Have you watched classic movies of the 80s and 90s? Then you might have noticed a few billboards in those movies. Can you guess how they were made? Yes, they were painted by hand! The digital walls that advertisers have fallen in love with have evolved from there!

In this blog, let’s uncover the transition of painted billboards into the digital marvel that we see today. So, let’s start at the very beginning:

The Era of Painted Billboards

There was a time when painted billboards were among the most prominent sources of advertising. Let’s go all the way back to the 1800s when it was initially adopted by circuses and theatres.

However, it quickly became the best source of outdoor advertising. It was no shock that billboard painting soon emerged as a full-scale industry.

Large billboards were usually painted on the side of the walls for advertising. This later transitioned into painted posters that were displayed on the billboards. In fact, billboard displays became so effective that advertisers and businesses started purchasing outdoor space to put up the ads.

In the year 1900, America established a standardized billboard structure. This led to a steep rise in billboard campaigns in the country. Companies like Coca-Cola, Palmolive, and Kellogg realized that the same ad dimensions would perfectly fit all the billboards across the nation. This motivated them to start producing billboards on a large scale to run nationwide marketing campaigns.

Here is a creative example of painted billboards:

The craft of hand-painted billboards started to fade in the 1980s. This was after computer printing on vinyl gave stiff competition to hand-painted advertising. However, efforts are being made to rekindle the forgotten craft as several marketers have started commissioning painters for traditional sign painting.

The Appearance and Popularity of Digitally Printed Billboards

The computerized painting on vinyl was actually a by-product of an MIT study commissioned by a group of billboard companies in the 1970s. The study aimed to analyze the “painting of bulletins by computer”. By the end of the 1990s, billboards printed by computers replaced hand-painted billboards for good.

The first digitally printed billboard made its appearance in the year 2005. This was around the same time when billboards were using LED lighting to stay visible and illuminated during the night. Here are some examples of such billboards:

Creativity

In the last decade, billboard advertising registered a huge surge in creativity, not only in the form of content but also in terms of placement and designs. So much so that the advertisers included additional elements outside the billboards to communicate the idea more effectively. Let’s take a look:

In this image, you can clearly see how Coca-Cola took advantage of the adjoining billboards to promote its cola bottle. It is not only clever but, quite literally, out of the box design. Don’t you think?

During the launch of the Honda Fit car, they wanted to bank on the USP that the customers can fit anything in the boot space. So, this is the billboard idea they came up with:

Here is another shrewd example by Martor. They smartly scattered artificial pieces of pigeons cut into half on either side of their razor billboard. This tactic effectively conveyed that their blades are really sharp.

While all this was happening, digital signage was slowly edging toward the center stage.

Rockstar Entrance of Digital Signage

Digital signage did make a rockstar entrance and brought a fresh wave of innovation to the world of advertising. Do you know when it happened? The term “digital signage” was first used in 1992 by a security guard in the UK when he saw a network of video walls. Yes, it’s that old! Though expensive at that time, it has been in use ever since. Earlier, it was only used to display ads but as the technology evolved, many use cases emerged.

Types of Digital Signage

1. Readerboards

These are non-interactive digital displays that show pre-designed content. These were the earliest forms of digital signage display but still prove to be highly effective marketing tools. Here is an example of a readerboard:

 

2. Video Walls

Video walls, as you already know, were in use even in 1992. These are a perfect option to display ads on streets or in larger areas. Here is an example of a video wall showing 4 different ads at a time:

 

 

3. Self-service Kiosk 

Self-service kiosks help customers to directly find what they are looking for without having to ask anyone for the product availability or where to find it. In fact, some kiosks even allow customers to make purchases. These kiosks are very popular among store owners because it not only serves the customers and saves their time but also helps the store owners and their employees.

One of the earliest examples of self-service kiosks was registered in 2014 when Nordstrom installed a digital kiosk that helped customers find the best-suited pair of jeans without even trying them. In 2014!

Now, have a look at this image, where a woman is looking for what to order through a digital kiosk:

Similarly, this man is selecting his favorite brand so he could find out whether the products are available and where to find them:

4. Interactive Signage

Propagating the ‘user first’ approach, interactive signage gives control to the audience as they not only see the screen but also interact with it. These are personalized marketing tools that engage the viewers and offer excitement and even entertainment.

This dynamic marketing approach has become very popular in recent times. The reason is quite obvious. The audience loves it.

This is one of the interactive digital walls by Nescafe that not only attracted and entertained a lot of passersby but also offered them free samples.

This ad incorporated AR to effectively promote the launch of VIVIFI.

Conclusion

The transformation from static billboards to digital signage took several decades. However, when it comes to static vs digital billboards, both have their perks but digital billboards have additional advantages.

If you need the best quality static billboard advertising services in the UAE, please get in touch