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Pocono News Section
The New Wave of Outdoor Advertising
The New Wave of Outdoor Advertising - Monday, October 29, 2007 at 5:00PM EST
Reported by: Mike Trim
Monday, Oct 29, 2007 @05:00pm EST
Digital billboards could become the new wave of outdoor advertising. Last month, the federal highway administration gave the go ahead to outdoor advertisers. It says those billboards can be placed next to any federally funded road.
You see them cropping up on highways, like on Route 309 in Shavertown. Digital billboards, flipping through several advertisements a minute. Lamar Outdoor Advertising General Manager Tom Donahue says, the billboards are good for business. “Restaurants, you know, hotels, they can change their message daily and that's just a flexibility that's something our medium has never had before," Donahue says.
There are 10 digital billboards in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Monroe counties. Donahue says the company plans to have 20 up by the end of next year.
But not everyone thinks that is a good idea. Some drivers think they're distracting. Lee Rinehart of Dallas says, "We say we don't want to have cell phones, we don't want to have other distractions like that so we legislate against them, and yet we do something like this. I think we should think again about that."
Distracting or not, you could see more digital billboards across the state and country. In September, the federal highway administration OK'd outdoor advertisers to place them next to any federally funded roadway. But, it wants to make sure they're safe. It recommend billboards rotate advertisements every 4 to 10 seconds.
Donahue says Lamar's billboards, like the one on 81 south rotate about every 6 to 8 seconds. And that means up to 6 companies can use 1 billboard to promote their product. To some, that's not a big deal. Angelo Magli of Dallas says, "It doesn't bother me in the least. I just glance at them and i go about my business. It doesn't bother me."
Andy Dulsky of Dallas says, "It's not a big deal or distraction, you know what I mean? It's a lot of advertisements for the different companies, but it's not a distraction I would say."
Donahue says while the billboards are trendy, they haven't replaced the old style billboards yet. Lamar's leases nearly 1,400 and only 10 of those are digital. But he says their smart, and efficient for businesses, and more could crop up in the future.
The billboards can also be used for public safety. Lamar says police can use them for amber alerts or for putting up mug shots of criminals during a manhunt. | | |
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