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.

Clever Billboards

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but what about action? It is one thing to say you are capable of doing something, but an entirely different thing to actually demonstrate it. This logic governs the concept of resumes and portfolios in the working world. Unlike day-to-day life, billboard advertising usually relies more on telling than showing due to the restrictions imposed upon by the medium. Clever billboards are catching the attention of passersby, as well as curious insects.

Enter Publicis and their innovative, clever billboard for the insecticide company, Orphea, which has found a creative way of getting around the limitations of physical ads.

Orphea Billboard Bug Killer

Location, Location, Location

First, in order to add a little bit more context to this ad, we must understand its location. While easy to overlook if one isn’t careful, the location of an ad is crucial to reaching your target audience. This very same billboard would not be nearly as effective in say, Antarctica, for instance. Even though it is not present for long, the video does a good job of establishing the climate and conditions of Milan, Italy, with a shot of a nearby cloud of bugs. This communicates the idea that to the locals insects are a constant and troublesome issue during the spring.

Even though most everyone can relate to bugs being annoying, the location for this specific ad caters to an audience with a real and prevalent need.

Orphea Insecticide Billboard

Idea Through Action

In order for Orphea to sell their bug spray they must convey to their audience, “our insecticide is effective at killing insects.” If one were to just look at the original graphics of the billboard though, only the name of the company and the product are displayed. The billboard informs the consumer that the product exists but ultimately fails to get across how effective said product is. Technically, this would mean that a violation of the basic guidelines has occurred.

“Rules are what the artist breaks; the memorable never emerged from a formula” – Bill Bernbach

Compare the live performance of a speech versus the transcription of said speech. Elements such as body language and eye contact are lost when only one form of presentation is utilized. In order to fully analyze the strategy of this campaign, one must look past any individual medium of information and must take in the piece as a whole. In this case, the ad uses action instead of using static images and text to convey the efficacy of the product. This ad doesn’t need to say anything because it directly shows the purpose and result of the product. This creates a wordless and automatic association of action and product within the minds of the audience.

Orphea Bug Trap Billboard

Clever Billboards

Things normally become less interesting the more we experience them. Even someone’s favorite song runs the risk of becoming dull if heard often enough. Billboards are much the same way. A creative and unique billboard might grab your attention the first time, but what if you had to drive past that same billboard on your way to work every day for a month? The novelty wears thin eventually.

Most shopping decisions are made on the move. Drivers stuck in traffic or on a long commute have time to think about their wants and needs. -SmartDataCollective

The temporal aspect of this ad makes it even more effective over time, however. The true nature of this ad isn’t stuck at any one point in time. From the original posting to the final result, none of these are really the “completed” ad. The billboard continues to change and grow in an organic way which adds something new for the consumer every time they may pass it. If this was a part of someone’s morning commute, tracking the progress of the ad would no doubt become a staple of their morning routine while it was around. Simply said, the most clever billboards stand out.

This keeps the ad, and likewise the product, at the forefront of the consumer’s mind. If one secures that very precious spot in the consciousness of the consumer, it becomes much more likely that they will be remembered when a purchasing decision is about to be made.

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.

Why Are Billboards Effective?

They’ve been around for so long and continue to be something we see frequently. So why are billboards so effective? Even though many consider billboards to be antiquated, they still comprise a significant amount of advertiser spending.

Billboards may be antiquated, but they are undeniably effective. Due to their effectiveness, a good billboard is an invaluable piece of advertising that can easily lead to greater brand awareness, greater sales, and greater profit.

People Spend A Lot Of Time On The Road

The total population of Puerto Rico is 3.2-million people. For every 1,000 people, in Puerto Rico, 614 people own and drive a car. There are a lot of drivers in Puerto Rico, and people in Puerto Rico spend a lot of time on the road. Since there are so many drivers in Puerto Rico, it’s very easy for billboards to be noticed and seen.

You Can Place A Billboard In Areas With Heavy Traffic

The San Juan area, in Puerto Rico, is exceptionally busy. The busiest highway in San Juan sees an average of 286,600 people driving across it every single day. That is a lot of people, many of whom are spending large amounts of time on the road, waiting for the traffic to lessen so they can get to wherever they need to be.

