When digital billboards came on the scene, segments of advertisers who hadn’t traditionally used outdoor began moving their ad budget from other media to outdoor. Outdoor’s dynamic characteristics have really helped outdoor advertising become a strong competitor to print and broadcast advertising.
Back in 2006, when I was preparing for my first digital billboard deployment, I read every piece of marketing material, industry report and product description that I could get. Putting up one of these billboards was a big investment for my small company and I wanted to get it right. As with many business-related purchases, price was a big issue, but there were other issues that I felt were very important.
The fact is choosing the right manufacturer is probably the most important decision you'll make when you invest in digital billboards. Your return on investment is directly tied to the quality of the board you choose because up-time, ease of use, and advertiser satisfaction all flow straight to the bottom line.
One thing that I have noticed while selling digital outdoor space is the lack of imagination that has kept some advertisers from using the medium properly. Because of this, the advertisers didn’t get the return on investment that they could have. They used digital in the same manner as they would with a static board, running only branding and directional messages.
While meeting with a new potential advertiser not so long ago, I was told that they did not believe digital outdoor worked. They had tried it months before in a nearby market with another operator. They explained to me it was a waste of money and it did not show any returns, then thanked me for my time. They just didn’t think they wanted to spend the money again without getting some sort of return.