If you’ve ever seen a bus stop wrapped in a brand’s ad, you’ve seen out-of-home (OOH) advertising in action. Billboard marketing is a type of OOH ad that lets you reach a broad audience.
One of the advantages of billboards is that they are memorable. According to T-Mobile and eMarketer, 84% of consumers remember what they see in out-of-home advertising.
In this article, learn more about the types of billboard advertising. Plus, get tips for creating an effective campaign, with insights from business owners.
Types of billboard marketing
Within the billboards category, there are five different types of advertising:
Static
Traditional static billboards are large outdoor ads that show the same message 24/7. You can find traditional billboards in high-traffic areas, such as along busy roads or highways.
For example, skincare brand Starface worked with Seen Media to place a static billboard on Canal Street, one of the busiest streets in Lower Manhattan. It features an image of influencer Devon Carlson wearing the brand’s distinctive star-shaped pimple patches.
Digital
Digital billboard ads use LED screens and can offer rotating ad space, allowing multiple companies to run ads on a single board.
According to the outdoor advertising company Outfront Media, digital billboards offer greater flexibility because they don’t require as much lead time as traditional billboards. Another advantage is that you can change the billboard messaging quickly.
Apparel brand Eastside Golf had a two-screen digital billboard advertising campaign that ran in Times Square. The ad cycled through different graphics, including one telling viewers to “Be you. Be authentic.” As the images change, the QR code linking to the brand’s website remains.
Transit
Not all out-of-home advertising towers above roads. Your billboard marketing strategy can run in multiple locations by placing ads on public transit, such as at bus or train stations or in the subway.
Jewelry brand Craftd created a series of transit ads, placing them on buses and in Tube stations in London. To amplify their campaign, the brand encouraged users to post about the ads on social media in exchange for a gift.
Mobile
A mobile billboard is an advertisement that can change locations, like a billboard on the side of a large truck. Mobile billboards are useful for reaching multiple areas with heavy foot traffic.
Filtered showerhead brand Jolie used mobile billboards in New York City. Drawing inspiration from dirty vehicles with the words “Wash Me” scribbled on them, Jolie created a mobile billboard with an image of the words “What if we told you that your shower water was dirtier than this truck?” finger-painted on dirt. Jolie carried out their vision with the help of photographer and director Dan Powell.
Wildposting
Wildposting, also known as flyposting, is a DIY form of advertising that involves wheatpasting posters at eye level in high-visibility locations.
Jewelry brand Mejuri worked with Seen Media to put up posters in New York during the 2025 US Open held in Queens.
Tennis player Emma Navarro, who regularly wears jewelry when she plays, teamed up with Mejuri to promote the brand’s sweat-proof Play collection. The ad reads: “Jewelry you can win in.”
The bottom of the ad directs viewers to the Shop app for a quick checkout.
Billboard marketing benefits
Billboards are a traditional type of paid advertising, but they’re not going anywhere. The estimated number of billboards in the United States at the end of 2025 was around 420,000, a 19% increase from 2023.
Here are a few reasons billboard marketing is beneficial:
Builds trust
A billboard can make your company seem more trustworthy and legitimate to customers. This was the case for jewelry brand Craftd.
“One of the big issues that we have in our industry is we have a lot of copycats,” cofounder Danny Buck says on an episode of Shopify Masters. “And then there’s a lot of brands which also don’t fulfill their orders—they’ll do advertising, they’ll look legit, but then the order won’t come, or it won’t be what’s been advertised.”
Danny says that because billboard advertising can be expensive, the campaign made them seem bigger than they were and signaled to audiences that they could trust Craftd. The brand had ads on more than 50 Tube stations, 50 buses, and 10 digital screens. This led to a 56% increase in orders in the London area.
Drives conversion
A billboard campaign can drive conversions, such as more website visits. Hosiery brand Sheertex worked with Outfront Media to create a billboard campaign in New York City. The four-week campaign used transit advertising, including NYC buses and branded subway trains, to highlight the strength of Sheertex’s products.
Those who saw the ad were 98 times more likely to visit the Sheertex website.
Immune to platform changes
Billboard advertising isn’t subject to frequent algorithmic or platform changes in the same way that online advertising is. That’s what prompted coffee brand Grind to try OOH.
When Apple updated their operating system due to privacy concerns, it became difficult for the team at Grind to understand how people were responding to their digital ads on Facebook and Google.
As a result, they decided to try traditional advertising, including flyposting in London and ads on the Tube. This helped them diversify their marketing and rely less on online ads.
5 factors that affect the cost of a billboard
There are many factors to consider when calculating billboard advertising costs, and your budget and campaign goals will determine what is possible for you.
Type of billboard
One of the biggest factors that affects cost is billboard type. According to OOH platform AdQuick, a single static billboard in the United States costs $1,500 to $30,000, or a median of $15,750 for a four-week campaign. The median cost for a single digital billboard advertisement is $14,250 for the same duration.
A full wildposting ad campaign costs $10,000 to $50,000—a median of $30,000—for four weeks in a single location, while a multicity campaign can range from $25,000 to more than $100,000. And a full-fledged transit station takeover costs between $25,000 and $200,000, depending on traffic volume.
Location
Location affects billboard pricing. It will cost you more to place a billboard in a high-volume market with many potential viewers than one in a rural area.
For example, according to AdQuick, the median cost per mille (CPM) for a billboard or wallscape ad in Lubbock, Texas, is $5. Meanwhile, the median CPM in New York is $15.50.
To choose the best location, you can use Shopify analytics to find where your customers are based. Your advertising providers may also offer insights that account for proximity targeting, travel patterns, and behavioral and demographic data to help you find the right location.
Duration
The longer your billboard is up, the more you’ll spend. Some billboard costs vary depending on timing—for example, a billboard near a ski resort may be more expensive in winter.
Billboards typically run in four-week increments, but OOH advertising company Alluvit Media recommends running them for 12 weeks to increase your ad’s exposure.
Design
Billboard costs must also consider design. To display attention-grabbing imagery, you may need to hire a photographer and a graphic designer. If you’re creating ads for a digital billboard, you might also need a team of videographers and editors.
Printing
If you decide to run a static billboard, you’ll likely hire a specialty printing company to create the vinyl that will hang on the billboard structure. Vinyl billboard printers may charge by the square foot, so you’ll need to account for your billboard size.
3 tips for creating an effective billboard
Here a few tips for creating effective billboards, from business owners who have successfully run OOH advertising:
Advertise in key hubs
Advertising in a prime location can help you reach audiences who live there as well as tourists visiting from elsewhere. When Craftd decided to launch a billboard campaign, they chose to advertise in tourist areas in London.
“The reason why we chose London is it’s probably the only … place where we get all of our global customer base in a city,” cofounder Danny says.
Initially, Craftd had a limited budget. Since they couldn’t advertise in all the cities their target audience lives in, choosing tourist-friendly London helped them reach prospective customers from all over the world in a cost-effective way.
Connect to your local community
Billboards can connect you to your local community, especially if the city where you advertise is a part of your brand’s identity.
Flamingo Estate, a home brand that sells pantry and body care products, grows and sources materials in and around Los Angeles. When they created a wildposting campaign across the city, they drew on local nostalgia.
“We’re doing a wildpost campaign across Los Angeles that says things like, ‘If Teddy’s was still open, this is the hand soap that would be in the bathroom,’” says Aaron Harvey, head of creative at Flamingo Estate, on Shopify Masters. “We’re speaking directly to certain people. Teddy’s is a club of a very particular moment in LA … that was still kind of pre-Instagram, social media.”
To reach people in the know, the ads included a QR code at the bottom that directed viewers to the Shop app, where they could purchase Flamingo Estate hand soaps.
Spotlight your customers
Billboards are about your company, but you can also use them to celebrate your customer. Part of skin care brand Starface’s mission is to “turn moments that don’t feel so great into empowerment,” says Kara Brothers, former president of Starface, on Shopify Masters.
“We see a lot of people [posting] about how confident the pimple patches make them feel, and we’ll put that on a billboard.”
Billboards celebrating benefits to customers also serve as social proof, a psychological phenomenon that describes our tendency to use others’ opinions to inform our thoughts and actions.
Billboard marketing FAQ
How much does it cost to advertise on a billboard?
Billboard marketing costs vary depending on several factors, including billboard design, type (e.g., static or digital), location, and duration. According to AdQuick, in 2026, a single static billboard in the United States costs between $1,500 and $30,000 for a four-week campaign.
Is advertising with billboards worth it?
Billboards can be worth it because they can convert customers and help you diversify your marketing. Whether billboard marketing is worth the cost depends on your brand’s desired outcome, your ad budget, and your ability to reach the right audience with this advertising channel.
What types of businesses should use billboard marketing?
Many types of companies use billboards, including big corporations and small businesses. Some of the top spenders in 2025 included legal services, hospitals, quick-service restaurants, and chain food stores, according to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America.
