Why Use Billboards?

Billboards surfaced as one of the hottest advertising trends of 2018 due to their ability to thrive by adapting to the times. On the streets of San Francisco — ground zero for all things online, virtual, and digital — tech companies are sneaking out into the “real” world. Apple and Google ads loom over Highway 101 on enormous 14’x48’ sheets of vinyl. Eaze posters cover MUNI busses. Bitcoin placards line old Victorians. In every side-street, alleyway, and hole-in-the-wall, the likes of Netflix, Everlane, Airbnb, Asana, and Twilio are leveraging the hottest advertising medium in town: Billboards. Today, in the midst of an online marketing boom, they’re one of the fastest-growing ad commodities on the market. 

A recent Nielsen study found that combining billboards and digital ads can lead to:

Other studies have shown billboards can lead to:

  • lifts of (54%) in search traffic
  • (38%) in Facebook interaction
  • (25%) in Instagram engagement
  • (47%) in sales activation.

That’s better than radio and print — and just below what you get from a TV ad, for the fraction of the price.


On average each of us spends upwards of 20 hours per week and travel more than 200 miles per week. 

2013 Arbitron National In-Car Study
In a 2013 Arbitron National In-Car-Study, more than half of the billboard viewers aged 18 or older have: 
  • (58%) Learned about an event they were interested in attending 
  • (58%) Learned about a restaurant they later visited 
  • (56%) Talked about something funny they saw on a roadside billboard
  • (44%) Been reminded to tune into a TV program (33%) or a radio station 
  • (26%) Noted a phone number
  • (28%) Noted a Web site address written on an outdoor billboard

Billboard Advertisement is also an effective way to influence purchase decisions; the study reported 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 an outdoor ad message
  • (32%) visited the retailer they saw on a billboard later that week
  • (50%) reported receiving directional information from a billboard
  • (24%) said they have immediately visited a business because of an outdoor ad message

2013 Arbitron National-In-Car-Study:

https://www.outfrontmedia.com/Tools/HowToAdvertise/Documents/OutfrontMedia-Why-OOH.pdf