Digital billboards are becoming increasingly indispensable; many businesses now use them to attract clients, and the results and benefits of digital billboards are mindblowing. 90% of people have seen a digital billboard ad in the past, and 32% of those viewers checked the company’s website.
This means that viewers love them, and because they do, their engagement and interaction with your brand increases, leading to better sales. This article contains more ways digital LED billboards can boost your marketing effect. Let’s get started!
What Is a Digital Billboard?
A digital billboard is a modern display technology that showcases images, videos, graphics, and other digital content programmed to change every few minutes or seconds. They are mostly used in transportation hubs, highways, recreation and entertainment, churches, storefronts, and hotel reception or hallways to share relevant information with viewers or advertise products or services.
Digital billboards use backlighting technology to illuminate the content you see on your screen; without these backlights, there would be no display. However, different billboards use different backlighting technologies; the more modern ones use light-emitting diodes, while others use Cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL), mostly used in liquid crystal displays.
You may be wondering what differentiates them; the answer is simple. Digital billboards leveraging LED technology are;
- More durable, meaning that they can withstand different pressure or strain levels for longer periods.
- Most of them use high-resolution LED screens, producing excellent image quality.
- They have longer lifespans, rating up to 100,000 hours.
- Their modules are usually accompanied by an IP rating ≥65, meaning they are built to resist dirt, moisture, and dust.
- They have a slim design and are lightweight.
- They have excellent contrast ratios, determining the difference between a display’s brightest and darkest parts. This is essential because it ensures the outdoor digital billboard produces sharp and vivid images.
- However, digital billboards integrated with light-emitting diode technology are more expensive than LCDs.
On the other hand, cold cathode fluorescent lamps backing LCD digital billboards also offer many advantages, including;
- Backlights do not illuminate the screen individually like LEDs, so they consume less energy than most LED billboards.
- They are usually less expensive.
- They also have a long life span of up to 65,000 hours. Though it is not as high as LED billboards, it is sufficient for various applications.
- However, they may not be as cost-efficient as they seem. This is because fluorescent bulbs require frequent maintenance or replacements, and consistently changing them can lead to higher costs than if you are using an LED display.
15 Benefits of Digital Billboard Advertising
Are digital billboards effective? Digital billboard advertising has been in existence for decades now; recently, advertisers have taken the possibilities of what can be done with these displays to a whole new level. These improvements have caused a massive increase in such businesses’ sales volume and visibility because it is easier for viewers to recall visual content.
While it may seem surreal, 82% of passersby said they recall a digital billboard advert they saw in the past month, and 32% of the survey sample said they like this mode of communication. But besides liking the ad content or the brand, here are 15 advantages of digital billboards for your company.
1. Easily Attract Customers
Creative digital billboards are eye-catching; 32% of people who see an ad on a digital billboard visit the company’s website or search them online for more offers. These displays are usually interactive and intuitive, and these features enable them to easily entertain and attract passersby.
Aside from attracting new customers directly, digital billboard marketing fosters brand advocacy. This survey by Statista suggests that 20% of people who see a digital billboard display ad refer others to that brand. This reduces client acquisition costs drastically, and having your ad on repeat will ensure that your content reaches as many viewers as possible.
2. Increase Retention Rates
It is one thing to place an ad and another to have your brand or product stuck in your audience’s mind for a long time. Traditional or static billboards do the first, but a digital billboard business ad entertains the viewers and ensures they remember the details of your ad content or the product you’re advertising.
This is important because when customers have a positive memory of your brand, they’ll likely buy from you when they need your products or services. Even if they don’t need your products, they’ll refer their friends, colleagues, and loved ones to you, offering you free word-of-mouth marketing in exchange for your investment.
3. Multiple Ads in Rotation
Ad rotation shows multiple advertisements in a slideshow pattern on a single digital billboard. Most digital billboards mounted are not privately owned, and even those owned by businesses still have the benefits of ad rotation. Every company’s ad gets seen equally for publicly owned or shared billboards.
However, only businesses that own displays can fully tap into the real benefit of ad rotation on digital billboards. First, they showcase different products at different times and measure which product or campaign impacts viewers most. Additionally, a billboard ad digital ensures that you meet a larger audience at the points of their needs.
4. Targeted Messaging
Targeted messaging is the art of creating and delivering ad messages that resonate with your specific audience based on age, demographic, location, interest, etc., and address their pain points. Targeted messaging ensures you don’t waste your time and resources trying to please everyone but your target audience.
Modern digital billboards leverage automation to display relevant ads to the right audiences. But this can only be effective if you understand who you’re selling to, what they like, and how often they pass through the location where your billboard is mounted. This information is important because the command that the digital billboard software receives will determine its output.
5. Real-Time Update
Traditional billboards served great purposes in the past, but advertisers could not track their ad progress to know if their strategies were working. This blind trust is no longer reliable, and the possibility of wasting time, effort, and resources on campaigns that do not resonate with your target audience is difficult.
But digital billboard signages make all the difference; they allow marketers to monitor ad progress and viewers’ behavior and remotely tweak their ad content or campaign accordingly to increase conversion rates. Aside from enabling real-time content tracking, it can help advertisers rotate ads to determine what time of the day or season is perfect for what campaign.
6. Dynamic Content
Dynamic content is any digital content; it can be images, graphics, videos, or animation that changes based on data, user behavior, interests, and preferences. With this, advertisers can tailor content to specific audiences or locations. For example, a restaurant can promote breakfast items in the morning and switch to dinner specials in the evening, optimizing relevance to different viewer segments.
They can also use this digital billboard technology to promote seasonal sales or holiday-themed campaigns by switching between various creative designs to match the time of year. Another example of dynamic content that can be displayed on a digital billboard is a countdown and timers for limited-time offers or upcoming events.
7. Creative Flexibility
With traditional or static billboards, advertisers’ ability to be creative and try out various ideas is limited. They can only get designers to craft a two-dimensional (2D) representation of your product. Your audience will only interact with this display the first time they see it, but as they come across it frequently, they’ll get bored and ignore your ad.
However, with a digital display billboard, advertisers can explore various content ideas, like animations, videos, and interactive images and texts, to keep the viewers engaged. These content types keep the audience entertained because they are interactive and usually incorporate storytelling to connect the audience emotionally with your ad content.
8. Remote Content Management
Traditional billboards have a cheap upfront cost but are expensive in the long run. This is because once these signs are mounted, the only way to change them is by designing new advertisement content and replacing the old ones. This isn’t a brilliant financial move for businesses needing to consistently change ad content.
The best thing to do is leverage digital LED billboards‘ remote content management advantage to switch between content from your workspace. If the billboards are far from your location, you will still have peace of mind knowing that your content is displayed on time and accordingly due to automation.
9. Weather-Responsive Advertising
Traditional billboards could get ruined from prolonged exposure to weather conditions like rain, sunlight, dust, snow, etc. That is because they are more prone to damage from harsh weather conditions and are not built using materials that are resistant to such damage. When they are exposed to these situations, and damage occurs, your ad content will no longer be visible.
But if you want to showcase your content consistently, no matter the weather conditions, the digital sign billboard is the display you need. It usually has a high IP rating to ensure it is safe from dirt, dust, and water. It maintains the image, video, or graphic quality no matter what, ensuring all year-round visibility.
10. Interactive Features
Many factors drive the audience’s buying journey and their decisions after awareness, which digital LED billboards give. This experience encourages users to act by scanning the QR codes or following the CTA. Besides that, it enables advertisers to collect data on viewer interactions, such as the number of scans, clicks, touch gestures, or other interactions.
11. Geotargeting
With digital sign billboards, you can reach a specific customer base in certain locations with targeted offers. This promotional content can help you create more relevant messaging for your target audience, improving customer satisfaction, increasing online traffic to your company’s website, and boosting foot traffic.
Let’s say you own an electronics manufacturing company in Boston, and your target audience are people in the Boston area and other nearby states in the United States, a geo-targeted ad will enable you to create a campaign that resonates with your target audience rather than just testing the waters.
12. Increased Brand Visibility
You cannot sell to your target audience of anyone at all if they have no idea who you are, meaning that the more visible your brand is, the better chance you have to gain more business or increase sales. Now, with a creative campaign that is exactly what a digital LED billboard will do for your business.
