When the pandemic of 2020 first hit, it affected virtually every aspect of everyday life. All industries felt this impact in some way. Some in a positive way, and others not so much. While the outdoor media industry is still alive and kicking, it hasn’t gone unaffected.

The amount that COVID-19 affects our industry has changed since it’s initial wave. We’ve seen our ups and downs, but thankfully it’s nothing we haven’t been able to recover from. Read on for a detailed look at how outdoor media has changed and adjusted during this time.

Pre-pandemic

Prior to the pandemic, it was not uncommon to see certain billboard locations sold out. High traffic areas in particular were a common example of this. This low availability made it difficult to advertise in those areas. Then the pandemic happened, and everything would change. More on that below.

Post-pandemic

After the initial shockwave of COVID-19, the industry experienced a frightening turn. “When everything shut down in April and May, things died”. This meant many vacancies for the first time in recent memory. Eventually, though, many clients returned to resume their campaigns.

Looking towards the future

Even in the wake of COVID-19, things look to be returning close to normal. Still, there are several locations that have openings that they wouldn’t have otherwise. This has led to many discounts where there wouldn’t usually be. That makes now the perfect opportunity to get a good setting at a great value!

Effortless Outdoor Media

As people get back to moving about in the world, now’s the time to take advantage. Reach out to a reputable advertiser. Effortless Outdoor Media is a brand you can trust to bridge the gap from you to quality billboards. Contact us today!

Clip Transcript:

Jason Sirotin:

Hi, I’m Jason Sirotin. And today I’m speaking with Bill Hobbs, who is the owner and proprietor, managing director, everything, of Effortless Outdoor media, which is a outdoor media advertising placement company. How has COVID affected the billboard business?

Bill Hobbs:

COVID has affected it in a couple of ways. Number one, before that happened, billboards were almost sold out in certain areas and there was very little availability. So when everything shut down in April and May, things were kind of dead in our industry, but as things opened up, some of the clients came back, but billboard companies had more boards available and they still do now than they had a year ago. So because of that, now’s a perfect time to advertise because they’re offering discounts on the first month, discounts on the first few months, so you’re going to save money. And number two, certain billboards are always sold, the ones that are either right in your face in high demand areas. They may be sold for 10 or 20 years and never available. Now with COVID, some clients have dropped really prime spots in every city, so there’s great locations that are available that were never available before. So that’s how COVID has affected our industry.

Jason Sirotin:

Bill, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us today. We really appreciate it. If you’re interested in learning more about what Bill has to offer, you can visit him online at effortlessoutdoormedia.com and you can email him at bhobbs, that’s B-H-O-B-B-S, @effortlessoutdoormedia.com.