Since billboards are, more often than not, large advertising displays that are placed along roads, they can be set up in areas like San Juan. By being set up within those areas, you are able to convey what you offer to many, many people. So consider the number of eyes on billboards when you ask yourself, “Why are billboards so effective?”

empty billboard in san juan, puerto rico

A Good Billboard Is Very Memorable

A billboard, if it is well-designed, can be extremely memorable.

So memorable, in fact, that it not only spreads awareness of your brand and what you are offering but inspires the person who noticed the billboard to follow up and see what you offer.

A Good Billboard Conveys What You Offer In A Compelling Manner

A billboard, if it is well-designed, conveys exactly what you offer in a manner that is genuinely memorable and compelling.

Through the use of images and words – among others, if you’re using a digital billboard – you are able to create unique advertisements that capture people’s attention, showing them what you offer while also entertaining them with the advertisement’s design.

People Will See Your Billboard More Than Once

Just about everyone has a familiar series of routes that they take. Each one of these routes makes it easy for people to get to work, school, home; and anywhere else that they need to go. By placing a billboard on a popular route, it is very likely that those same people will see and engage with your billboard many, many times.

As science has shown, if someone sees a particular advertisement over and over, it will become internalized and associated with a particular service or idea. Billboards allow your brand and services to be noticed and internalized by the people driving by them, allowing more and more people to know what you do and to follow up on what it is that you offer.

People Enjoy Looking At Billboards

Just over a decade ago, a study known as the “Arbitron National In-Car Study” was conducted. One of the most interesting pieces of information this study uncovered was that around 71% of drivers actively look at and engage with the billboards that they see while driving. Billboards break up the monotony of driving – especially long drives – and give people something nice to see and think about.

You Can Use A Billboard To Advertise Anything

As a form of advertising, billboards are extremely versatile. Much of this versatility comes down to the medium itself, which can make use of unique colors, drawings, words, shapes, and figures; among a plethora of other elements.

Since billboards can make use of those elements, billboards can be used to advertise just about anything. This means that no matter what you offer, you can use a billboard to reach large numbers of people with ease. But, of course, for this billboard to be successful, it must be well-designed and it must make use of an effective billboard marketing strategy.

digital billboard in Turkey

You Can Place A Billboard Just About Anywhere

Most people, when they think of billboards, think of large, colorful boards that are on the side of a road. That is, generally speaking, quite accurate. But, the billboard medium is so varied and diverse that you are able to not only advertise anything, but you can place a billboard just about anywhere.

Moving billboards and digital billboards are two examples of the versatility that billboards offer.

Billboards Can Be Very Dynamic

Why are billboards so effective? Because they’re ever-changing.

Digital billboards are only becoming more and more popular. It isn’t difficult to see why this is the case, since digital billboards allow for incredibly versatile and dynamic advertisements to be created with the kind of ease and efficiency that traditional billboards simply don’t allow for.

For many advertisers, one of the most unique benefits that digital billboards offer is their inherently dynamic nature. Digital billboards can be set up to display jall kinds of unique and dynamic advertisements that make use of videos, various sounds and musical compositions, animations; and a wide variety of other extremely unique elements. Each one of these elements allows for dynamic advertisements that are genuinely distinctive and incredibly memorable.

You Can Change A Billboard Quickly And Easily

A traditional billboard is, essentially, completely static. You can change a traditional billboard, but doing so is expensive and labor-intensive. Because of this, when you set up a billboard with a particular advertisement, it’s likely that advertisement will remain there for as long as you are using the billboard.

Traditional billboards aren’t the only billboards that you can use, though. More and more advertisers are using digital billboards, which can be changed very quickly. If a particular message isn’t working, you can change the message that’s being displayed with the click of a few buttons.

Because of this, digital billboards make it easy for you to respond to what isn’t working, and what is, with the same ease that internet advertising – to name one example – allows for.

Why are billboards so effective? Simply put, they’re large and attractive, they’re in high-traffic areas, and they’re effective.