April 4, 2006
Text messaging tops the Billboards charts
In 2004, Border Billboards erected a 50-foot billboard on the Mexico side of Tijuana-San Diego border crossing and this year it added one at the Laredo, Texas-Nuevo Laredo entry point, informs Business Press.
The novity is the ability to receive personal text messages on the billboards from cell phones, allowing drivers at the U.S.-Mexico border to relieve their boredom.
The billboards feature audio (transmitted through a low-frequency radio station), video, and interactivity, which are both controlled via satellite.
To make sure that Border Billboards' clients, who pay $10,000 a month for 144 play times a day, get the optimum "face time," Jennifer Stefano, co-owner of Border Billboards, said that the billboards are placed where "cars are funneled to a position where you can't even make a U-turn at the borders."
Besides the advertising, there are segments broadcast from CNN Headline News, the weather forecast, and music videos, along with the frequent, "Hey, you in the pink Cadillac, let's meet at Starbucks ..." message.
Stefano intends to bring her billboards in the U.S., but because of current highway regulations, the text messaging feature probably won't be allowed. As for the borders, Stefano has definite plans to expand to the Juarez-El Paso gateway and the Nogales-Arizona entry point; Canadian sites are being explored.
Closer to home, Thomas and Mack Center has used billboard advertising to capture audiences. Recently, the arena displayed personal text messages delivered via cell phones. "It creates interactivity that hasn't been done before," said Nevada Colwell. "The text messaging is really cool. You're able to gather data about your customers while they're still here. It creates a good one-to-one relationship with customers."
Like Border Billboards, Thomas and Mack Center filters out obscenities from text messages. Advertising on the board at Thomas and Mack Center starts at $1,000 a spot per event, with the more in-demand events drawing higher advertising premiums.
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