Interactive billboards are billboards that get consumers and onlookers alike, involved in their advertisement techniques. These billboards pull in consumers in order for them to have to do something in order for the advertisement to be effective, whether this be utilizing their smart phone or being in the right place at the right time.
Interactive Billboards are the latest and greatest craze in outdoor media. They are eye catching and make the onlooker feel as if they are part of the company and becoming one with the product. This is imperative to companies because it makes the person interacting with the billboard feel as if they are important and making important impacts on the future of the product.
At this point, the opportunities within interactive billboards seem endless. With technological advances popping up in society daily, any desire for the premium interaction between consumers and companies can be reached. A drawback to this emerging media is the pretty penny it costs to use them. Most of these billboards are digital, therefore the cost is very high. Also, since these billboards normally require some sort of technology from the consumer side, standard text messaging rates could apply to the consumer, therefore being a turn off to some people. Also, many companies choose to pair their digital billboards with Mobile Phone Applications, which can sometimes cost money to download.
Another downfall to these advertisements is that they only reach the people in the vicinity of the billboard and who can see them. Although the smart phone applications can be brought around wherever the phone is, the most exciting and enticing time to use them is when a consumer is standing in front of the board, seeing the result of his/her interaction.
The heftiest cost to interactive billboards is the actual billboard itself. With billboards already available, the price would be evaluated just as if you are buying a space to run an advertisement on television. Prices vary according to a sign's size and location, but the cost of advertising on a digital billboard runs from $1,200 to $10,000 a month, and the ad campaigns are typically not expensive to create (Goldstein, 2008).
The general audience for interactive billboards depends on which company is advertising. Mostly, these advertisements target people with smart phones in order to get them involved, but can also span down to children using the phone to get involved in a game to older adults, texting to vote, because they’ve never been able to do this before.
The response of interactive billboards has hit the roof in the past couple of years. People are not used to what these billboards provide, therefore the newness of these boards are capturing and get people involved.
Interactive Billboards are the first thing that has made it possible for the consumer to get fully involved in the advertising process through smart phones. The advertisement can be taken wherever the phone goes, making it very easy for companies to contact each downloader at anytime. This can increase frequency, while also making it fun for the consumer.
Also, these billboards get the consumer involved immediately when they are in the vicinity of the advertisement. These interactive billboards are extremely enticing and in a place such as Times Square, always looked at to see what the latest and greatest technology is, capturing the consumer, when at times, they do not even know it.
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