The Economics of Everyday Things
00:10:20 · Zachary Crockett, Dan Levi
[00:10:20] S4: And is there a standard time period that you commit to for a billboard when you rent a billboard space? [00:10:26] S5: So a four week period used to be the standard, but Apple, Disney, Netflix, Verizon, GEICO, so many brands do long term contracts for specific locations that they don't wanna ever give up. And so the inside baseball language for that is oftentimes referred to as a perm or a permanent contract, where it's a long term contract for that location where they change the creative out throughout the contract. [00:10:54] S4: For advertisers, billboards can be an affordable way to reach a lot of people. Nationally, the average cost is around $4,000 a month, but the actual prices can vary a lot depending on the market, the specific location, and the size of the billboard. [00:11:11] S5: We have billboards that will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent for a few weeks, and we have billboards that cost hundreds of dollars. [00:11:21] S4: What's a $100,000 billboard? [00:11:23] S5: Times Square, Sunset Strip, places that are so in demand. [00:11:27] S4: Whether a billboard is in Times Square or on the side of a freeway in Arkansas, the ad has to be carefully designed to attract attention. What works in other mediums often doesn't work on a billboard. It would make sense to assume you could take
00:11:27 · Zachary Crockett, Dan Levi
[00:11:27] S4: Whether a billboard is in Times Square or on the side of a freeway in Arkansas, the ad has to be carefully designed to attract attention. What works in other mediums often doesn't work on a billboard. It would make sense to assume you could take [00:11:43] S5: an online banner ad and just put that on a billboard because it's horizontal. Not only do you have issues with the resolution and the quality of it, but it's a completely different viewing experience. And so we advise our advertisers on, for example, seven words or less. We recommend that they have one image. There are best practices as far as color combinations to make sure that things are readable. [00:12:06] S4: How would you describe the perfect billboard? [00:12:08] S5: Quick, well designed, clean layout, ideally with copy that is easily understood or clever that will get your attention and get you as you're driving by going, wow. What was that? When you get to the office, it becomes something that's sort of lodged in your brain that you wanna find out more about. [00:12:24] S4: And once you have a good design, how do you go about printing a massive 14 by 48 foot billboard? [00:12:30] S5: Back in the day, you used to break it down into individual sheets. You would have artists painting directly on that structure, and then that face will be put on a truck and hung. Today, it's typically large format printing onto a vinyl type of substrate that allows it to be put up as one image.
00:12:30 · Dan Levi, Zachary Crockett
[00:12:30] S5: Back in the day, you used to break it down into individual sheets. You would have artists painting directly on that structure, and then that face will be put on a truck and hung. Today, it's typically large format printing onto a vinyl type of substrate that allows it to be put up as one image. [00:12:50] S4: The printing method isn't the only thing that's changed over time. While most billboards still use those vinyl static images you see on freeways and on the sides of buildings, today's industry is increasingly going digital and high-tech, and that's shaking up the economics of the field. That's coming up.
00:13:14 · S7
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00:15:25 · S1, S2, Zachary Crockett, Anna Bager
[00:15:25] S1: Who knew Walmart Business could help a thriving office motivate their employees? Pamela knew. She uses Walmart Business to get the assortment of items her team needs at the prices she loves. [00:15:34] S2: As the office manager, it's my job to make sure my team stays on top of their game. I can get the basics like cleaning supplies and paper towels, but what they really care about, snacks. [00:15:43] S1: And she can get everything they need when they need it. [00:15:45] S2: Greg loves wheat crackers, Brenda Cave sour candy, and Max, oh boy. He needs protein bars and milk and apple sauce and a jerky [00:15:52] S1: Built for your business. Knew? [00:15:59] S4: As the president and CEO of the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, Anna Bager often has to respond to the suggestion that billboards are outdated. Internet ads now make up more than 70% of all advertising spending in The US. But Bager says the digital age has been a boon for billboards. [00:16:21] S6: It's a very shareable medium. So even though we are an old medium with big signs and we're out in the real world, we are a connector into the rest of the media world. It creates a public conversation. You can't skip us. You can't block us. [00:16:36] S4: Technology, as it advances, only enhances our medium. Billboards are also immune to the polarization that other advertising channels face.
00:16:36 · Zachary Crockett, Anna Bager
[00:16:36] S4: Technology, as it advances, only enhances our medium. Billboards are also immune to the polarization that other advertising channels face. [00:16:46] S6: If you're a Democrat, you're gonna read certain news outlets and watch certain TV shows and avoid everything else. And if you're a Republican, you're gonna go certain ways. Billboards are very serendipitous. We're out there in the real world who will expose audiences to messages that they would normally maybe avoid, but they might have liked if they had seen them. [00:17:05] S4: But billboards have also embraced the digital revolution through imitation. Today, many static billboards are being converted into digital billboards. Billboards. Between twenty eighteen and 2023, the number of digital billboards in The US more than doubled. And these new signs come with a big advantage for the companies that own them. While a static billboard displays one ad, a digital billboard typically rotates up to eight different ads that run for around eight seconds each. [00:17:35] S6: One billboard becomes eight billboards, becomes eight times more revenue opportunity. So there's a financial gain too if you can convert a static to a digital. [00:17:45] S4: Unlike static billboards, which are rented out for set periods of time by advertisers, space on digital billboards is sold in programmatic auctions, much like the ads on websites and in podcasts like this one. Again, here's Dan Levi of Clear Channel Outdoor.