Aside from high brightness that helps them achieve this level of visibility for your product, digital sign billboards have high contrast ratios and produce accurate colors, deeper blacks, and brighter whites. These color accuracy and high contrast ratios, which distinguish between the deeper blacks and bright whites, ensure a smooth and highly visible display.
13. Higher Sales Volume
Digital billboards positively change how customers interact with brands. With a clear call to action and timed and targeted content, businesses can ensure their message reaches potential customers when they are most open-minded. Since this content is interesting and solves the audience’s problem, they’ll either visit the store or purchase immediately, leading to higher conversion rates.
Additionally, updating content in real-time allows businesses to effectively promote special offers, discounts, or limited-time deals. This creates a sense of urgency and encourages immediate action from viewers, driving more foot traffic or online visits. So, if you’ve been asking, Are digital billboards profitable? You have your answer.
14. Environmental Friendliness
Even though the backlighting technology used for digital LED billboards emits light independently, they are still more efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional incandescent builds. This means lower electricity consumption and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, making them a more environmentally friendly option. Some, especially those with sunlight readability, can adjust brightness according to ambient light conditions.
Additionally, traditional billboards are not environmentally friendly because they are made from paper and vinyl, which are unsafe for the environment when they are not recycled. However, with remote content management, there is no need to replace printed posters, reducing the production of waste materials like paper and vinyl.
15. Increased Result Tracking
The main goal of every form of advertising is to get results. For many companies, results could mean higher foot traffic, more visibility, more engagement, building a loyal community, and increased sales. With static billboards, marketers have achieved results in the past, but currently, customers find digital ads more appealing.
Even though static billboards offered results, it was difficult for advertisers to measure their effectiveness, which is one reason digital billboards bring better returns on investment. They are accompanied by features that allow businesses to track metrics like impressions, number of QR code scans, and interactions.
With this configuration, businesses can know what campaign is working and what isn’t, enabling them to restructure their advertising content on the go and make changes that will achieve better results.
8 Features of Digital Billboard Signs
When purchasing a digital billboard, you must find a balance between achieving visual quality and managing power consumption, depending on the specific billboard’s design and location. Here are some features that ensure digital billboards make your content stand out regardless of weather or lighting conditions.
1. Scalability
As your business grows, you’ll need larger screens or more shaper images, or you may want to make changes to the kind of content you use. These improvements are usually more challenging with traditional or static displays because you can make any changes without damaging the original ad content.
However, digital billboards can be easily scaled to different sizes and accommodate remote management for switching content, making them adaptable to various locations and advertising needs. Whether it’s a small roadside billboard or a large display in a city center, they can be customized to fit the available space.
2. Energy Efficiency
As the days go by, lower power consumption and the need for reduced carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions are becoming inevitable. Manufacturers are now particular about the components that go into making display technologies and how they can have adverse effects on the environment.
Unlike traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) lighting technology and incandescent bulbs, digital billboards are designed to be energy-efficient. They use LED technology, which consumes less power than traditional lighting methods, reducing operating costs and environmental impact.
3. Ease of Integration
Automating and organizing systems rather than scattering them can increase efficiency and improve workflow in a business environment, which is why any system you’re adding to your existing setup becomes equally disorganized. This avoidable mistake can lead to the display of relevant company information, the wrong content, or a campaign.
However, digital billboards are designed for seamless integration with other advertising technologies. This allows advertisers to synchronize content across multiple billboards, creating a consistent and impactful message. With such consistency, customers will not get confused when they are trying to take an action.
4. Long Life Span
The lifespan of a digital LED billboard matters because it determines how long it can function, even with consistent use and prolonged exposure to challenging display requirements. Traditional billboards have lifetimes starting at 50,000 hours, while digital LED billboards boast 100,000 hours.
Most businesses need their ads running day in and day out, but for this to be possible, you need a digital billboard with an extended lifetime to suit this need. Their longevity and durability is one advantage that advertisers and marketers can rely on their investment for long periods without frequent replacements or maintenance.
5. Ease of Use and Installation
When discussing digital billboards, there is no leaving out the simplicity they are accompanied by. With the right instructions, manual, or installation guides and training from industry’s best manufacturers like NSE LED, they can easily be installed and unmounted. Secondly, there is no special training required for displaying content on these screens, because their functionality is not as complex as that of other display technologies.
