I was driving home and noticed one of the half dozen digital billboards that I drive past regularly. A message flashed up congratulating the state champion football team. The creative was a retina searing green and the message was delivered. Since I am not one of the 100 or so high school students that actually won the championship, I question the targeting of the message. That's another post, though.
I've been noticing more and more digital boards lately. It's the holiday season and I've been driving around a bit more, I suppose. The boards are fantastic delivery vehicles. I just don't like how this particular flavor of outdoor is sold. "It's eye-catching," the sales rep says. True, but paying three to four times the cost of a static board to be in rotation, doesn't make much sense. Is it seven times more eye-catching? It had better be, since my message will be in rotation with six or seven other advertisers who are competing for the same disposable income. There are certainly not seven times more drivers driving past just because a billboard has gone digital. So where does the math begin to work? The board gives less exposure (due to rotation) but costs more.
So in the end, the fan or group of fans that wanted drivers to know that their team won the championship are probably the best purchaser of digital billboards because, at the end of the day, vanity drove the media buy. The fan(s) aren't selling anything (unless it's the players to college recruiters), so their message is a branding message. Branding the backs of my eyeballs with the fact that these kids won the big game and possibly reminding a recruiter or two that their kids are worth a look.
However, for the company selling widgets, a good 'ol static board with a message that can be read and digested at 70 mph is a better approach. Call me old fashioned, I just don't see the value for the average retailer of going digital.
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