Banner Advertising vs. Billboard Advertising

There’s no doubt about it—despite the proliferation of Internet banner advertising, traditional billboard advertising continues to garner attention when it comes to a company’s overall marketing strategy. While banner advertising—the placement of ads about relevant web pages across the internet—is relatively cheap, versatile, and has the potential to reach a targeted and global audience, billboards remain an important marketing means. In 2008, the outdoor advertising industry grossed nearly $7 billion, proving its worth as a viable marketing option.

Billboard advertising boasts the unique ability to reach more people at a lower cost than any other type of advertising. Because people spend more time in their vehicles than ever before, roadside billboards are especially valuable. As with all advertising, there are also psychological benefits to traditional forms of media. In today’s fast paced world, businesses come and go over a period of months. Companies that advertise solely online tend to be viewed as a ‘flash in the pan’. Companies that advertise by more traditional means, however, in conjunction with an online marketing strategy, are not only positioning themselves for broad, unique market exposure, they’re being viewed as established, and enduring.

There’s also the fact that most billboards out there today differ from the billboards of your parents’ generation. Types of billboards range from the nostalgic, painted billboard of yesteryear; to vinyl; to poster panels; to trendy, high-tech digital billboards which offer companies the ability to change their message quickly and frequently. There are also mobile billboards found on cars, trucks, and public transportation.

With companies such as panelAd, advertisers are able to use roadside billboards to target specific audiences in the same way they can on the Web. panelAd.com, a comprehensive, national database of billboard space for outdoor advertising professionals, merges cutting-edge technology with a traditional product, providing outdoor advertising professionals a sophisticated, easy-to-use tool. The site enables advertisers to search—for free—a dynamic, database to find the best and most cost effective options. Additionally, panelAd provides an opportunity for industry professionals to network, with a forum to share knowledge, reach thousands of new clients, and pose industry questions. panelAd.com’s technology also empowers advertisers by enabling them to accurately predict who, and how many people will see a particular outdoor ad. The site’s collection of census data, traffic tracking and other select criteria, along with the application of demographics such as age, race, income and education, facilitates a sophisticated level of customer targeting and tracking, putting the outdoor advertising professional in the driver’s seat.

Billboard vendors are able to manage their inventory of outdoor advertising space, increasing profitability and sales without increasing marketing costs.

In fact, after searching the database of billboards at panelAd.com, the astute outdoor advertising professional will quickly discover that for what it costs to display an online banner at some unknown website, he or she can actually rent an outdoor billboard space in the center of Manhattan. Surprises like this make panelAd worth a shot.