Blog

Digital billboards: Community bulletin boards

Digital billboards, if used properly, can engage a community.

January 29, 2013 by Christopher Hall — w, t

Digital billboards have been popping up in the news quite a bit lately — as Boston and Washington, D.C., traded jabs ahead of the NFL's AFC Championship and as Boston tried to cheer itself up after its Patriots lost. So this is a form of digital signage that's been on my radar even more so than normal lately, and it's been particularly interesting to see the many novel uses they can be put to that further distance them from their static forebears.

I started following Clear Channel Outdoor Boston on Facebook and Twitter so I could stay up to date on the agency's digital billboard feud with Clear Channel Outdoor DC, but what's struck me since then is how the billboards really can be used as a kind of public bulletin board for a community — in addition, of course, to their obvious benefits for advertising.

They can deliver even more devastating bad news (sorry, Boston; it's been a rough sports year for you guys):

Or even just give drivers a quick and easy weather update on their commute:

They've also been used in the past as a form of "Wanted" poster or "Be on the lookout" warning to help law enforcement.

See? They're not just for dynamic advertising and distracting drivers.

About Christopher Hall

---

None

Connect with Christopher: