-Market Strategy

As mentioned earlier, omnichannel marketing tactics in GTM strategies are far more effective than single-channel plans, which is why you should seriously consider incorporating a robust OOH line of communication with your target audience as part of your strategy, either as the primary or supporting mode of contact.

Granted, digital marketing has great reach potential, but as a fatally saturated facet of the advertising industry, it tends to inspire a lot of fatigue in the viewer. Billboards and OOH adverts, on the other hand, still grab attention, cinching valuable real estate in the consciousness of the viewer.

But providing the physical space for your ads is just the tip of the bMedia Group’s iceberg. Our dedicated team of marketing experts can help you build a custom, go-to-market strategy for startups from the ground up, ensuring you and your business can generate customers, and start changing people’s lives with your product/service.

Contact us today, and we’ll talk you through how we measure the efficacy of OOH advertising with state-of-the-art analytics to optimize the potential of your campaigns and stimulate rapid business growth.

Your startup may be small, but with bMedia in your corner, you’ll cast a much larger shadow, giving you the confidence and market position to hold your own against giants of any given industry, giants that, with our help, you will soon tower over.

Sightseeing in San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico is a truly fantastic city to visit. It’s full of culture, beautiful architecture, delicious food, and interesting sights to see. The gorgeous weather and beaches don’t hurt either! There are so many different sights to see in San Juan that you’ll most likely want multiple days to fully experience the city. Sightseeing in San Juan is an unmissable experience.

San Juan truly has something for everybody, making sightseeing in San Juan an extremely customizable activity. It has beautiful beaches and world-class luxury resorts both in the city and in neighboring towns. The heart of the city, Old San Juan, is a UNESCO world heritage site that blends traditional colonial architecture with contemporary Puerto Rican culture. Old San Juan has tons of delicious restaurants and great shopping.

puerto rico sightseeing

History of San Juan

Spanish colonists founded San Juan in 1521. They gave it the name Ciudad de Puerto Rico. Under Spanish rule, merchant and military ships often used it as a port when traveling to the Americas. Its use justified building an extensive network of barriers and forts to serve as protection.

Because of the city’s prominence and expensive cargoes in ships that would stop in San Juan, San Juan was often attacked by other foreign powers. One such famous attack occurred in 1595, led by Sir Francis Drake and George Clifford. Over the next 200 years, both the Dutch and the British attacked the city. Spanish soldiers were able to continuously repel any attacks.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, various events, such as colonial revolutions, liberalized commerce with Spain. The opening of Puerto Rico to immigrants greatly increased San Juan’s population.

In 1898, United States Navy ships attacked San Juan. This attack was extremely powerful, and the ultimate result was the Spaniards ceding control of Puerto Rico to the United States in the Treaty of Paris.

The United States used San Juan and Puerto Rico extensively as training camps for both World War I and World War II. Interestingly, the man who fired the first shot by the United States armed forces in World War I was a Puerto Rican native.

Modern History

In 1947, Felisa Rincon de Gautier was elected as mayor of San Juan.

This election gave Rincon de Gautier the honor of being the first woman to be elected as Mayor of any capital city in all of the Americas. 

In 1950, San Juan was the site of the San Juan uprising. In this uprising, insurrectionists attempted to attack the governor’s palace in a protest against the Puerto Rican and United States governments. The attack on the governor’s palace was short-lived, as police killed 4 of the 5 attackers.

sightseeing in san juan

San Juan is currently the capital and largest city of Puerto Rico. The city has a population of around 400,000. It is a major source of Puerto Rico’s income and GDP. This is especially true as Puerto Rico transitions to a service-based economy, rather than manufacturing. The services sector, which includes things like trade, tourism, finance, and government work, has quickly become the leading industry in Puerto Rico, accounting for around half of its GDP and employing up to 75% of all workers on the island.

Top Tourist Attractions

San Juan is a very popular tourist destination, both for individual travelers and as a major cruise-ship stop. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best tourist destinations that you must visit when sightseeing in San Juan.

Old Town San Juan

Probably the best tourist attraction in San Juan, Old Town San Juan is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site. Viejo San Juan showcases 500 years of architecture and history. It hosts historic forts and traditional Spanish colonial architecture. The Old Town contains hundreds of beautifully restored colonial buildings, many of which house restaurants, shops, museums, and hotels. You can explore the whole area on foot, which makes for a great half-day walking tour.

