Billboards: Cost, Rates, and Pricing | AdQuick

Get a better understanding of what billboards and other out-of-home media costs in certain parts of the country. Get real-time pricing data by DMA, city, or zip code.

All transit pricing is for a four week campaign

All wildposting pricing is for a four week campaign

All wallscape pricing is for a four week campaign

All street_furniture pricing is for a four week campaign

All digital billboard pricing is for a four week campaign

All billboard pricing is for a four week campaign

All outdoor advertising pricing is for a four week campaign

We analyzed 442K+ pieces of out-of-home advertising and share rates across the top 10 markets to understand
the ins and outs of billboard and other OOH advertising costs.

In a world that’s quickly becoming dominated by digital media, you may have forgotten how vital
OOH
is for a brand’s overall
marketing mix. OOH, in all its shapes and forms, has a unique ability to amplify a brand’s message and
drive conversions in ways that other ad units simply can’t.

And the good news:
OOH can be a significantly more cost-effective solution for getting your brand and
message in front of your target audience effectively. So, whatever your case may be, it’s time to stop
forgetting about OOH and start thinking about how it can enhance your marketing mix.

Here are a few things you should know before diving into OOH head-first.

Billboard pricing factors to keep in mind

Have you ever wondered, how much does a billboard cost?

If so, you wont be surprised to know that, as is the case with all ad units and media types, several
factors determine billboard advertising costs. The first challenge is finding an advertising company that
works for your budget. Big companies like Lamar or Clear Channel are expensive, but small business owners
can also find advertisement space through local businesses such as newspapers or through sponsoring local
events.

Contacting a nearby billboard company is the best way to find a good deal, but there are many other ideas to
consider. Factors include location, format, circulation, impressions, demographics, design, and
installation.

Let’s take a moment to break these down quickly:

Location

As a general rule of thumb:
the larger the market, the pricier the ad space. For example, OOH
placements in major cities with high traffic like
New York,
Los Angeles,
and
Chicago
command higher asking prices than markets in low-traffic, rural areas.

From a pricing standpoint, real estate (read: market) plays one of the biggest roles in determining the cost
of billboards. But another aspect to consider involves the location of that OOH unit within a given market.

In other words:
does that ad unit suffer from any blind spots or obstructed views?

Do highway billboards command people’s attention, or are they too busy driving? Does competing outdoor
advertising keep people from giving your billboard advertisement the attention it deserves? Is the
advertising space obstructed by trees, construction, or city landscapes?

You get the point.

Format

Similar to digital ads, there are many standard billboard sizes for brands to choose from. Billboard
campaigns range from small, junior posters to the enormous digital billboards that adorn New York City.

But OOH advertising is no longer just about traditional billboards. There are bus wraps, digital in-store,
mobile billboards, wild postings, transit shelters, scooter decals, wallscapes, and the list goes on.

The truth is, practically any inanimate object these days can turn into an OOH ad unit. Generally speaking,
the larger the format, the more costly it is to purchase and produce. The only exception to this rule is
digital OOH ad units, which depend on platforms, production labor, and recurring campaign costs.

Circulation

Circulation
is the estimated number of people who will potentially see your OOH ad – or,
in other words, the traffic your ad unit can get. When it comes to outdoor advertising, you can
find data on high-traffic areas from local transportation or law enforcement authorities.

This is, by no means, a guarantee that this number of people will actually see the ad. It’s just an
estimate as to how many eyeballs may land on a billboard rental at a given time.

Impressions

“Impressions”
are a direct offshoot and measure of location, format, and circulation – and the
easiest way to quantify (read: justify) billboard advertising cost.

Whereas circulation takes into account overall potential viewership, impressions determine the likely
viewership — both reach and frequency — of your OOH ad unit.

Impressions are primarily affected by the location and size of your OOH ad unit, but we can’t forget
that strategic advertisement placements influence impressions. For instance, a small billboard placed near a
stoplight will likely cost more than a large billboard placed on a busy street with faster speeds.

Impression analytics are measured via CPM (cost per mile) and they’re often compiled by companies like Geopath

The projected ad cost will be $5 CPM, and the billboard will earn a total of 100,000 impressions.

Now, let’s do the math: [100,000/1,000] x $5 = $500.

It’s really just as easy as that! Just remember that if you’re hoping to own a billboard on the
Sunset Strip, the price is much higher.

Demographics

It’s one thing to get your ad message in front of a lot of eyeballs. It’s another thing to get it
in front of the right viewers. This is where demographics come into play.

Thanks to enhanced OOH analytics and the rise of programmatic for digital OOH, advertisers today have more
opportunities to ensure that their ad buys reach their target demographics: gender, age, income, education
level, and so on.

And as you may have guessed, placing an OOH ad in a more affluent neighborhood — one where consumers
potentially have higher disposable income — will raise the overall billboard advertising cost.

After all, there’s a direct correlation between getting your brand in front of consumers who can buy
what you’re selling and getting them to act on a call-to-action.

Design

While demographics directly relate to the media placement, design costs ultimately come down to your brand
awareness, how well you communicate your vision coming to life and the quality of graphic designers.

For larger billboards, complicated street furniture placements, or immersive digital OOH ads,
you may need to hire designers that specialize in those formats. Specialty designs always cost more, but
with the right experience, graphic designers are worth every dollar.

Production costs are one of the many reasons why big brands either hire agencies or build in-house agencies
of their own. Creative projects can require costly revisions and if youre working with a graphic that
youd like to update, finding a new designer with the same software or templates is very difficult.

Installation

Installation cost also depends on the type of advertising space purchased and how you bring the ad to life.
In other words, installing a standard vinyl billboard wont cost the same as a mobile billboard or
running a digital OOH campaign on Google or social media.

Vinyl billboards tend to charge per square foot, while social media campaigns depend on ads and influencer
talents. Google advertisements are probably the most accessible format to attain, but neither Google or
Instagram can grab the type of OOH marketing you want.

The moral of the story: Understand the total cost of your OOH media — including design,
production, installation — before committing to your ad buy. Otherwise, you could run into some surprises in
the 11th hour (and no one ever likes those, especially of the budgetary sort!)

A better way to estimate billboard advertising cost

Now that you’ve got a clear understanding of billboard pricing factors, you’re probably wondering
how to calculate the cost of OOH media in various markets.

Until recently, this hasn’t been an easy thing to do. Most advertisers have to reach out to the media
companies themselves for this information — which can sometimes feel like pulling teeth — or work with media agencies to do the heavy lifting of understanding these details.

AdQuick has changed that dynamic entirely. We’ve created a unique Billboard Pricing Tool that leverages our
proprietary data to get a clear and accurate snapshot of what the most common OOH media types cost in
virtually any given metro area, city, or even zip code.

This is a one-of-a-kind tool that no one else in the OOH industry offers. So, consider it our special gift
to you because it will save you time and energy finding the pricing information you need to make informed
decisions about what OOH media you buy and where you buy it.

Not to mention, it will give you comparative data to understand the real value of OOH media versus the costs
of purchasing and producing traditional (TV, print, radio) and digital (display, social, mobile, video) ad
units.

Don’t be surprised if you find that it’s a steal!

So, to give you a clear idea of just how powerful this tool is, we’ve used it (proactively) to price
out current median media costs across the top 50 OOH media markets: