Types of billboards

Traditional billboards

Billboards are typically large signs advertising goods or services not sold where the sign is located. In North America, the larger ones, known as "bulletins", are typically 14'x 48' (height x width). (They are smaller in most other places.) The display is painted or printed on a vinyl sheet or Vinyl banners which are stretched over the face of the display. Smaller 22'x10' and 20'6"x9' or 12'x 24'billboards, are known as "posters." Poster displays consist of a series printed paper sheets that are pasted on.

Bulletins are sold individually or as part of a rotary program where the advertisement is moved or "rotated" between signs at regular intervals.

Posters are usually sold as part of a group called a showing that is designed to reach a specific percentage of the market population daily.

Mechanical billboards

Some modern billboards use a technique called tri-faced (also known as rotating or multi-message billboards). These billboards show three separate adverts in rotation using a mechanical system. They are made up of a series of trilons (triangular prisms) arranged so that they can be rotated to present three separate flat display surfaces. The displays for these billboards are printed on strips of vinyl which are fixed to the faces of the triangular panels, with one strip from each of three different displays attached to each panel. In this way as the panels rotate and pause three unique signs can be displayed in the same space. These signs are thought to be more effective as the motion draws attention to the messages displayed.

Another popular form of mechanical billboard is the scrolling billboard. These billboards are able to show up to 30 images per side using a roll-up, scrolling mechanism that is controlled by a computer. The images are printed on a special material that allows the images to be back lighted for night viewing. Many of these scrolling billboards are used on trucks for mobile applications and also mounted to fixed sign poles for permanent applications.

Digital billboards

New billboards are being produced that are entirely digitized (using projection and similar techniques), allowing animations and completely rotating advertisements. Even holographic billboards are in use in some places.

Interaction is an emerging theme in electronic billboards, with Britain at the forefront: in Piccadilly Circus the Coca-Cola billboard responds to the weather and responds with an animated wave when passersby wave at it. London movie theatres are experimenting with billboards which contain an embedded computer chip which can interact with the web browser found in many cell phones to provide more information on the subject of the advertisement. In the spring of 2004 in Times Square in New York City, a Yahoo! Autos promotion displayed on an LED billboard allowed one to call a phone number with a cell phone and play a two-person racing game where the cars appeared on the billboard. There are also upcoming billboard technologies that will synchronize with advertisements on radio stations. Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan, is famous for its large digital billboards.

Mobile billboards

Billboards can also be made mobile, either by mounting a traditional billboard onto a trailer or flatbed truck, or by covering an entire vehicle in a "wrap" image. This is sometimes used in bus advertising, though it is more common to mount smaller "boards" on those vehicles. There are also mobile billboards on Segways and Pedicabs. Cargo containers are also used as billboards either on their own or stacked on top of each other. Often these are placed in fields next to busy roads and are often cheaper to use than more permanent structures.

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