Preparing Your Market for a New Digital Billboard
Putting up a new digital billboard is a lot more than ordering a digital display and waiting for the installer to show up.
The best time to start preparing for a new digital location is before construction begins. There are advertisers to deal with, sales materials to create, permits and utilities to coordinate, and, perhaps most importantly, a market that needs to know the new digital billboard is coming.
Here are some things billboard companies should be thinking about before flipping the switch.
Start With the Existing Billboard
If you’re converting an existing static billboard to digital, one of the first questions is what happens to the advertiser currently occupying the location.
You have a few options.
Give them a spot on the new digital. This can be a great opportunity to move an existing customer into the digital product and introduce them to rotating digital advertising.
Move them to another static location. If you have another location available, you may be able to move the advertiser without interrupting their campaign.
Let the current agreement expire. Depending on the terms of the agreement, you may simply continue the existing contract until its expiration and then transition the location to digital.
Whatever you decide, don’t wait until the construction crew is ready to arrive. Review the existing agreement early and communicate with the advertiser well in advance.
Talk to the Landowner
Replacing a static billboard with a digital billboard may change the economics of the location.
It can be a good time to revisit the land lease and make sure the agreement covers the new structure, increased value of the location, electrical equipment, access, maintenance and any other changes associated with the digital conversion.
If you’re replacing an existing structure, make sure the landowner understands what the new installation will look like and where everything will be located.
A simple site rendering can be extremely helpful here.
Get the Sales Team Moving Early
Don’t wait until the digital billboard is operating to start selling it.
Create a sales plan several months before the expected launch date.
Identify the types of advertisers that make sense for the location. Restaurants, automotive dealers, real estate companies, home services, attorneys, healthcare businesses, and retailers may all have different reasons to want digital exposure.
Build a list of prospects and start making calls.
The pitch doesn’t have to be complicated:
“We’re launching a new digital billboard at this location and we’re currently reserving advertisers for the new display.”
You may be surprised how many advertisers are interested before the screen even goes live.
Pre-Sell the Digital
Pre-selling can help create momentum before installation is complete.
Consider offering advertisers the opportunity to reserve their position on the new digital billboard before launch. Depending on your business model, you could sell monthly campaigns, longer-term commitments or introductory packages for the launch period.
Just make sure your sales materials clearly explain the expected launch date and that the advertiser understands the display is still under construction.
Having advertisers already lined up when the screen turns on is a lot better than starting from zero.
Create the Marketing Materials
A new digital billboard deserves some attention.
Put together a basic marketing package before the location launches. This could include:
- A location photo
- A rendering of the proposed digital billboard
- Traffic information
- Direction of travel
- Billboard dimensions
- Digital specifications
- Estimated launch date
- Advertising options
- Contact information
- Sample creative
Don’t forget your own marketing channels.
Create social media posts announcing the upcoming location. Send an email to your existing customer base. Add the location to your website. Give your sales reps graphics they can send directly to prospects.
You can even create a “Coming Soon” graphic showing what the digital billboard will look like once it’s installed.
Build a Fabrication and Installation Checklist
There are a lot of moving parts behind a digital billboard.
Before construction begins, make sure someone is responsible for tracking the entire fabrication and installation process.
That may include:
- Structural engineering
- Foundation requirements
- Steel fabrication
- LED display ordering
- Electrical service
- Utility coordination
- Conduit
- Internet or cellular connectivity
- Content management system
- Grounding
- Permits
- Site access
- Crane access
- Installation scheduling
- Inspections
- Testing
Don’t forget the little things. A delay getting electrical service or an internet connection can hold up an otherwise completed installation.
Think About Height and Angle Before You Build
The existing static billboard may not automatically be the ideal configuration for the new digital display.
Take another look at the location.
Determine the best height, angle and orientation to maximize visibility from approaching traffic. Consider sight distance, traffic speed, road elevation, nearby buildings, trees and other potential obstructions.
A few feet or a slightly different angle can make a meaningful difference in how the display is seen by passing motorists.
This is also the time to think about both directions of travel if the structure will have multiple faces.
Create a Launch Date and Work Backward
Once you have an estimated installation date, work backward.
If the digital billboard is scheduled to go live in 90 days, what needs to happen at 60 days? At 30 days? At two weeks?
Create deadlines for:
90+ Days Out:
Site planning, lease discussions, engineering, permitting and equipment ordering.
60 Days Out:
Sales materials, prospect lists, advertiser outreach and utility coordination.
30 Days Out:
Pre-selling, social media promotion, website updates and installation coordination.
Two Weeks Out:
Finalize advertisers, creative specifications, content management and launch announcements.
Launch Week:
Test the display, verify connectivity, load campaigns and make sure everything is ready for the first day.
Don’t Just Build a Digital Billboard. Build a Market for It.
A new digital billboard can be a major investment, but the marketing shouldn’t begin when the display turns on.
Start selling it before the steel goes up.
Get the landowner involved. Take care of existing advertisers. Build your prospect list. Create the marketing materials. Coordinate the utilities and installation. And make sure the physical location is designed to get the most visibility possible.
The goal isn’t simply to have a new digital billboard.
The goal is to have a new digital billboard that already has a market waiting for it when the screen lights up.