6. Digital Billboard Aspect Ratio
The aspect ratio of a digital LED billboard is the relationship or difference between the height and width of the screen. This feature is important because it usually determines the ratio of the image that can be displayed on a specific screen. But besides the billboard aspect ratio, the pixels also have aspect ratios, so it can be quite challenging for people to differentiate them.
A higher LED billboard aspect ratio like the 16:9 means that the display is compatible with wide screen content with a similar aspect ratio. In such cases a lower content aspect ratio may not be displayed perfectly, because the screen will be required to stretch the image to fit in. During this process, the content representation may become a little distorted or faded. So it is advisable to compare the screen’s aspect ratio with that image or video you are showcasing before buying or renting a digital billboard.
7. Digital Billboard Resolution
Another feature or one of the most common terms you will come across in your head h for a digital billboard is display resolution. Now the display resolution is used to express how many pixels are arranged horizontally and vertically on a LED billboard. This feature determines the quality of the images, videos, or graphics that your screen will display.
Generally, there are various standard LED billboard screen resolutions ranging from full High definition (HD) high-definition (FHD), 2K, ultra high-definition (UHD) or 4K, and 8K. All these resolutions showcase content with different levels of clarity, but the higher the resolution, the more vivid and sharper content will appear on your screen.
8. Refresh Rate (Hz) and Frame Rate (Fps)
When talking about the refresh rate of an LED billboard, you may also come across the frame rate. Some people use them interchangeably or even try to draw a similarity between the two, but they are not the same, even though every digital billboard has the two features. Now, here’s the difference and why they both matter!
The refresh rate, measured in hertz, refers to how often your digital LED billboard refreshes the content you’re displaying per second. While the frame rate is the frequency in which the images are captured and displayed. Now what’s the difference between refresh rate vs. frame rate? They are different measurements but are usually required to be equal to each other in a display technology to ensure a seamless experience.
Refresh rate and frame rate range from, 60Hz and 60 fps, 120Hz and 120 fps, 144Hz and 144 fps, etc. They should compliment each other, but if you don’t have access to the same values a higher refresh rate can run on a lower fos, but you won’t have the same experience like you would’ve if the values were the same. Finally, bear in mind that a higher Hz or fps results in smoother displays and less motion blur on the digital LED billboard.
Types of Digital Billboards You Can Leverage for Your Advertising Needs
Manufacturers produce digital billboards of various sizes and applications, ensuring that your ad can be delivered best to reach your audience. The choice from taxi LED billboards to church LED displays depends on where your target audience visits often. Some of these display LED billboards include:
1. Mobile Digital Billboard
The mobile LED display is a movable billboard placed on taxis, cars, and trucks. These billboards can withstand prolonged exposure to unfavorable weather conditions. They also have high brightness above 5000nits and are energy efficient, ensuring your ad is highly visible even under harsh sunlight and rain.
In addition, manufacturers like NSE LED offer great customization options for advertisers that want either car window LED billboards, taxi-top displays, or high-performance screens placed on the side of automobiles. Besides, using a digital mobile billboard truck or other vehicles for advertising is effective because it enables you to reach hundreds of commuters daily.
2. 3D Digital Billboards
If you are considering giving your audience a more realistic, relatable, and life-life experience, then the NSE 3D LED display billboard is ideal for your needs. Unlike other digital billboards, this display creates a more immersive experience using animations and elements imitating a real-life scenario, object, animal, or person.
What Are 3D Digital Billboards?
The 3D digital billboard utilizes naked-eye technology to amplify audience interaction, brand awareness, brand recall, and word-of-mouth marketing. In turn, these benefits increase the number of people visiting your website, social media, or store, resulting in better sales than traditional billboard advertising.
3. Commercial Digital LED Billboard
The commercial LED billboard is built for indoor and outdoor advertising due to its ability to showcase high-quality images, animations, and videos, notwithstanding the ambient lighting conditions. With this LED screen, you can enjoy low energy consumption and a 100,000-hour lifespan even with frequent use.