San Juan Cemetery

The San Juan Cemetery consistently ranks among the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. The cemetery lies along the coast, right next to the famous fort El Morro, and has elaborate tombstones and statues. The centerpiece of the cemetery is a chapel with a red dome. The chapel is dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It is certainly a worthy stop for anybody sightseeing in San Juan.

things to do in san juan

El Morro

El Morro is the name of the fort that has protected San Juan for hundreds of years. It was built in 1539 and has been continuously expanded and renovated for the following 200-300 years. El Morro is a National Historic Site and a UNESCO world heritage site, and both the fort itself and the lawn approaching the fort offer incredible views of the ocean and the city of San Juan.

Fort San Cristobal

Although El Morro is the more famous fort, you can’t miss San Cristobal. San Cristobal is not only a bigger fort but is actually the largest Spanish fort in the New World. It was built in the 17th and 18th centuries, and unlike El Morro, which was designed to protect San Juan from naval attacks, Fort San Cristobal was designed to protect San Juan from land attacks.

Museo De Las Americas

The Museo De Las Americas, located in Old San Juan, is a great way to learn about the history of Puerto Rico. The museum focuses on the art, ethnic groups, and colonization of the country, and is a great stop before you embark on any other cultural experiences.

Condado and Ocean Park Beach

The Condado district was developed as Puerto Rico’s first tourist district in the 1950s. Condado offers many different hotels and accommodations at every price point. The white-sand beach here is beautiful, soft, and very popular.

where to go in san juan puerto rico

Advertising in San Juan with bMedia

With so many tourists visiting, San Juan is a great place to advertise your business. Additionally, since the weather is warm and mild year-round, San Juan lends itself very nicely to outdoor advertising. bMedia has consistently been Puerto Rico’s Premier Outdoor Advertising Company, with hundreds of billboards island-wide.

bMedia leverages technology and advanced analytics to optimize billboard location and design, providing your company with an extremely high return on investment. If you’re interested in advertising in Puerto Rico, contact us today.

Outdoor Activities in Puerto Rico

The small Caribbean island of Puerto Rico boasts picture-perfect beaches, lively nightlife, and vibrant local culture. The people are friendly, the beaches are beautiful, and the list of outdoor activities in Puerto Rico is endless. You can decide to dwell in nature or choose to explore the island’s urban centers. Either way, there is a guaranteed adventure for everyone.

Puerto Rico offers a diverse list of unique destinations and activities, so it’s no surprise that it’s considered one of the best vacation spots in the Caribbean. From the deep rainforests to San Juan’s urban gems, you’ll never run out of things to see and do on the island. Here are some outdoor activities in Puerto Rico for you to enjoy.

outdoor activities in puerto rico

Some of the types of places you can explore in Puerto Rico include, but are not limited to:

  • Tropical rainforests and jungles
  • Pristine beaches
  • Open water
  • Mountains
  • Caves
  • Historic urban sites

Tropical Rainforests and Jungles

Puerto Rico is not just white sand and blue waters. In fact, the island is covered by tropical wilderness that offers some of the most exquisite trails and views. 

El Yunque National Rain Forest, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, is approximately 45 minutes outside of San Juan. This rainforest is the perfect destination for a hike. You might even encounter some of the rainforests’ wild inhabitants such as tropical birds, green lizards, and slimy frogs during your adventure. The island’s jungles also host beautiful bike trails, with lots of single tracks, downhill trails, and of course, some of the best views Puerto Rico has to offer.

If you’re looking for something more daring, try ziplining through various parks across the island. “The Monster,” one of the longest ziplines in the world at Toro Verde Adventure Park, is 2.5 kilometers long and 843 feet high. There’s nothing more thrilling than flying superman style above the tropical jungle. 

Beach and Water Activities

Puerto Rico has over 270 miles of sandy beaches. These beaches welcome visitors all year round. The gorgeous beaches in Puerto Rico offer picture-perfect views and exciting water adventures.

The island’s beaches are consistently selected as some of the best beaches in the world, and you’ll know why the moment you step afoot the island.

