Litter on a Stick
Outdoor advertising is going away – but what will take its place?

The case against outdoor advertising is finally taking its toll. It's been called offensive, invasive and ugly. But that only scratches the surface. The truth is that outdoor advertising is also a rip-off.

For the vast majority of marketing missions, it hardly works at all. It doesn't have the power of persuasion that user-chosen media like a printed page or a TV demonstration can deliver. It doesn't have the advantages of motion, music, the spoken word, multiple images or convincing copy.

Outdoor's track record is dismal. Major-league advertisers never employ it as their prime medium. Unless a retailer is promoting a location (like "This Exit for McDonald's'), outdoor signs don't merit a respectable place in any modem marketing plan. Unlike publications and broadcasts, which have news and entertainment value, billboards do little more than obscure your view.

Who likes outdoor? Hardly anybody. Who wants it gone? Almost everybody. But, it's still here. Why?

What's holding things up? Why can't a legislator put together a bill that will finally wipe outdoor advertising off the face of the countryside?

Because of three issues:

• If we outlaw billboards, how will drivers know where they can eat and get fuel?
• Won't the elimination of billboards put all the outdoor media reps and industry people out of work?
• What about the investors who have millions tied up in roadside structures, porky contracts and real estate?

Well, fret not. There are answers to all three, and the news is not only good, it's brimming with opportunities.

Don't look now, but your car radio is metamorphosing. It's marrying cellular technology and changing to an interactive show-and-tell machine. Soon you'll be able to drive down the highway and alert your radio to search for information you want. You might cue it for updates on food, fuel, shopping, directions, or even games for the kids to play on the screen in the back seat.

Instead of being numbed by gigantic signs that tell you everything you don't want to know, your regular listening might be selectively interrupted with messages like:

"Six miles ahead at exit 12 you will find a McDonald's, where this week's featured meal is a Big Mac with drink and fries for only $0.00. Come in for our clean restroom facilities and friendly service."

These announcements will be welcome, because they'll be in answer to your requests. A new home prospect might hear:

"Good morning. We'd love to show you some of the new Barton Homes available in Centerville. Turn off at exit 11, and follow Jay Street for a mile. At the first traffic light, I'll guide you to our model homes."

The potential of this kind of opportunity will dwarf the toss of traditional outdoor advertising, and open a vast new source of revenue. And the technology is here today.

Kentucky could become the world leader in something that benefits people everywhere. Kentucky could be the first state to develop a new sign design code to cover the coming need for small, informational signage, as well as the electronic products that use the "Services at Next Exit" technology. This interactive narrowcasting could be received on screens or speakers, and be linked to road directions, hazard warnings, weather information, traffic control, and many new forms of advertising that would be non-invasive to the countryside.

By applied innovation, Kentucky firms could create an industry to produce the receivers, transmitters and standards for the new technology. Yes, we'd hear squealing from the xenophobics. And we'd surely have to write in some plan for phasing the signs out and a mechanism to compensate the site-owners via eminent domain.

But it could all begin in Frankfort. The ball could be set in motion with a few preliminary steps. We need the legislation and the incentives, but mostly, we need the vision. With the right leadership to set the stage, market forces would take care of the rest.

Dennis Altman is an advertising consultant and a professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Kentucky.

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