When I first was pitched digital billboards by reps at two billboard companies, I was skeptical. But, my experience so far has been nothing but excellent. And, it is giving our clients some clear and decisive advantages.
There is no doubt that billboards are great ways to promote web sites, especially if you have done a good job picking a domain name that works for you. A great, memorable domain name on a billboard is normally a great way to drive traffic to your web site. However, billboards are not short-term buys. Like any mass media, it is important to commit to a substantial campaign in terms of length of time and exposure. This prohibits a lot of clients from choosing this, especially in major markets. Therefore, we normally see billboard campaigns in mid-size and small markets.
Another added burden of billboards is that you need to commit to one design because there are hard production costs involved. Whether it be paper or vinyl, billboards traditionally require some commitment to a message... one message per board. This sort of limitation has also factored into our clients’ choices to shy away from billboards.
However, these traditional limitations are all addressed by digital billboards. And, in one campaign we have running for La Belle Center for Cosmetic Surgery in Lafayette, Louisiana (Dr. Jay Appurao and Dr. Trent Fogelman) we plan to run between 15-20 images on one digital billboard in one campaign.
There is no production costs for digital billboards as the image is projected on a digital display. This means no paper or vinyl cost and it has the added upside of allowing us to change the art out on demand. The best benefit is that we can run multiple concepts in one campaign on one board. Previously, we were stuck to one message. Now, we can run multiple messages.
In the case of La Belle, the campaign has a web site call to action. That web call to action remains the same on all the designs but we change out the service and the photo. So, on one billboard, we have an ad for Laser Liposuction and another for Botox Cosmetic. This week, we plan to add more. Each board has the same call to action but the service being featured rotates so as to associate as many services as possible with the new clinic. Now this is how digital media is designed to be used.
Now, digital billboards are more expensive. But if you factor in the cost of paper or vinyl production on traditional boards, you see you were paying those dollars already. Overall, the cost of digital is a little more but the benefits far outweigh the added costs. For a cosmetic dentist, it means being able to feature numerous services in one buy. For cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists, it allows you to display the full range of services, both surgical and non-surgical in one media buy.
If you have been approached by billboard reps lately of if you are thinking about this or other forms of digital media, please email me for my best advice. I look forward to hearing from you.