The coral coastline is home to some of the best water experiences in the Caribbean. Whether it’s swimming or surfing, sailing or scuba diving, Puerto Rico offers an impressive list of watersports and activities. You can scuba dive in Isla de Mona or surf the waves at Aguadilla Beach. Either way, all of Puerto Rico’s beaches are ready for you to kick back and relax. 

puerto-rico-adventures

Caves and Mountains

The natural mountainscapes and caves of Puerto Rico offer visitors the chance to partake in outdoor activities such as spelunking, rock climbing, or rafting. Canon de Tanama, a picturesque network of waterfalls, caverns, canyons, and limestone cliffs is one of the most recognizable caves on the island. It’s also a great place for rock-climbing, caving, and tubing

You can also overlook the Rio Grande de Arecibo and the beautiful green mountains at Cueva Ventana (Window Cave). The window-like opening gives this cave its name, and the views are nothing short of spectacular. It’s arguably the most “Instagrammable” location in Puerto Rico. 

During your adventure, make sure to keep an eye out for authentic Taino petroglyphs that have been preserved for centuries. You can even choose to pay a visit to some of the cave’s animal residents, like bats! 

Explore Old San Juan

A great way to spend time outdoors is to explore old San Juan and feel the historic charm. In this part of San Juan, visitors will find some of the oldest and most carefully preserved architectural structures in the world. Walk the cobblestone streets and eat some of the best street food Puerto Rico has to offer. Not only will you get some great food, you will also be supporting local businesses.

You can even choose to stop at some of the area’s famous colonial landmarks, including Castillo San Felipe del Morro, known as ‘El Morro’ to locals. This citadel was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century and was designed to protect the island’s coast. Another notable landmark is the Castillo San Cristobal which covers over 27 acres and is the setting of many Puerto Rican cultural and historical stories.

City Life

San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, is where many visitors stay on the island. The city provides an abundance of activities, dining, and entertainment. However, it’s the locals that make the city so vibrant and exciting. So make sure you spend some time in some of San Juan’s coolest neighborhoods.

The Santurce barrio is the place to be if you want to immerse yourself in local art and culture. The neighborhood showcases the island’s vibrant culture through hip dining spots, colorful street art, museums, and art galleries. Later in the day, you’ll also find crowds at La Placita de Santurce for drinks and dancing in the streets, so don’t forget your dancing shoes!

The Condado barrio is considered the most cosmopolitan area of San Juan and gives off a Miami vibe. This area is perfect for shopping, dining, or relaxing on the oceanfront. A popular activity in Condado is to kayak or paddleboard through the Condado Lagoon while on a clear-bottom kayak decorated with LED lights.

things to do in puerto rico

Be Where The People Are

Because there are so many outdoor activities in Puerto Rico, this presents the opportunity for your brand to present itself where the people are. People are spending more and more time outside their homes and we’re seeing the island welcome back visitors and tourists. Being visible through outdoor advertising will ensure your brand becomes visible and familiar to a large audience.

The business opportunities are rapidly growing in Puerto Rico, and American businesses are taking note. The island draws global visitors and in 2019 earned about give and a half billion US dollars. OOH (Out-of-home) Advertising is one of the best ways to promote your business in Puerto Rico, not only are the locals moving around and about, the visitors are too!

bMedia Advertising Experts

No matter what industry your business is in, bMedia can help you reach your target audience and increase the ROI of your marketing campaign. We are the island’s leader in outdoor media. Our advertising professionals are ready to maximize the effectiveness of your next OOH advertising campaign. 

With bMedia, the possibilities are endless. Contact us today.

OOH Advertising Examples

OOH, or Out-of-Home advertising, refers to any advertising media that targets consumers outside of their homes. This is obviously an extremely broad category, and covers many different types of advertisements. Also, there are many great OOH advertising examples from around the world. Therefore, it’s much easier to break OOH advertising up into 4 key categories:

  • Billboard-Type Advertising
  • Street Furniture
  • Transit
  • Place-Based OOH

ooh advertising examples

Globally, a lot of money is spent on OOH advertising every year. In 2019, more than $39 billion was spent on OOH ads. Many large worldwide companies such as Apple and McDonald’s, and even tech companies like Facebook and Google, still spend heavily on different types of OOH advertisements, even with the rise of other forms of advertising, such as ads on social media. 

Benefits of OOH Advertising 

You may wonder why companies still decide to spend money on OOH campaigns like billboards or advertisements in subways in today’s global age. There are a few key benefits that OOH ads have compared to other forms of advertising. Firstly, online advertising can be frustrating, since so many consumers have ad-blockers in place and the ones that don’t are bombarded with so many ads, none really stand out. However, OOH ads don’t have these problems, as they’re basically unblockable.

Additionally, people tend to be more perceptive of their surroundings outside of the home, and can take in your advertisements, even if they’re not consciously aware of it. This effect can boost your other advertising campaigns.

According to research from Ocean Neuroscience, consumers were 48% more likely to engage with a mobile ad when exposed to the same out-of-home advertisement first.

Read on for some effective OOH advertising examples.

Examples of OOH Advertising

Digital OOH Advertising

A key innovation in the OOH advertising space has been digital OOH advertising. While there are many digital billboards that could be considered effective OOH advertising examples, the best comes out of New York City. Times Square is saturated with digital billboards that play video advertisements nonstop. Digital OOH ads manage to combine the bright colors, movement, and sound of ads like TV commercials with the size and unblockability of traditional OOH ads. The result of this is a new, hybrid advertisement that blends the benefits of multiple forms of advertising.

ooh advertising billboards

Billboards

Billboards are one of the most common forms of OOH ads. Because of how many billboards there are worldwide, it can be difficult to make a billboard ad that stands out. You aren’t sure if drivers passing by will notice it. To solve this, effective billboard advertising should be creative and memorable. 

One company that’s done a great job with its billboard advertising is Apple. In 2015, Apple launched its “Shot on iPhone” campaign. The campaign offered iPhone users the opportunity to capture images on their phones that would then be used on billboards, commercials, and other ads. Apple’s Shot on iPhone campaign displays the importance of engaging consumers and being thoughtful with image selection.

Another fantastic billboard example was a Formula toothpaste billboard in Indonesia. This remarkably creative advertisement shows a man whose teeth are so strong that he is literally ripping the billboard off of its supporting structure. This billboard is a wonderful example of using creativity to stand out. 

Posters

Posters are another extremely common form of OOH advertisements. Because of their small size and widespread use, it’s extremely important to design a poster that will immediately stand out. Eye-popping colors and creative images will help ensure that your ad will be noticed.

Some tips for effective poster advertising include:

  • Create the poster to cater to a specific audience
  • Use your brand’s color scheme
  • Include a call to action
  • Pick high-quality images
  • Use text sparingly; include only the information that consumers really need

Airports

Airport advertisements are a subset of place-based advertising. Many companies consider airports a gold mine for ads. They are a fantastic place to either stick with traditional billboards or posters, but you can also utilize other aspects of airports, such as conveyor belts, to create incredibly unique advertisements. 

One example of creative airport advertising is at the Venice Marco Polo Airport. The Casino de Venezia decided to turn a baggage collection belt into a life-sized roulette wheel. This fun, unique advertisement did a fantastic job at keeping people engaged during an otherwise mundane activity of waiting for your luggage. In addition, the Casino reported that visits increased by 60% after installing this advertisement. 

Another interactive airport advertisement was installed in the Tokyo Airport in anticipation of the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Tokyo airport turned an entire airport terminal into a running track. This incredibly creative advertisement is a great example of utilizing the entire airport to promote an event.

best examples of ooh advertising

Street Furniture 

The most common use of street furniture advertising is at bus stops or on benches. Advertising on street furniture is a great way to not just engage people waiting for buses, but also gets your ad on the eye-level of everybody walking by. 

Nike is no stranger to creative, thought-provoking advertisements, and its ads on street furniture are no different. Nike added its famous, simple logo — the Nike swoosh — along with the word “RUN” to a bench in New York’s Madison Square Park. They then removed the seat of the bench. This simple ad, paired with the action of taking away the seat of the bench, is eye-catching, memorable, and perfectly aligned with Nike’s vision that everybody is an athlete.

Transportation 

Advertising on public transportation, such as buses or subways, is also extremely common. Many people on public transportation tend to be bored. They are looking for some form of entertainment while they travel.

Startup mattress company Casper realized this, and developed a riddle campaign in the NYC subway system that simultaneously entertained riders while advertising their product.

The riddles they put up engaged subway riders, which helped ensure that their advertisement and company would be remembered.

These are just some of the most effective OOH advertising examples, but there are plenty more!

OOH Advertising with bMedia

Ultimately, OOH advertising can be extremely profitable for your company if you are able to develop a creative and memorable campaign. If you are advertising on the island of Puerto Rico, there is no better company to work with than bMedia.

bMedia is Puerto Rico’s leader in OOH media and advertising, and will work with you to ensure your advertisements are seen and remembered. Contact us today!

Business Opportunities in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has become a growing market for American businesses. In recent decades, technology has allowed for quicker trade and travel to and from the island. The beautiful Caribbean island draws tourists from around the world for its beautiful beaches and vibrant culture. In 2019 alone, tourism in Puerto Rico generated over five and a half billion US dollars. Thus, it’s no surprise that business opportunities in Puerto Rico have been on the rise.

Puerto Rico is a protected American territory, which means that American businesses are more easily able to develop there rather than go to other countries. Real estate is relatively cheap, corporate tax rates are low, and wage costs are lower compared to the mainland. The recent enactment of Act 20 and Act 22 also provides 100% tax exemption on capital gains, interests and dividends earned.

The island offers some great opportunities for businesses across different sectors, and its proximity to the American mainland makes importing and exporting more efficient than running a business anywhere else in the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico’s Economy

Puerto Rico’s economy is dominated by industry and manufacturing, followed closely by the services sector. The manufacturing sector, which mainly produces drugs, electronics and petrochemicals, accounts for about 50% of the island’s GDP (gross domestic product). Tourism, finance and trade dominate the services sector. Puerto Rico has limited natural resources, but continues to produce agricultural products. Its agriculture sector – making up roughly 0.7% of Puerto Rico’s GDP — produces sugar cane, coffee, pineapple and more.

Next, we will discuss how businesses in Puerto Rico can take advantage of its growing and lively economy.

downtown businesses in puerto rico

Benefits of OOH in Puerto Rico

Billboards and OOH (Out-of-Home) Advertising is one of the best ways to promote your business. This is especially true in Puerto Rico. Not only are locals moving around and about, but the tourists, ready to spend some cash, love the island and flock to it year after year.

OOH advertising is crucial in Puerto Rico especially considering how many outdoor activities that visitors can enjoy. Whether people are sightseeing, lounging on one of many Puerto Rico’s many pristine beaches, or enjoying the lush nature in the area, people are sure to see outdoor advertising.

You can expect high engagement from effective billboard advertising in cities like San Juan, Ponce, Bayamon and Carolina because of the high foot and vehicle traffic in these areas. Here are other reasons why OOH advertising is so effective in Puerto Rico.

Continuous Innovation

Billboards are thought to be traditional, and they are. However, they’re also evolving with the times. Billboards can certainly help you capitalize on business opportunities in Puerto Rico.

“Billboards have adapted to the times and are still one of the most popular ways to advertise.” -Eric Hamilton, Tech Times

Digitized billboards are everywhere these days. Times Square billboards in New York City are a perfect example, and there’s a reason why consumers are so captivated by them. Digital billboards have revolutionized OOH advertising. Unlike static billboards, digital billboards can offer multiple design options and even showcase multiple ads on one ad space.

Smart billboards are also on the rise as a dynamic form of digital billboards. Smart billboards use advanced technologies that allow those who encounter them to engage and interact with the advertisement. Technologies that are implemented on smart billboards include sensors, geotargeting, facial recognition and other interactive features.

growing your business in puerto rico

Urbanization and Traffic

Urbanization continues to expand all over the world, and Puerto Rico is no exception. Puerto Rico’s population is almost 3.2 million. On top of that, people are more mobile than ever. It only makes sense for businesses to place ads where the people will be.

In Puerto Rico, the high density of vehicle and foot traffic exposes a large number of the population to billboard advertising. The island’s elaborate highway system increases vehicle traffic even further, offering many placement opportunities for OOH advertising.

High Return On Investment (ROI)

Capitalizing on billboard advertising will help you get the most out of your brand’s advertising budget. Since billboards tend to be located in busy areas, they gather a large number of views and reactions, resulting in a higher return on investment (ROI). The placement of your billboard is just as important as what it looks like. Desirable locations will be more expensive than locations where there is not as much traffic.

Billboard advertising also gives you full control of the ad space, and your ad will always have constant exposure, 24/7. Other forms of advertisement such as TV and radio ads can be costly and won’t reach an audience as large as a billboard would. This makes billboards one of the most cost-effective methods of advertising, as they have a wide reach and are proven to increase brand recognition.

Brand Recognition

Billboards are effective in increasing brand recognition. Billboard advertising is one of the oldest forms of advertising. However, it continues to evolve and remain effective in reaching and captivating an audience. Billboards target a wide demographic in a single advertising tactic. By properly placing an effective ad, businesses have the opportunity to capture any and all potential buyers..

Additionally, there are high chances that people who encounter your OOH advertisement will encounter it more than once, allowing them to remember your brand or product, and even engage with it. Billboards are large and good at capturing the attention of people passing or driving by. Make sure that your billboard is designed with the customer in mind to increase your brand recognition.

business opportunities in puerto rico

Expert Advice at bMedia Group

Both traditional and digital forms of billboard advertising have proven to be one of the most effective and withstanding marketing strategies of all time. At bMedia, our seasoned and well-trained team will help your business get the most out of your OOH advertisement.

With proper insights and strategies, bMedia can help your business set foot in Puerto Rico. bMedia can help to expose your brand to a continuously growing and lucrative market. Contact bMedia Group and we’ll help you maximize your marketing strategy on the island.

Capitalizing on billboard space is capitalizing on business opportunities in Puerto Rico.

How Are Billboards Put Up?

They dot the landscape along America’s busiest highways. Statista.com estimates that there were over three hundred and forty-three thousand billboards in the USA in 2020. Nearly ten thousand of them were digital. This number has been increasing by ten percent a year. But how are billboards put up?

Drivers and pedestrians pay more attention consciously and unconsciously than you might think. An Arbitron study notes that over seventy percent of American drivers surveyed stated that they consciously look at billboard messages. Almost sixty percent learned of an event or restaurant by viewing billboards. Up to 15% shopped at a place they saw advertised on a billboard the same day they read the ad.

While many read billboards, most give little thought to how billboards are put up.

setting up billboards

Choosing a Location

As with real estate, the three most important things about billboards: location, location, location. Location often determines the size or type of design. The best locations have high-density traffic—either pedestrian or vehicle. Billboards can also be found in shopping malls and neighborhoods.

In choosing where to put that billboard, you should consider things like:

  • Sign face alignment: Your sign must be read within three seconds and placed at a readable height. The location must have no visible interference from trees, tall buildings, bushes, or fences.
  • High Traffic Count: Check with the Department of Transportation or do an informal assessment of traffic in proposed billboard areas.
  • Audience Demographics: Who is your ideal consumer? Consider gender, education, profession, income, age, and other factors. Is the location the best place to reach them? For example: If you want to reach young adults consider a location near a college or university.
  • Residential or Commercial? Is your business geared to residential or business audiences? Consider whether to locate your billboard within a commercial area or one located in a residential area.
  • Local ad placement: If your business is reliant on local customers, place it in a spot where local foot traffic will see it.
  • Consider the intent: If you sell surfer sportswear, it makes sense to locate your billboard near the water. Place your sportswear billboard near major sports facilities. Whose eye are you trying to catch? Where are they likely to travel?
  • Busy traffic areas: Where is high traffic in your area? Look for areas that get traffic congestion during rush hour. Also, consider locating near traffic circles, city centers, and areas like pedestrian crossings where there is a natural slowing of traffic.

Billboard Design

Sarah Firle suggests these design considerations:

Keep the message simple. Drivers who pass may be going fast. You have seconds to make an impact with a single photograph or short colorful text. Use seven words or less.

Put a premium on typography. Consider which font and size will offer the quickest read.

Focus on a single idea. Billboards aren’t meant to give facts about your brand. What is the one lasting impression you want your audience to grasp?

Aim for a visually memorable billboard. Try to incorporate surprising—even shocking—visual elements.

Aim for a call to action. Entice audiences to act like Chick-fil-A’s cow signs.

Include product demonstration. Think about your product’s function and how you can illustrate it.

Make your billboard design fit your overall marketing strategy. There should be continuity in your logo, brand, and your other advertising.

Color is important. It both attracts attention and leaves a lasting visual impression. Penneco.com advises that choosing the right colors can make the difference between standing out and fading into the background. They suggest picking no more than three colors and making them vibrant. Good choices are high-intensity shades that stand out against the background.

billboard construction

Billboard Construction

How are billboards put up physically?

When it comes to building a billboard, size, cost, materials, and design are all important considerations. A typical billboard is twelve feet high with an upper height twenty-five feet off the ground. Billboards may be anywhere from twenty-five to forty-eight feet wide. Billboards may take the form of bulletins or poster panels. Bulletin-sized ads which we normally think of as billboards may be as large as twenty feet by sixty feet.

