It’s common to wonder how much a billboard costs when you’re considering buying a space on Time’s Square for your newest client, or after watching Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri? Basically, the answer is that it varies.
In the case of billboards and most forms of advertising, it is based on the cost per thousand impressions, or CPM. CPMs vary from company to company and even from billboard to billboard. A bulletin (large format billboard) costs between three and 18 dollars, while a poster (smaller format billboard) costs between one and 13 dollars, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. An average bulletin prices between 300 and 1,800 dollars per month, while posters cost from 100 to 1,300 dollars per month based on 100,000 impressions.
You might find yourself wondering how much a Billboard cost when you’re looking into how to place your new campaign on Times Square, or after watching Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri? Basically, it depends.
CPM is the basis of billboard pricing, as it is for most advertising. It is the cost of one thousand impressions. Obviously, the CPM varies from company to company and even from billboard to billboard.
According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, a bulletin (large format billboard) typically fetches an average CPM between three and 18 dollars, while a poster (smaller format billboard) fetches an average CPM between one and 13 dollars. A bulletin would cost between 300 and 1,800 dollars per month if 100,000 impressions are made and a poster between 100 and 1,300 dollars per month assuming 100,000 impressions.
CPMs from out-of-home advertising can be lower than those from other marketing methods
A billboard’s price is mostly determined by supply and demand, as with any product or service. Depending on the location, audience impressions, demographics, and the type of sign, the more attractive the price is to advertisers.
Place of Occurrence
It is probably the location of a billboard that determines its cost the most. The physical location will impact the visibility of the sign in addition to affecting how many people are in the area. How much an owner charges will depend on how the following questions are answered.
- People naturally gaze at billboards, is that so?
- Can you partially see anything?
- Passersby are also doing other things as they walk by.
- Does the area around you have any eye sores?
Due to the likelihood that drivers and passengers will look at billboards on the opposite side of the highway, those on the opposite side will cost less than those on the same side as traffic. If you are looking to lease an ad space, it is important to consider how people will interact with the sign or poster.
A billboard advertisement’s price can also be influenced by the popularity of the location. As little as 250 dollars can be spent on a billboard in a rural area, whereas thousands of dollars can be spent on billboards in high-traffic areas. It can cost as much as $1,150,000 to $4,200,000 per year to place a billboard in Times Square.
Demographics and Impressions of the Audience
The total cost of traditional print billboards is determined by the CPM multiplied by the number of people who will see the advertisement over a 4-week period. Who knows how many impressions are generated by billboards? Geopath, for example, specialize in out-of-home audience analysis.
Geopath determines the reach and frequency for a given billboard using anonymous location information from mobile phones and cars, as well as custom data resources, such as traffic statistics. The impressions for the sign are then estimated by evaluating the size and visibility of the sign, as well as the dwell time (the amount of time people spend in front of the sign) and the speed at which pedestrians pass by.
