How Much Does it Cost to Advertise on a Billboard?

You might think this is an easy question to answer….

The real cost is in getting it wrong.  Planning and buying the wrong billboard - or out of home media (OOH) as it is commonly known - can be very expensive. The OOH industry is fragmented with over 1600 suppliers across the country and formats of all shapes and sizes.  Knowing how to secure the correct inventory to target your audience is a specialty craft.  It takes years of hands-on experience to become a true master of the billboard medium.  The work doesn’t stop after creating and buying an OOH plan.  Production, traffic, execution and post-buy analytics are also unique disciplines. Organizing all of this information and the elements that go into a buy so you can judge the outcome properly is crucial to measuring your billboard advertising results.

It’s all worth it when you get it right.  Few media forms are more powerful when a curated package of OOH inventory effortlessly serves up the right message in the right place at the right time.  When planned, bought and executed by billboard industry veterans with passion and purpose, the cost to advertise on a billboard is worth every penny.

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Billboard advertising can be effective in every DMA (Designated Market Area) in the United States because it allows for a high level of visibility and reach. Billboards are typically located in high-traffic areas, such as along highways and busy streets, which means that they can be seen by a large number of people on a regular basis. Additionally, billboards are often located in areas where people tend to have more free time, such as when they are driving or stopped at traffic lights, which allows for a longer period of time for the advertisement to be viewed. Furthermore, billboards often have a high level of impact, as they are usually large and attention-grabbing. Overall, the combination of visibility, reach, and impact make billboards a highly cost effective form of advertising in every DMA.

1. New York City (DMA #1): New York City is the largest media market in the country and is home to a diverse population of over 8 million people. Billboard advertising works in this DMA because it allows businesses to reach a large audience in a highly visible and impactful way through a vast number of OOH formats from wallscapes to double decker buses. Billboard advertising in Times Square, the Crossroads of the World, is also an amazing opportunity to reach a mass audience in one of the highest profile locations in the world. The city is also home to a high concentration of businesses, making it a prime location for targeted advertising.

2. Los Angeles (DMA #2): Los Angeles is the second largest media market in the country, with over 18 million people living in the surrounding area. There are many businesses as well as a diverse audience allowing for targeted and general awareness billboard advertising campaigns. From street level ads to experiential advertising, LA has many different formats available. The Sunset Strip contains highly coveted advertising from billboards to massive wallscapes and some unique digital billboards.

3. Chicago (DMA #3): Chicago is the third largest media market in the country, with over 9 million people living in the surrounding area. Billboard advertising is effective in this DMA because it allows businesses to reach a large and diverse population with many unique billboard formats. Like most large cities, there are many businesses, making it a prime location for billboard advertising. Chicago, as well as most major cities, contains many professional sports teams making stadium advertising popular along with advertising on routes to and from baseball, basketball, football and hockey games to capture sports fans on the go.

4. Philadelphia (DMA #4): Philadelphia is the fourth largest media market in the country, with over 6 million people living in the surrounding area. Billboard advertising is effective in this DMA because it allows businesses to reach the population in a highly visible way through many unique media formats including billboards, digital billboards and many street level billboards and kiosks in highly trafficked areas of the city. The city is also home to a large amount of businesses, making it a prime location for out of home advertising.

5. Dallas-Fort Worth (DMA #5): Dallas-Fort Worth is the fifth largest media market in the country, with over 6 million people living in the surrounding area. Billboard advertising is most effective in this DMA because it allows businesses to reach a large and diverse population in a highly noticeable and impressive way through billboard ads and bus advertising. The city is also home to a high concentration of businesses and universities, making for some unique opportunities to advertise.

6. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (DMA #6): San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose is the sixth largest media market in the country, with over 7 million people living in the surrounding area. Billboard advertising works in this DMA because it allows businesses to reach a large audience in a highly viewable and impactful way through a vast number of OOH formats from wallscapes and double decker buses to commuter trains and train stations. San Francisco is home to many tech companies.

7. Boston (DMA #7): Boston is the seventh largest media market in the country, with over 4 million people living in the surrounding area. Billboard advertising is effective in this DMA because it allows businesses to reach a large and diverse population in a highly visual and stunning way. The city is also home to a high concentration of businesses, research centers and universities, making for some unique opportunities for billboard advertising to targeted audiences.

8. Atlanta (DMA #8): Atlanta is the eighth largest media market in the country, with over 5 million people living in the surrounding area. Boasting the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Atlanta advertising market sees a massive audience of local and international traffic. Billboard advertising is effective in this DMA because it allows local and national businesses headquartered here to reach an affluent audience. The city is also home to a high concentration of businesses, making it a prime location for targeted billboard advertising.

9. Washington, D.C. (DMA #9): Washington, D.C. is the ninth largest media market in the country, with over 5 million people living in the surrounding area. Being the center of America’s political world, Washington DC has a large national and international audience. Billboard advertising is effective in this DMA because it allows businesses to reach a large and diverse population in a highly discernible and effective way. The city is also home to a high concentration of government and military businesses, making it a prime location for low cost targeted ads.

• High Visibility: Billboards are typically located in high-traffic areas such as highways, main roads, and intersections, which increases their visibility to a large number of people.

• Cost-effective: Billboards are relatively inexpensive compared to other forms of advertising, such as television or print ads. They are also long-lasting, which means that a single billboard can reach a large audience over time.

• Targeted Advertising: Billboards can be strategically placed in specific areas to reach a specific demographic. For example, a billboard advertising a new car dealership can be placed near a highway exit that leads to a high-income neighborhood.

• Brand Awareness: Billboards can help increase brand awareness by consistently displaying a company's logo, name, or product at a low cost. This repetition can help people remember a brand and make them more likely to purchase its products or services.

• Flexibility: Billboards can be changed frequently and cost effectively, which allows companies to adapt to changes in their products, services, or target market.