Lamar Advertising debuted its first digital billboard in Baton Rouge in 2001, and now runs more than 3,700 digital boards nationwide.
Bobby Switzer says a billboard's value depends on location in traffic and how quickly its message can be changed, which made digital a fundamental shift.
Switzer says a board should add an advertiser slot only after holding 100% occupancy for months, since adding digital too fast cut occupancy and rates.
How Lamar invented the digital billboard and stayed ahead
Lamar Advertising launched the first digital billboard in 2001 and kept its lead, going from about 40 boards when rivals arrived to nearly 4,000. Bobby Switzer credits building and controlling its own technology instead of relying on vendors, plus refusing to crowd boards with advertisers. Because a billboard's value lies in how fast its message changes, that control and restraint protected rates.
Takeaways
Speed of message change drives billboard value. Switzer says a board's worth rests on its location in traffic and how fast its message can change. Traditional billboards sold thirty-day postings, so rotating LED displays turned one structure into several sellable units.
Owning the control software set Lamar apart. After seeing a Daktronics board in Miami, a small team including Rod Rackley and Kevin Riley decided to build the software themselves. Rackley wrote it and Bill Rip made it a real product. Competitors leaned on screen vendors instead.
Slot discipline protects rates and occupancy. Lamar sells six slots out of nine, reserving the rest for government and emergency messages, while Clear Channel ran eight. Switzer adds a slot only after a board holds 100% occupancy for months, because adding digital too fast cut rates.
Cooler LEDs cut costs and extend life. Early LEDs produced about 5,000 nits and today's exceed 12,000, yet Lamar runs them at roughly half the earlier heat and power. Boards rated for eight years first lasted about five, which Switzer blames on heat.
Standardized modules prevent supplier lock-in. Lamar chose vendors through shootouts, including a Baton Rouge digital picnic where vendors such as Daktronics and YESCO showed unlabeled panels without staff beside them. Around 2013 or 2014 it standardized module size so no supplier could lock it in.
The NOC grew from showpiece to control center. The network operating center began partly as eye candy for investors when Lamar was public. It now monitors uptime, since a single out module hurts Lamar's image the longer it sits. Lamar claims the world's largest digital display maintenance company.
Static boards will not disappear. Switzer doubts the whole footprint goes digital and expects more digital to soften rates and occupancy. Digital still wins in places. After Hurricane Michael, Lamar rebuilt Panama City with digital because it restored revenue faster and more cheaply.
Engineering the first boards
Lamar watched LED message boards through the late 1990s until Japanese developers produced a blue LED bright enough for full-colour art in sunlight.
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On this episode 2
Show 1
Early boards needed a costly cable to each unit, electrical upgrades, and air conditioning to stop overheating.
Early trim let water in, and YESCO units built for Las Vegas were not waterproof and caused problems in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh's first large board, about 14 by 40, cost $500,000 and got a static backlight. Stan Guyer asked for it first, and it made money from day one.
Where the medium goes next
Switzer predicts holograms and drone-carried lights, and says the industry must make its products more robust.
Finding and training staff is expensive, so Lamar has to keep the people it has.