How do you pick the best marketing method for your brand? More importantly, how do you determine which type of ads are right for your target customers?
On one hand, there are tons of online strategies you can employ, like social media ads, leveraging search engine optimization (SEO), and launching email marketing campaigns. However, the more options that arise, the more difficult it can be to pinpoint exactly which one fits your business needs.
And sometimes, just trying to identify the right online ads to run can feel like you’re taking costly shots in the dark.
So what’s the alternative?
While sifting through the perfect online ads might seem like the only option, billboard ads are a surprisingly cost-effective and long-term solution as they continue to generate brand awareness long after your initial investment. They’re also proven to boost digital marketing efforts by over 90%.
Billboard marketing will bring the content your audience wants to see exactly where they are—no annoying pop-ups or invasive X, Instagram, or Facebook ads that are wasted on trying to pull in the wrong users. Billboards are a rare, stand-alone media.
With that in mind, there are a few things you should know about before you commit to one over the other.
Is Billboard Advertising Obsolete in 2025?
It’s a valid concern and a frequently asked question.
Most people think of billboards in their traditional form: static paper or vinyl displays with an unchanging message. However, billboard advertising has grown far beyond that.
While you can still use traditional billboards, billboard companies now include digital out-of-home (DOOH) billboards, which offer tangible, data-driven solutions to modern marketers. They’re home to a host of advantages, namely that you can track ROI with them and program them to display different ads at different times of the day to reflect your target audience’s needs.
But what exactly does all this mean for your business?
If anything, billboard advertising isn’t obsolete but has adapted, meaning you can now do things you couldn’t before, such as:
- Easily swap out creative messaging
- Sync billboards with your online campaigns
- Display QR codes to increase engagement (specifically for street-level outdoor media)
- Tie in real-time data like weather or traffic to make your ad more relevant (your billboard can now trigger dynamic content based on conditions)
What Are the Benefits of Billboard Ads?
Both day and night, billboard ads provide a constant, larger-than-life presence that captures attention. Unlike online ads, billboards remain in place without additional costs after the initial investment. There’s also no competition for a cluttered digital space or, moreover, competition for your audience’s selective attention when they’re scrolling on their phone or computer.
And because they’re not tied to any social media algorithm, you control the message your audience sees—exactly when and where they see it.
They’re Cost-Effective in the Long Run
Once a billboard is up, it works around the clock without ongoing pay-per-click or impression costs. The initial investment may seem pricey, but that’s because the upkeep is low. Stable, predictable pricing can make budgeting simpler—especially for small businesses.
Over time, each view becomes more cost-effective than digital ads that require continuous funding. Many marketing companies even offer deals on multiple billboards, which allows you to better anticipate your audience’s needs across different areas and increase your market reach.
They Offer High Visibility
It’s indisputable. When billboards are placed in areas with heavy foot or vehicle traffic, you can guarantee your ad is being seen by potentially millions of customers. Their sheer size and strategic positioning also make them nearly impossible to ignore.
This level of exposure (especially if you place a billboard in high-traffic areas like highways, in busy city centers through wallscapes, or incorporating them into environments via street furniture) helps your brand stay front and center.
They Reinforce Digital Marketing Efforts
How can you connect two opposite forms of marketing?
Billboards provide a real-world anchor for digital campaigns, bridging online and offline engagement. By displaying memorable visuals or QR codes, they can drive users to specific landing pages or social platforms. In fact, 66% of smartphone users took some sort of action after seeing an out-of-home (OOH) ad.
What Are the Benefits of Online Ads?
Online ads can help your business quickly gain audience insights and tap into highly specific niches. They’re also useful for generating excitement around short-term promotions that require an immediate online presence.
However, just keep in mind that online ads can drain resources fast—especially when you’re paying for each click or impression.
You Get Quick Audience Insights
Online ads let you gather real-time feedback on which messages resonate or which products pique audience interest. Monitoring click rates or conversions helps you refine and improve your strategy on the fly. But once you’ve locked in the winning formula, even a single, well-placed billboard can carry that message further without constantly draining your budget on online ads.
You Can Target a Specific Niche
Digital platforms can zero in on demographics like location, interests, or browsing behavior. This is especially helpful if your brand caters to a narrow segment in the digital marketing space. Fine-tuning who sees your ads helps you spend wisely and see better results.