This digital LED billboard is easy to use, reliable, environmentally friendly, and also supports the naked eye 3D display effect. Additionally, manufacturers ensure that advertisers can find this display in various sizes and configurations, like the transparent LED displays, which display content without the black cabinet materials attached to other digital billboards.
4. Mall Digital Billboard
These billboards are used in shopping malls and large stores to showcase irresistible offers like the latest collection of items, best-selling products, promotions, discounts, or flash sales. Unlike traditional static billboards, small digital displays allow shopping complexes to showcase various messages, images, videos, and animations, ensuring their content remains fresh, engaging, and relevant for special occasions.
5. Flexible LED displays
These displays stand out due to their high brightness and ability to bend and curve, adapting to various architectural shapes and surfaces. Besides that, they also feature high image resolutions, allowing them to showcase advertising content perfectly. But how do they get their flexibility? Manufacturers use flexible printed circuit boards and unique substrates to fit concave and convex configurations.
These flexible LED billboards are used in retail to create captivating store experiences, while for events and entertainment, they serve as eye-catching stage backdrops and immersive exhibition elements. Additionally, corporate settings incorporate them for presentations and video conferencing.
6. Storefront LED Display
As the name implies, storefront LED billboards are storefront signs displaying vivid images, graphics, and videos that captivate passersby and engagingly convey information. You can use them to showcase any product, whether a clothing store highlighting the latest fashion trends, a restaurant showcasing new menu offerings, or a tech shop promoting the newest gadgets; these displays effectively draw in potential customers.
Their high brightness ensures visibility even in broad daylight, while energy-efficient operation keeps costs manageable. Additionally, with easy-to-use content management systems, businesses can quickly update and tailor their messages, making Storefront LED Displays a great tool for staying relevant.
9 Digital Billboard Advertising Ideas
After mounting your digital LED billboard, finding the best content ideas, especially ones that resonate with your target audience, can be challenging. But here’s a list of ten content ideas you can publish on your display, and if you want more ideas, check NSE LED’s comprehensive list of 30 creative billboard advertising ideas to help you stay competitive with your ads.
1. Digital Billboard Animation
Digital billboards use modern technologies that support various kinds of digital content, so they are perfect for eye-catching, engaging, and interactive animations. You can use motion graphics, GIFs, or short videos to grab the attention of passersby and convey your message better than a static image.
2. User-Generated Content
One of the many factors differentiating successful companies from struggling businesses is their ability to adapt to various market changes or trends, such as the use of social media to connect with their target audience. If you are already doing that or planning to, digital billboards are one ad booster you shouldn’t ignore.
To leverage user-generated content and create a social media wall using your billboard, encourage your customers to create content related to your brand and showcase it on your billboard. This builds trust and authenticity, as potential customers see real people using and enjoying your products or services.
3. Social Media Integrations
Social media connectivity has been made easy with just one click or scan; there’s no reason you shouldn’t use it to your advantage. To do this, simply integrate your social media feeds or icons into your billboard. This allows viewers to connect with your brand on various platforms and stay updated with your latest posts and news.
4. Live Streaming
When hosting events, only a percentage of your customer base is expected to be present. But how can you ensure your audience had a great experience? By simply broadcasting live events or behind-the-scenes footage on your billboard. It’s a way to make viewers feel like they’re a part of something happening in real time, whether it’s a product launch, concert, or charity event.
5. Seasonal Campaigns
People are always excited about seasons and special occasions, and there’s no better way to show them you’re a part of the celebration than by tailoring your ad to match the season’s theme. It is important because tailoring your digital billboard content to seasons or holidays keeps your advertising relevant. For example, you can promote summer clothing in the warmer months and holiday-themed products during December.
6. Educational Content
Some products, services, or concepts are complex, and without user education, you can’t sell those products because they’d be useless to them. In other words, use your billboard to educate your audience about your products, industry, or relevant topics. This informs potential customers and positions your brand as an authority in your field.
7. Influencer Marketing Billboard
Partner with influencers with huge follower counts and whose goals and values align with your brand and have them create content specifically for your billboard. Their endorsement can give you access to their network by exposing your brand and products to reach their followers and expand your audience.
8. Testimonials
People like to buy from brands they trust, and what better way to earn their trust than a display of all previous purchases and how the customers were happy with your performance? Customer testimonials on your digital billboard serve as social proof. When people see positive feedback from others, it boosts their confidence in your brand and products.
