On a recent drive through Twin Falls I was noticing the types of businesses that are choosing to get their messages out through one of the oldest forms of advertising. I got to wondering about the effectiveness of these billboards, and what the current national state of outdoor ads is.

In Twin Falls currently, businesses like Cars.com, Triple A, Dairy West, Coors and United Metals Recycling, are choosing to place their information forty feet in the air on a monthly basis. The point of billboard advertising is to place a company's information in high traffic areas. I'm not sure I would classify the placement of many of these boards as high traffic.

Just a couple of days ago while traveling back to Twin Falls from San Francisco, I noticed that many billboards along Highway 93 south of Twin Falls aren't being utilized. If I'm looking to advertise my business, it makes sense to me to target billboards along these types of major highways for travelers to see.

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Hwy 93 in Rogerson, Photo by Greg Jannetta
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The latest national outdoor advertising numbers for 2018 show a decline of close to 30,000 paid spaces in the past year. Is this trend going to continue I wonder.

On the flip side, there are recent numbers that do hint to some businesses enjoying the benefits of billboard ad space. As an example, those who track these trends are attributing Cracker Barrel's 10% annual growth to billboard advertising, according to an October 2018 article by entrepreneur.

So, it appears there is evidence that supports both sides of the debate. I just know that if I'm spending my hard earned advertising money on such a method, traffic is king.

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