You Can Market Short-Term Promotions
Limited-time offers and seasonal sales benefit from targeted online ads that generate immediate visibility. The urgency they create can prompt quick action, boosting engagement and conversions. Timely adjustments and well-planned rollouts can deliver a big impact in a short window, making online ads a great way to get your message out about a sale.
The Digital Dilemma: Why Online Ads Don’t Always Deliver
Digital advertising opened up endless opportunities for brands to reach their audience, but it also introduced new obstacles. With everyone competing for clicks and engagement in a cluttered online space, it’s easy for ads to get lost—or worse, annoy potential customers.
Even with advanced targeting features, you could still be wasting precious impressions on the wrong users or dealing with ad fatigue when the same message appears repeatedly to the same person.
Tricky Targeting Leads to Wasted Impressions
While digital platforms can promise hyper-targeting, algorithms aren’t foolproof. You could be paying for impressions or clicks from people who are wildly outside your primary customer base.
Plus, even with careful demographic settings, factors like ad fraud, bot traffic, and user ad blockers can dilute your campaign’s impact. Alarmingly, ad blockers alone cost the advertising industry $54 billion in lost ad revenue during 2024.
Oversaturation Produces Ad Fatigue
It’s no secret that online ads face enormous competition.
Today’s online environment is more crowded than ever, and users are often scrolling at lightning speed, ignoring or simply overlooking sponsored posts and banner ads. This saturation not only reduces effectiveness for new and established brands but also contributes to ad fatigue.
When users encounter too many pop-ups, forced video ads, or repetitive retargeting, they don’t just tune out—they can develop a negative perception of the very brands trying to engage them. Instead of gaining potential customers, these intrusive tactics risk pushing them away.
Algorithms Can Change Overnight
Even if you hit the jackpot by discovering what resonates with your target audience, digital platforms can change their algorithms overnight, putting your campaign’s reach at risk.
Suddenly, the winning strategy that was running smoothly and attracting the perfect target audience might stop working in the blink of an eye.
A sudden tweak can drop your ad impressions drastically, forcing you to adapt or worse: pay higher costs just for the same audience. Google itself is known to make thousands of changes every year to its algorithm.
When you can’t control how often or even if people see your ad, you’re at the mercy of a system that doesn’t always work in your favor.
Business ROI Uncertainty with Shifting User Behavior
Online user behavior can fluctuate rapidly. One month, your target demographic might be on one platform; the next, they’ve moved onto the latest trending app. This constant shift makes it hard to maintain consistent ROI, since you’re perpetually chasing your audience from platform to platform.
Should Your Brand Choose Billboards or Online Ads?
From mom-and-pop shops and local restaurants to international brands, billboard advertising continues to thrive because it addresses a critical marketing question: how can your message avoid getting lost in the noise?
Digital advertising—whether it’s pay-per-click (PPC) ads, social media ads, or banner ads—can quickly become overshadowed in an online environment. Often, the very audiences you’re trying to reach scroll past your content or, worse, never even see it at all due to sudden algorithm changes or personal ad blockers.
Then, what’s the solution for your brand?
Whether you only know about traditional billboards, digital billboards, or wallscapes, there’s no denying that a well-placed billboard commands the attention of commuters and pedestrians without competing for space on a screen. And, unlike PPC campaigns that require ongoing bidding on keywords (and risk accidental user clicks that you foot the bill for), billboards have straightforward, fixed costs. You know exactly how long your ad will be up and the approximate daily traffic that will view it.
Billboards that aim to simply give directions to your product or services also pay off.
A staggering 93% of people who saw a directional DOOH ad and stopped by the business actually completed a purchase. What’s more? Leveraging OOH ads is proven to elevate ad recall from 13% to 66%.
That reliability can be especially powerful for small businesses that might not have the resources to continually monitor and tweak digital campaigns. It’s also helpful for larger companies that need the staying power and low-cost factor of billboards to connect with their customers.
Get Your Billboard Ad Campaign Launched By OOH Experts
Getting your advertisement out there doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it’s easy when you have the right team behind you. From billboard ads, stadium ads, public transit ads, and more, we’re here to spread your brand’s valuable message.
Plus, regardless of where you’re at in the creative process, Alluvit Media is available to offer no-cost, in-house graphic design services to make sure your billboard looks exactly like your vision.
Ready to work with a brand that knows the OOH advertising industry? Fill out our contact form today!