Architecture: Billboards in Las Vegas and Central London - Essay Example

Architecture: Billboards There are some in the outdoor industry who like to claim that billboards are the oldest medium in existence. They date it back to Egyptian times, when hieroglyphics were written on roadside stones to give people directions to the nearest town or village. Billboards in Las Vegas and Central London have long histories. Whether you agree with that or not, outdoor billboards are certainly well established, having been around in this country since the 1800s. At that time, companies began leasing space on boards for bills to be pasted (hence the term billboard). (Rafferty 651-652) There are two main types f billboard-poster panels and painted bulletins. Panels come in several sizes, named according to the number f sheets f paper originally needed to cover them, such as 8-sheets and 30-sheets. Posters are found mostly in populated areas, in or near cities and towns. Painted bulletins are larger boards situated along highways and major roads. Their name refers to the fact that they were originally painted by hand at the site. (Greenwire 1-7) In Central London, putting messages on outdoor boards used to be extremely labor-intensive. The sheets for poster panels were pasted onto the board while bulletins were hand-painted. Both were created either at the board site or at a central location within the market or region. Because this had to be done in each market, differences resulted in the look f the message from one market to another (and even one site to another within the market). Today, thanks to computer technology, poster panel messages are created electronically and then shipped either in one piece or in sections to the board site. Bulletins still tend to be hand painted, but computers are now used to make sure that the finished product looks identical across boards. Today, bulletins are often created using other materials, such as lithography or special stretch vinyl. (Nadeau 29-29) When we see towards changes in billboards in Las Vegas, in the past 40 years the industry has come under increased criticism from environmentalists who claim that the boards are blight on the scenery. Many cities and several states have introduced bans on putting up new boards and, in certain cases, demanded the removal f existing structures. So you won't see any billboards in Hawaii or Vermont, for example. Unlike other media that have editorial material too, outdoor billboards exist solely for advertising messages. They are primarily a local medium, bought on a market-by-market basis, but are used by both national and local advertisers. The type f business using the medium has changed considerably in the past 20 years. For many years, the biggest category f advertiser was the tobacco industry, but in 1999, legislation was passed prohibiting the advertising f tobacco messages on any outdoor billboards. (Gregory 80-84) This not only had a significant impact on the tobacco industry, it freed up many high-profile and well-positioned billboards across the country for other advertisers who had never been able to buy that space because the tobacco companies had long term deals with the billboard companies. Today, you are far more likely to see billboards from local retailers, the travel industry, or health care providers than you would have even 5 years ago. (Greenwire 1-7) With outdoor billboards you can tailor your message to members f a particular ethnic group using their own language or culture yet still reach a mass audience within a specific market. You can buy space in areas with heavy concentrations f Hispanic people, for example, reaching them where they live, work, and shop. It is harder to reach a large portion f these groups with traditionally "Anglo" television or magazines. Furthermore, it is valuable to be able to reach nonnative English speakers in their first language, whatever language that might be. (Gerfen 50-51) Outdoor advertising is a good supplementary medium, helping to add reach and frequency to a media schedule at reasonable cost. A fairly typical outdoor buy could reach over 80% f adults in a given area in a month. In addition, the fact that the billboard is there all the time means that frequency builds up and the message can be a constant reminder. Because many panels are situated in shopping areas, an advertiser can present a message very close to the point f purchase. In considering what part f your advertising budget to commit to outdoor billboard advertising, you will need to keep in mind the two drawbacks f the medium: short exposure time, and the potential for criticism from environmentalists. (Stewart 90-98) Because the average outdoor message is only seen for between 3 