A digital billboard usually consists of the following modules although their components vary according to different models.

Foundation

Supporting pole

Display

Lighting fixture

Outer frames

Wiring system

When choosing a digital billboard as the publicity means, it’s important to consider things like bright colors, high contrast, and dynamic designs. However, you should also consider their different work models. In general, three of the most common display types for outdoor digital billboards are backlit, frontlit and scrolling billboards.

Frontlit billboards

Frontlit digital billboards are lit from the front of the billboards, as opposed to from behind. Some of the most popular applications for frontlit billboards are outdoors without very good lighting conditions such as downtown area. The durable materials that frontlit billboards are made from are great at withstanding rain, wind, and snow over long periods of time. Other advantages of frontlit billboards include their relatively low cost, their ability to be very large in size, their versatility, and stretchy quality.

Backlit billboards

An increasing number of businesses are turning to backlit billboards to display their advertisements. Customers will find that there are a variety of different types of backlit billboards on the market, but what they have in common is that they use a glossy finish on one side and a matte finish on the other. The finished products appears as if it were lit from behind, creating an excellent range of contrast. A diffused light source is placed inside the display, which makes colors and words pop out at the viewer.

The two main types of backlit billboards are:

Lightbox billboards: Lightboxes feature a squared off frame built from lightweight aluminum extrusions. The LED light strips provide a vibrant backlit graphic and can be printed on front and back. Lightbox displays come in a wide variety of sizes, from narrow to wide, from lightweight to heavy.

Backlit tension fabric billboards: These backlit billboards are thinner than lightbox billboards and feature wrinkle-free polyester stretch fabric surrounding the frame. The lights hang from the top bar of the frame, providing a consistent light across the entire fram.

The most popular applications for backlit billboards are airports or poorly-lit places where lighting brightness is controlled or the ambient lighting alone is not sufficient for passers-by and drivers to identify.

Scrolling billboards

Scrolling billboards can either be backlit or frontlit, but what differentiates them from other billboards is that they introduce an innovative scrolling system to control and change the billboards’ face. Scrolling billboards are great for both indoor and outdoor use in shopping malls, airports, train and petrol stations. Thanks to their striking casing, they are a guaranteed eye-catcher. Compared with digital billboards, scrolling boards are less versatile in changing faces, but they are far cheaper as the advertisements are printed rather than being displayed in a digital way.

Advantages

Outdoor billboards have become the preferred choice of advertisers for their distinctive advantages as follows.

High advertising revenues

According to relevant statistics, digital billboards generate 3-5x the advertising revenue of static or traditional billboards. They allow fast changes of the advertisements displayed to be more market-oriented and more responsive to clients’ needs.

Dynamic content

Digital billboards combines the characteristics of static advertisements and dynamic elements. By combining different types of content and their display time, impressive visual effects can be achieved.

More affordability

Apart from electricity and periodical maintenance, expenses on digital billboards are almost one-off. With the ever-lowering price of relevant components like displays, digital billboards are a cheaper alternative to other media for advertising.

High-definition display

The effective pixels of digital billboards can be so many that people can clearly see what is displayed on the billboards at a far distance.

Customizable modules

Almost every module of a digital can be customized, from the supporting pole to the display. Their size, color, material and exterior design can be tailored to customers’ needs.

Environmental friendliness and energy-saving

Digital billboards usually introduce quality lighting fixtures and electrical components to save energy. This not only translates into less electricity consumption, but also further reduces the costs borne by advertisers.

Ease in installation and maintenance

Once the foundation is ready, digital billboards can be installed in a single day. Moreover, they are made to be very durable to withstand rain, snow and wind. Maintenance at the least level ensure the maximum display time that aims to yield the best advertising revenues.

Wide applications

Digital billboards are no longer a brand new idea nowadays. They are increasingly accepted and recognized by the consuming public and advertisers. You can see digital billboards almost everywhere that receives a certain traffic flow. Mountains, highways, stadiums, malls, squares, parks, etc., all of these places can be ideal for digital billboards advertising.

Around-the-clock operation

As long as there is electricity, digital billboards can operate in an around-the-clock manner. They can touch potential audience of the advertisements without any interruption. However, there have been concerns regarding road safety when digital billboards are present. Digital billboards may have some adverse effects on drivers’ attention or distraction. However, people’s opinions vary on this matter and consensus has not been reached.

Top Outdoor Digital Billboards

1.Single-decker digital billboards

Single-decker digital billboards are simple in structure and are easy to transport and install. Although the size is not very big, they look more elegant and concise. They fit places with a limited area and height. They are also more affordable than large and high billboards. They are ideal for use in parks, malls and squares.

Pros:

Cheaper and economical

Easy to transport, install and maintain

Elegant and concise appearance

Cons:

Limited display size

Only one side can be used to display advertisements

2.Double-decker digital billboards

Double-decker digital billboards can be simply deemed as the combination of two single-decker billboards. However, the function and results can multiply. They can be used to display either two independent advertisements or series advertisements. When an advertiser has designed a series of advertisements consisting of two images, a double-decker digital billboard is the best choice to create more attractiveness and visual impression.

Pros:

Large display size

Ideal for series advertisements

Generate 2x advertising revenues compared to single-decker billboards

Cons:

More demanding in installation and maintenance

One may distract viewers’ attention away from the other

3.Double-sided outdoor digital billboards

Digital billboards of this type are especially suitable for crossings and intersections to give its function to best play. Although it only a single decker, it has two sides that can be used to display advertisements and results in 2x advertising revenues than single-sided billboards. The lighting fixtures are quality LED lights and the brightness can be adjusted according to the surroundings to achieve the best display effects.

Pros

More potential viewers and better advertising results

Higher advertising revenues

Adjustable LED lights to match the surroundings

Cons

Installation and maintenance need more time

Faces changing needs to be done manually

4.Three-sided digital billboards

Three-sided digital billboards make the best use of junctions of three roads or spacious space. Thanks to the three displays facing different directions, a three-sided digital billboard attracts the most possible viewers. It suits advertising for three different advertisers or a single advertiser that a series advertisements to display.

Pros

Attract the most possible viewers with three displays

Abundant information can be displayed

Very durable and sturdy

Cons

Freight and installation need more time and cost a little higher

5.Slanted-poled outdoor billboard

Slanted-poled billboards have an original and attractive design by using a slanted pole. An extra small-sized panel can be fixed on the pole to match the content of the main display or to be used as a street lamp. Slanted-pole billboards represent a new move towards the innovation on digital billboards.

Pro

Design innovation and originality

A more compact design that combines advertising board and street lamp

Cons

The slanted pole needs careful and sophisticated installation to be sturdy

6.Outdoor solar billboards

Solar billboards introduce solar panels as the power source for the lighting fixtures. Therefore, they significantly save energy bills. For those areas where stable supply electricity supply is denied, solar billboards are the best choice. They can operate without municipal power grid and can even work normally under cloudy and rainy weather for many days.

Pros

Energy-saving and environmentally-friendly

Work normally without power grid and in rainy and cloudy days

Dimmable and controllable lighting brightness according to the traffic

Cons

Regular maintenance is required because of lumen depreciation

Costs at the initial stage is relatively higher

7.Outdoor scrolling billboards

Scrolling billboards adopt a special scrolling system to change multiple faces. The number of faces vary from model to model, usually 3-8. Scrolling boards offers a more affordable advertising option than computing-controlled billboards as well as a more versatile alternative to static billboards. Several advertisers can put several faces in a single billboards or share the billboard with other advertisers.

Pros

An innovative face-changing method

Multiple faces supported

Both affordable and versatile

Cons

Needs a higher learning curve to operate

Guide to Outdoor Digital Billboards Purchasing

Digital billboards come in various designs, sizes, working modes and materials. To choose one from so many choices available on the market can be a tricky thing. Here are a checklist that will help you to decide which type of digital billboards suits you the best.

Number of advertisers

We put this atop the list because the number of your clients directly determines the size and the design of the digital billboard you will need.

Generally, when you have a large number of advertisers to serve, a computing controlled billboard is much better. You can easily set up and change the faces, display time and brightness as well as other parameters. When there are many advertisers, to change the above parameters in manual way can be next to impossible. Computing controlled billboards allows to you make changes through computer software or a wireless connection. There is no need to climb high to the billboard and change the printed advertisement cloth. Indeed, billboards of this kind will cost more than others, but when you have a large number of clients, the costs can be recovered very soon.

Advertisements Content

Different content and types of the advertisements to be displayed need different displayed sizes. Specifically, words with a large count, complex pictures and videos include more details and therefore need big-sized display. Words with a small count only need a small display. Moreover, the resolution and definition of the display can significantly impact the advertising results.

Location

The surrounding of the place where the digital billboard will limit your choice. A double-decker billboard suits spacious places while single-decker suits semi-closed and high-flow areas. Location will not only restrict the size of the outdoor digital billboards, but also the working mode. Suburban, remote and outlying areas are less interested advertising targets of advertisers, which means that outdoor billboards that needs changing faces manually will suffice. Apart from that, those areas where a stable supply of electricity is inaccessible will need outdoor solar advertising billboards, but when rainy and cloudy weather prevail, solar panel will not save the day either.

Conclusion

Outdoor Digital billboards from professional digital billboard manufacturer have become the first resort of advertisers to make their products and services known to the consuming public. They have inherited the advantages of traditional paper media as well as introduced original and new technologies of the internet era. It is out firm belief that digital billboards are the preferred choice to impress customers and boost businesses.