Print Monthly

According to Recode in a recent article, outdoor advertising spending is expected to soar towards $38bn (£29.8bn), which is up 3% since the year before and is a 35% increase since 2010.

The growth is mainly centre in China, but American companies such as McDonalds, Netflix and Coca-Cola have spent big budgets on out-of-home advertising. Digital advertising is saturated and many skip past without blinking, but having a well-placed billboard will catch the attention of passers-by.

Outdoor advertising spending is expected to soar towards $38bn (£29.8bn), which is up 3% since the year before and is a 35% increase since 2010”

And it’s not just digital billboards that marketers are rushing to invest in, but the traditional print versions that require pasting up and can be ripped down and replaced with another.

While there have been innovative digital screens created to show content as well as advertisement – see the new screens that have been placed on the walls of the London Underground – traditional printed billboards still draw a crowd.

The way billboards are presented is also changing. Recently on a trip to London, I was able to see the structure that was created by Zaha Hadid Design and JCDecaux in South West London. It was designed to look like a piece of art but while also portraying the obvious advertised material - it did not look out of place with it its curved edges.

There is a focus on both digital and printed billboards

The Kensington, as it is named, was placed on one of the busiest commuter routes between the capital and Heathrow, which means that it will be viewed by many.

With the continuation of this trend, it is an opportunity for both sign-makers and large-format printers to capitalise on this traditional way of advertising. While the digital signs may be the jobs of larger companies that specialise in this area, the billboard prints may be a more realistic and accessible opportunity for the everyday sign-maker.