and 7 seconds, the copy needs to be extremely concise and compelling. For products that need a lot f explanation, outdoor is clearly not the right medium. One way to gauge whether there is too much copy on a billboard is to estimate how quickly people are going to pass by it. You can try the exercise yourself, and see how much f the message you can take in as you drive or walk by. Because most f the viewing is done at high speed, especially for bulletins situated along the highway, the advertisement must also be eye-catching and interesting enough to attract the driver's (or passenger's) attention. (Burt 473-527) The outdoor industry, as noted earlier, has come under increasing criticism for cluttering up the environment. Advertisers might shy away from the medium to avoid legal or ethical disputes, especially in areas with a recent history f environmental controversies. (Sokol 177-178) The outdoor industry is one f the least researched f any mass medium. Studies have focused mostly on proving that the medium works, as shown by Bhargava et al. More information on how the medium has been researched can be found on the web site f the Outdoor Advertising Association f America. The rapid growth f the Internet as a consumer medium in the 1990s was unprecedented in the history f media. Internet penetration rose faster than any other medium (or appliance), reaching the critical mass f 50 million users in 5 short years (it took radio 36 years to get to that point). Today, with slightly more than half (54%) f the country accessing the Internet from home, work, school, or some other location, the medium's capabilities continue to expand and develop. Indeed, as companies began setting up web sites (a fairly inexpensive proposition), they saw huge potential for advertising to help generate revenues. Analogies to the direct response industry are common. Companies were immediately able to track visits to their sites (by computer address only), and offer advertisers more information on who was not only visiting their sites, but also looking at the ads-and clicking through to the advertiser's site-than any other mass medium. They did so by placing special software known as cookies on a user's computer, to monitor the path that user takes in browsing different sites on the Internet. Internet ad revenues doubled each year for several years in a row in the late 1990s, surpassing total ad revenues for the out door and syndicated TV industries, to reach$7 billion in 2001. (Banerjee 1-78) At first, Internet ads consisted f banners-billboards on the Web-that did little more than offer a brand name or teaser, and a link to another site. Companies began to consider using web advertising for brand-building purposes, rather than simply to offer information. Before long, the ability to purchase via the Web became mainstream rather than exceptional. Today, 60% f the online population has made a purchase over the Web. Before long, advertisers started to get more creative, changing the size f the ad message, and incorporating (as technology advanced) more sound, motion, and visual stimulation (animation, for example), a phenomenon known as rich media. (Campbell 61-64) Not surprisingly, the research findings showed that these kinds f ads had greater impact (recall, awareness) than the plain-vanilla banners. But it became more and more clear that as fast as advertisers moved to surprise consumers, those consumers became increasingly disenchanted with Web ads. Works Cited Greenwire, 1997. "Billboards, highway signs increasing across the Country." April 29, 1997. American Political Network, Inc. Banerjee, Scott; Garrity, Brian., Jobs Talks To Billboard. (cover story) Billboard, 5/1/2004, Vol. 116 Issue 18, p1-78 Gerfen, Katie., A Better Billboard. Architecture, Feb2006, Vol. 95 Issue 2, p50-51 Sokol, David., Electroland turns an apartment-building facade into a billboard for pedestrian movement. Architectural Record, Aug2007, Vol. 195 Issue 8, p177-178 Campbell, Robert., Why a duck Why not an electronic billboard A campusdebate rages again. Architectural Record, Jul2004, Vol. 192 Issue 7, p61-64 Stewart, Doug., In Los Angeles, Billboards Are Seen As High Art. Smithsonian, Sep90, Vol. 21 Issue 6, p90-98 Burt, Jason R., Speech Interests Inherent in the Location f Billboards and Signs: A Method for Unweaving the Tangled Web f Metromedia, Inc. v. City f San Diego. Brigham Young University Law Review, 2006, Vol. 2006 Issue 2, p473-527 Gregory, Daniel P., Billboard buildings. Sunset, Nov92, Vol. 189 Issue 5, p80-84 Nadeau, Barbie., Dueling Billboards. Newsweek (Atlantic Edition), 7/5/2004, Vol. 144 Issue 1, p29-29 Rafferty, Randy., Billboard Art (Book). Library Journal, 03/15/81, Vol. 106 Issue 6, p651-652 Read More