What are Portable Billboards?

Billboards are everywhere on US highways. Though some feel the number of billboards on our US highways is an eyesore, the billboards often provide valuable information for travelers.

Billboards are an effective way to advertise but their design means they have at least two drawbacks. First, the ad awaits drivers to pass by. If no one comes, no matter how important the information it contains, its silent vigil is useless. Second, normal billboards can’t do anything to attract attention. They are like statues and, with the presence of so many others, might well just be ignored.

To overcome these two obstacles, some ingenious people have come up with the concept of a portable billboard. It has all the advantages of size and color found in a stationary billboard, but it actually moves to where the people are. A portable billboard operates in a variety of ways but, basically, with all of them, the billboard is displayed on the side of a truck, called truckside advertising, or trailer and then driven into the target area.

The simplest and least expensive way to do this is to rent the sides and back of a truck that will post your printed ad there. You can even share the truck with another company, posting a different ad on each side and on the back for a given period of time. Everywhere the truck goes, the ad is seen. If the ad is attractive, people waiting in traffic or noticing a parking area will read the ad.

For more money, you can rent a moving ad. One version of this is designed on the same principle as the vertical three sided changing billboards. The ad is attached to these vertical sticks and, as they rotate, an entirely different picture or message will appear, almost instantly. They are excellent for attracting attention. Trucks or trailers equipped with smaller versions of this display will travel through traffic, the message on the sides and back changing every ten or fifteen seconds. Of course, three messages at a time can be displayed this way on each of the three surfaces of the vehicle.

The second changing portable billboard message uses the roller ad principle. A timer activates a motor and, almost instantly, the roller at the top or bottom pulls a new message into view. These are often seen at professional basketball games. A typical 10′ by 10′ trailer or truck can hold ten messages on each roll and that makes possibly thirty different messages one vehicle could display. Tempered glass protects all three message surfaces and internal lighting allows the ads to be seen at night.

The third method of changing messages on portable billboards is through electronics. You have probably seen one of the new billboards that can be programmed to display multi-colored messages. Portable billboards are trucks or trailers with the same ability. Nothing needs to be printed. The message is designed and the computer decides how to display it.

Each of these techniques has one thing in common, the great advantage of moving the billboard message to the populous. It is an effective way to reach a larger audience as well as to advertise goods or services that are not related to highway travelers.

For leading mobile billboard advertising services, check out AirSign Aerial Advertising. They have proven since 1996 that customer satisfaction and maximizing client’s advertising budgets are their top priority.