Billboard ads – and digital billboard ads – are on most of the hours of a day and are available at a low cost. To use billboard media means to produce more gross impressions than any other outdoor medium during a given period.
Currently, advertising on LCD billboards is the most popular outdoor advertising type among advertisers ready to reach the general public. Competitive billboard rental ad costs result in low cost-per-thousand figures because the costs for renting billboards is significantly reduced when compared to other media. According to many advertisers, the cost of a billboard rental yields great investment returns. Thus, many businesses and other organizations billboard-advertise in order to increase revenue or their exposure.
The construction of new locations, including new LED billboard advertisements, is prohibited in most cities in the United States, thereby making the existing billboard ad locations all the more valuable. Despite this fact, billboard rental rates remain competitively priced. All types of advertisers recognize this value and therefore include this medium in their outdoor ad plan. Advertisers that use billboard media and engage in renting billboards typically calculate the rent-a-billboard cost by dividing the monthly billboard advertising costs by the monthly gross impressions (which are first divided by 1,000).
With costs typically as high as $2,500 for a single placement, billboard ads are an expensive investment for advertisers. However, as consumers find more ways to avoid other types of traditional advertising like television and radio, advertisers turn to billboard ads, which are hard to avoid. The costs are dependent upon:
- The lease of the billboard per period month,
- The print production of the billboard skin,
- The installation of the billboard skin onto the billboard face.
The smaller 6x3m sites range from approximately $1,900 to $3,600 per month, print cost is approximately $500 and installation starts at $395 per site. On the other end of the scale, some of the largest Landmark sites have a market lease rate of over $100,000 per period.The cost of billboards in New York ranges from $3,000 to $20,000/month, and in Los Angeles billboard costs range from $2,000 to $15,000/month. In Chicago, billboards’ cost ranges from $2,000 to $12,000; San Francisco billboards’ cost ranges from $2,000 to $12,000; and in Philadelphia billboards cost from $1,500 to $12,000/month.
How Are Billboards Sold?
Costs of billboards vary greatly based on the economy of the area in which your ads are placed, the billboards’ location, and the potential daily estimated traffic (number of exposures). Typical placement ranges from $700 to $2,500 per month. Billboards are rarely purchased in singular packages in a metropolitan area, though; you often buy signage as a package. Buying space on 10 billboards for one month, at the high end, could cost up to $25,000 per month. Though this sounds expensive, a billboard in in busy cities could potentially get hundreds of thousands of daily views based on the number of people going by them in the course of a day. Plus, costs have decreased as technology has developed computer-generated vinyl sheeting for sign creation versus hand-painting that was typical years ago.
The location of your billboard
You will be charged more for billboard placements in busy cities and prime locations which will result in higher volumes of traffic impressions depending upon your billboard supplier. It’s important to check with the supplier how the location affects the pricing model.
Billboard rental period
As already mentioned above, for a standard 48-sheet which is the most popular billboard size, this can cost between $2500-$8000 for a standard month booking.
Frequency of bookings
If you’re a regular customer and you regularly book with your supplier, you can often negotiate cheaper pricing agreements.
Artwork, production and installation
Billboards are almost always quoted on a 4-week as opposed to a 1-month period. In addition to the monthly rent, a billboard advertising client must pay a production fee for the vinyl. Billboard production costs depend on format and construction but generally range from $300 to $500 for a standard vinyl board. Design is also an important part of creating successful billboards, and hiring a design firm can cost from $150 to $1000.
Choice of supplier
The choice of supplier can make a huge different on your overall pricing. It’s important to shop around and get the best deal possible. Don’t always look for the ‘cheapest’ as it’s more important to get the best VALUE. Take into consideration the location of your billboard and how that will have an affect on your campaign goals.