The cost of the bulletin board is based on size and materials. Billboard costs range anywhere from ten to twenty thousand dollars.

The most commonly used material for traditional billboards is polyvinyl chloride. Polyethylene has taken the lead in recent billboard construction because it offers an attractive recyclable option.

Some billboards use computer-aided or hand-drawn messages. Thirty-sheet poster panels measure up to twelve by twenty-five feet. These are lithographed or silk-screen-printed.

Billboards often appear for thirty days. Advertising space may be rented for only a week or two before a special event and replaced the day after the event. Billboard space may also be purchased for multi-month contracts.

Technological Influences on Billboard Design

According to business2community.com technological advances have changed billboard design. Digital out-of-home advertising now accounts for over $35 billion in revenue.

Billboard advertising is increasingly smarter. Today’s billboards may show information and react to their viewers through sensors and facial recognition software.

Modern digital ads use augmented reality and other interactive technology to increase viewer engagement.

Billboards do more than show information, Bluetooth energy beacons send information based on demographics to interact with the reader. Advertisers can tweak details to appeal to specific demographics.

Integration between billboards and mobile technology allows interaction, data sharing, and customized experiences.

Thanks to technology, advertising placement is almost limitless. Digital ads can be placed on building walls, passenger shelters, buses, taxis, trains, and inside airports.

posting new billboard

Why Invest in Billboards?

There are many advantages to using your advertising budget to buy billboard space. Large and eye-catching, billboards target a huge, diverse market.

Even for those whose first language is not English, billboards offer important information about a product or service. The largely pictorial information has a strong visual effect.

People in America spend a significant amount of time in their cars. Billboard advertising has a captive audience. It isn’t dependent on their buying a newspaper, a magazine, or a tablet to view the product or service. Billboard advertising lets businesses reach more people faster and cheaper than any other form of marketing.

  • For middle and upper-class target audiences, billboards allow companies to build and strengthen their brand recognition, reputation, and product image.

Running TV and radio spot ads is very pricey. These run, at best, only a few times a day. Magazine and newspaper ads are also expensive. They cost both the business and the potential buyer and are dependent upon the customers purchasing that paper or magazine. On the other hand, the message on billboards is always working.

With other forms of advertising, potential buyers might be exposed to a brand or service just once or twice. With billboards, drivers and pedestrians have repeat exposure day after day.

A billboard’s brief message has the potential to remain in the viewer’s mind. Because it is succinct and repeated, the message is long-lasting.

How Can bMedia Group Help?

With over three hundred attention-generating locations in Puerto Rico, bMedia Group offers its valued clients a wide variety of effective billboard formats. Our skilled designers and construction staff members are masters of taking your design wants and creating effective billboards.

There is a good reason why bMedia Group has the highest consumer traffic in the area.

For more information regarding how we can increase your brand recognition contact us.

OOH Advertising Trends

With COVID-19 keeping us all indoors and separated for the greater part of 2020, it was assumed that Out-of-Home Advertising (OOH) would fall short in terms of Return on Investment (ROI) for businesses everywhere. However, with vaccination programs in place, and a better understanding of safety protocols and social distancing — people are eager to return outdoors. What does that mean for OOH advertising and what trends can we expect to come from this?

OOH advertising trends

What is OOH Advertising?

Out-of-home advertising refers to any type of communications medium that a consumer encounters when they are outside of their homes.

Despite the pandemic putting a screeching halt on what would’ve been a breakthrough year for out-of-home advertising, it hasn’t tampered with its longevity in being one of the most effective and popular forms of marketing.

OOH ads can communicate to the masses faster and more effectively. It also allows brands to be flexible and creative with their marketing and outreach without limits.

As the world slowly returns to “normal,” more people will be exposed to out-of-home advertisements—meaning it’s going to be a good year for OOH advertising and the businesses that take advantage of it.

Brands have the opportunity to be innovative with their approach and design when it comes to out-of-home advertising. New ideas, concepts, and advertising trends continuously emerge that engage and entertain potential customers who come across these mediums. Here are some trends we can expect from the OOH sector in 2021.

New Media Types

Today, virtually any outside space can be transformed into some sort of OOH advertisement.

We are now seeing new media types such as car wraps, murals, art installations, and digital signage emerging all around us. It’s assumed that out-of-home advertising ends with static billboards and transit posters, but that is far from the truth.

