Digital billboards look pretty good. We’ve got a few going up in our area, and they are eyecatching. But how quickly they’ll take over our roadsides has been in question, based on resistance in some areas. Some view any billboard as an unnecessary eyesore. But beyond that, there’s the argument that digital billboards, with their changing ads and lights are a big distraction to drivers.
New research, however, seems to show that there’s no relation between traffic accidents and digital billboards. The study, commissioned by the Foundation of Outdoor Advertising Research studied traffic data in an area in Rochester, Minn., where five digital billboards stand. The study found no increase of accident rates near the billboards. These findings support similar findings from a study in Cleveland in 2007.
Those against the billboards, of course, say more safety studies are needed to be sure. Currently, 39 states have laws regulating the digital billboards, restricting the brightness and how frequently the image can change. A few cities have outlawed the boards entirely.
According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, there are about 1,400 digital billboards up right now, and they expect that number to grow by 100 or more per year.
It sounds like some areas will still fight the billboards, at the very least until more research is done. But no one can deny the high-resolution images can be an effective new addition to the billboard industry.
[Source: medialifemagazine.com]
Monday, Apr 27, 2009
Michelle OBrien