This week Insider did an interview with the Colorado Sign Association. Thanks to Keith Dobie of the Colorado Sign Association for permission to reprint.
CSA: What is Billboard Insider?
Billboard Insider provides news and analysis for the out of home advertising business. We write about topics we think will interest the owners and employees at out of home advertising companies. We write 3-5 articles each day on the out of home advertising business, regulations, billboard creative, digital signs and out of home financials issues. We also have a classified ads section.
CSA: What inspired you to start it?
We started the website in July 2015 due to a frustration over the fact that there was no source for information on the out of home advertising business. A print magazine covering the industry went out of business several years ago. There are several general media websites which occasionally write about outdoor and there are several websites devoted to the digital sign industry but there was no website which focused entirely on the out of home advertising business.
CSA: What’s your background in the the OOH / billboard industry?
We have been lenders and investors to out of home advertising companies for 20 years via our affiliate Billboard Loans (www.billboardloans.com). We also own Circle City Outdoor (www.circlecityoutdoor.net) which owns a billboard plant in Indiana.
CSA: So just how big is the billboard industry in the USA?
There are 156,000 static billboards and 6,700 digital billboards in the United States according to the OAAA. The OAAA calculates industry revenues at $7.3 billion. The big four (Lamar, Clear Channel Outdoor, Outfront Media and JCDecaux) control a majority of the billboards. We estimate, however, that there are more than 800 independent billboard companies in the United States. Over 300 have websites.
CSA: Who are the major players in the Colorado OOH and billboard industries?
Lamar, Outfront Media, Mile Hi Outdoor, Elevation Outdoor, Street Media Group, United Advertising Corp. The largest vinyl billboard printer – Circle Graphics – is located in Longmont, Colorado.
CSA: Do the OOH & billboard companies hire local sign shops to help with their projects? Any opportunities for Colorado sign companies?
Billboard companies use sign shops to maintain their signs and to hang vinyl on signs. This is especially so for smaller billboard companies who don’t want to hire and maintain full-time employees and for billboard companies with a very spread out plant. Sometimes even the big companies find it’s cheaper to subcontract with a local sign company to do board work than it is to roll a truck, especially for remote boards.
CSA: How quickly are digital billboards replacing traditional billboards?
Digital billboards are slowly replacing static boards. Not every location will be good for digital. A digital billboard costs nearly 5 times as much as a static billboard. Some locations simply can’t generate enough advertising to justify the expense. Some locations in un-congested areas are not good for digital because cars drive by too fast to be able to see more than 1 flip of a digital sign. Also because digital billboards have 8 flips versus 1 for a static billboard you double the amount of outdoor ad inventory in the market by converting one-eighth of your signs to digital. Out of home advertising companies are being careful about converting too many static billboards to digital in order to avoid having lots of unsold ad inventory.
CSA: What is the typical cost for advertising on billboards?
In general billboard advertising costs $1,000-5,000/month for a 14 by 48 billboard. A billboard in a terrific freeway location without many boards nearby may be $5,000. The average is probably $1,500.
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