9. Local Community Engagement
Showcase your brand’s involvement in the local community. This can include sponsorship of local events, charitable initiatives, or simply celebrating the community’s achievements. It demonstrates your commitment to the area, creates an emotional connection between your brand and the community members, and fosters goodwill.
What Is the Cost of a Digital Billboard?
The cost of digital billboards is hardly the same everywhere; the cost of digital billboards in India surely differs from the cost of digital billboards in Boston or the cost of digital billboards in Los Angeles. This could be a result of shipping fees, manufacturers, location, additional features, and demand.
Still, whether you’re searching for the cost of digital billboards in Southeast Asia or digital billboards cost in Nigeria, it is advisable to budget at least a thousand dollars for your display and ensure to compare manufacturers’ offers to know which one is better or to know the average market price of the digital LED display.
Digital Billboards Vs Traditional Billboards
Digital billboards feature LED screens that are used to display high-quality content that can change frequently. Unlike digital LED billboards, traditional billboards have static messaging. Once a message is printed and installed, it remains the same until the billboard is uninstalled and a new image or graphic is printed. This increases costs and limits their ability to adapt to changing marketing strategies or time-sensitive promotions.
NSE LED: Your Trusted Retail and Wholesale Digital LED Billboard Manufacturer
NSE LED is the industry’s top manufacturer of digital LED billboards for various applications, including events, corporate institutions, banks, hotels, and shopping malls. They use highly efficient strategies to produce high-performance and high-brightness digital billboards that will brightly display your ad content regardless of weather or ambient lighting conditions.
NSE LED is a high-tech enterprise, and the company is also certified by CE, SGS, and RoHS; these certifications have ensured that products meet the industry standards before they are sold to their clients. Aside from verifications, their staff are well-trained and knowledgeable about what it takes to manufacture a digital billboard with excellent features.
Additionally, NSE LED operates a customer-first approach, ensuring that clients’ needs are display requirements are met. So, if you are ready to join the thousands of people leveraging NSE LED high-performance and long-lasting digital LED billboards, contact us today to get an estimate for the LED screen you need.
Conclusion
Digital billboards consume lower power and offer better brightness, contrast ratios, greater flexibility, immersive viewing experience, and potential for engagement. Traditional billboards do not provide the most relevant advantages, so many advertisers now use digital LED billboards to maximize their reach and impact.
If you want more visibility, awareness, buzz around your product, and sales, use digital billboards like 3D LED displays or mobile digital billboards for advertising and promotion. Nevertheless, manufacturers offer great customization options if you prefer other forms of digital billboard advertising.
FAQs
1. What Is Digital Billboard Installation Cost?
While some manufacturers offer free installation, others only provide free guides and trainings. So, if you’re outsourcing a digital LED billboard installer, your budget should be between $100 to $300 for standard billboards. Larger and more elaborate digital billboards have installation prices starting at $400, and the price goes up from there.
2. How Long do Digital Billboard Ads Last?
Digital LED billboards, like other modern display technologies, have exceptionally long life spans of up to 100,000 hours, and they are durable enough to carry out your advertisement daily, even under the most unpleasant weather conditions. So, your digital billboard ad will last as long as you want; all you need to do is change the content often.
3. What Is the Disadvantage of Billboard Marketing?
The only disadvantage of digital LED billboards is their high price ranges. However, looking at the brighter side, this is more cost-efficient than traditional screens. This is because they require less maintenance and minimal replacement, saving you time, effort, and resources to maintain traditional displays.
4. How Do You Know if a Billboard Is Effective?
Normally, you’ll need to use certain metrics to determine the effectiveness of your digital LED billboard ad, but you can still make a rough estimation. By estimating the number of people who visit your location or where your ad is placed and the number of people or vehicles who actually interact with your billboard, you can get an overview of the ad output.
5. What Is the Cost of Digital Billboard Advertising?
If you’re renting a digital billboard, it’s either you’re sharing with other advertisers or paying for a full day. If you’re sharing screen time with others, digital billboard advertising can cost from $20 per ten-second spot to over $5,000, depending on the location, ad duration, and display frequency.