The digital shift has made out-of-home advertisements incredibly innovative.

We now see digital billboards, street furniture, light shows, and transit signage that light up metropolitan areas all around the world.

Digital-Out-of-Home advertising (DOOH), is becoming incredibly popular with some of the world’s largest companies. You can find digital ads at shopping malls, medical waiting rooms, transit hubs, and alongside major roadways and highways.

Unlike static billboards, digital signage allows for moving images and interactivity. Movement is great at grabbing the attention of passerby-ers, resulting in greater impact. Digital signage also allows for a variety of content to be displayed on the same medium, some ads are programmed to change at specific time intervals. The variety will keep viewers interested and more receptive to your ad’s message.

Geotargeting and Mobile Integration

Mobile integration paired with an out-of-home advertisement is known to bring impressive results for any business strategy. Billboards are now using geotargeting technologies that allow companies to generate data that points them to the right demographic, the right location, and the right times to display their advertisement. By targeting the right audience, there is a better chance of a conversion.

Geotargeting delivers content and advertisements to consumers based on their geographic locations. This could include geographical proximity to a mobile billboard or proximity to a store, and etc.

Analytics and data surrounding your marketing campaign ensure adequate media planning. Another benefit to geo-targeted ads is that it allows companies to track and monitor their campaign’s performance.

Interactive Brand Communication

Interactive advertising can be expdigital advertising signserienced through store displays, kiosks, and digital signage everywhere. Interactive advertising encourages consumer participation, allowing them to provide feedback and become part of your ad’s dialogue.

Because these types of out-of-home advertisements are incredibly innovative, consumers are excited to engage with the ad, increasing their conversion and ROIs. These types of advertisements are eye-catching and can become an experience in itself for the consumer.

Through the use of hashtags and interactive games, the consumer becomes involved in the ad, making the branding process more compelling and effective.

Brand Storytelling

Storytelling is a way for brands to create a human connection with their audience. An advertising campaign with a capturing narrative can impact the subconscious, ultimately creating a relationship between the brand and consumer. A consumer-brand relationship is important because you want to have dedicated consumers who’ll remain loyal to your product or service.

When storytelling with OOH ads, brands can design billboards or digital displays that tell only a part of the story, leaving consumers wanting and waiting around for the next saga of your campaign. This creates excitement and hype around your campaign, which later translates into increased ROI and brand awareness.

Increased Budget and Investment for OOH Advertising

The arrival of smartphones saw companies turn more to mobile and web advertising, thinking out-of-home advertising was a thing of the past when in fact, OOH advertising has seen steady growth since 2012.

Many companies are catching on to the reliability and growth that OOH ads can bring and are increasing their budgets for this form of advertising. Out-of-home advertising represents a large portion of advertising spending. In 2017, OOH advertisements represented $29 billion across key markets globally — some of the companies spending the most on OOH advertisements include Apple, Google, and Amazon.

Additionally, major companies such as Netflix and Alibaba are investing big in outdoor ad companies as out-of-home advertising formats are becoming increasingly valuable forms of commercial real estate.

smart technology billboards

SMART Advertising

Consumers are becoming more and more tech-savvy every day, resulting in more of us relying on our smart devices more and more. There are smartphones, smart TVs, smartwatches, and beyond. It’s no question that almost every technological device is transitioning to SMART technology, and it’s the same for billboards and other outdoor signage.

We are now seeing the integration of billboards and SMART technology, known as SMART billboards, which can further increase the visibility of your brand.

Some features of SMART billboards are:

  • Built-in cameras and computer databases.
  • Analytical tools that can pull information from databases and social media to change visuals on the billboard in real-time.
  • Using social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to provide relevant content that engages the consumer.
  • Providing live updates on weather and traffic.
  • Built-in sensors to trigger ads.
  • Personalized content based on consumers’ reactions and activities.
  • High-tech LED lights and sound systems.

Ultimately, the driving factor for steady out-of-home advertising growth is its ability to keep up with change and global digitalization. This ever-evolving advertising strategy proves this “traditional” means of advertising is here to stay. If you’re seeking to maximize your marketing strategy, it’s best to include billboards and other forms of out-of-home advertising.

At bMedia, we provide our expertise to ensure your brand gets the most out of your OOH advertisement. With proper insights and strategies, bMedia can help your advert resonate and capture the attention of your targeted audience, resulting in increased revenue and visibility for your brand.