While a lot of advertising these days is done in a high-tech way, you still can’t beat the old-fashioned billboard market. The first thought that many looking to start a new advertising campaign will think is, “aren’t billboards out of style and old school?” While billboards are indeed old-school, there is a great amount of research and statistics that prove that old-school still works.
IN 2009 THE ARBITRON NATIONAL IN-CAR STUDY DID A SURVEY THAT FOCUSED PURELY ON BILLBOARDS AND HERE ARE THE STATISTICS THAT WERE GATHERED FROM THAT STUDY:
- 71% of us “often look at the messages on roadside billboards” (traditional and digital combined)
- 37% report looking at an outdoor ad each or most of the time they pass one
- 58% learned about an event they were interested in attending
- 58% learned about a restaurant that they later visited
- 56% talked about something funny they saw on a roadside billboard
- 44% were reminded to tune into a radio station
- 26% noted a phone number or Web site address
FURTHER RESEARCH SHOWED THAT:
- 72% of billboard viewers frequently or sometimes shop on their way home from work
- 68% frequently or sometimes make their shopping decisions while in the car
- 38% make the decision to stop at the store while on their way home
- 24% say they were motivated to visit a particular store that day because of outdoor advertising
- 32% visited the retailer they saw on a billboard later that week
- 50% reported receiving directional information to a store from a billboard
- 24% said they have immediately visited a business because of an outdoor ad message
So what do these statistics mean for you and your brand? It shows that using billboard advertising and other forms of outdoor advertising will still be a useful form of marketing for you. Not only that, but they are also more affordable and see better results.
You can’t turn off a billboard. This means that it is always there twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. When you have standard print, TV & radio, people can throw print out or turn off a radio and TV. They can’t do that with your billboard.
Fact: More sets of eyes will view a single billboard, then those who watch the “billboard top 100” every year.
As mentioned before, billboards are viewed 24/7. Of the millions of people that will pass a billboard, most will notice it.
OAAA did a study in 1999 that says people glance at 70% of the billboards they pass. Of these billboards, 63% are read in full. There is no other media that can compare to this kind of retention and view rate.
As a whole, outdoor advertising, such as billboards, costs 80% less than television advertising, 60% less than newspaper ads, and 50% less than radio advertisements.
TRAFFIC STATISTICS:
There are 53% more automobiles and 102% more road trips over the last 30 years, a substantial increase.
The number of travelling and household vehicles have risen six times faster than the population rate, which is very high considering population growth rate is also high.
According to the study by Arbitron, people are spending less time reading and watching television, because they are spending more time travelling to and from work. The average American is in a car for more than 20 hours per week these days. More time in the car means more time to see billboard advertising.
While no form of advertising is foolproof, billboard advertising is likely the closest thing to it. Because billboards have been around for such a long time and have been such a steady sight in our lives, we tend to trust the information they give us. Brands that use billboard advertising tend to see an increase in traffic. Overall, billboards are a good financial investment.