They say that New York City is the city that never sleeps, and if you’re downtown, gazing up at brightly-lit neon signs and advertising billboards in NYC, you’d wonder how anybody could ever sleep! Amidst the towering skyscrapers and constant buzz of traffic and people, there’s one aspect that stands out and demands attention – the mesmerizing and ever-present billboards.
Billboards are a lucrative business in NYC, especially in Manhattan. As you navigate the streets of NYC, it’s impossible to ignore the cacophony of messages and images vying for your attention. Each billboard, meticulously crafted to capture the essence of its brand, competes for a moment in the spotlight, reflecting the diversity of products and services that find their home in this city.
From Times Square’s iconic digital billboards, lighting up the night sky with vibrant colors and captivating animations, to the classic, hand-painted billboards in SoHo that exude a vintage charm, every type of advertising medium finds a place here. This diversity not only adds to the visual allure of the city but also reflects the dynamic nature of its residents and visitors. Keep reading to find out more about the impact of billboards in NYC. They’re more than just amazing outdoor advertising—they’re a cultural icon.
Billboards in NYC: A Brief History
The next time you’re walking through downtown Manhattan, look up at the intersection of Broadway and 47th Street. There, you might see the oldest known advertisement in New York City: the 1877 sign for J.A. Keal’s Carriage Manufactory and Repairing. This sign, which had been hidden behind a now-demolished building, represents Times Square’s past as the hub of NYC’s carriage building industry. However, due to this sign’s location and local construction, it isn’t always visible.
While the Keal sign is a wall painting and not an independent billboard, it represents a major milestone in New York outdoor advertising. Another major milestone: the introduction of electric billboards. The first electric billboard came to Times Square in 1904, but the first electric billboard in NYC was introduced more than a decade earlier, in 1892. This early electric sign advertised a Coney Island resort and was the start of a major trend.
Over time, NYC billboards became more complicated. Digital billboards have a massive market presence, but traditional billboards certainly haven’t gone away. These traditional billboards can be just as memorable as digital OOH advertising, especially when paired with a creative ad campaign.
Today, New York is known for some of the world’s most memorable billboards. Creative ad campaigns and highly iconic designs mean that New York billboards are recognizable throughout the world.
Advertising Stars: The Most Famous Billboards in NYC
Location is everything when it comes to billboard and OOH advertising. So what are the best locations for a billboard in NYC? Perennial performers include billboards placed near subway stations, billboards near tourist attractions, and, of course, billboards in Manhattan’s high-density areas. Here are some of the most recognizable billboards in NYC.
One Times Square
Of all the billboards in NYC, One Times Square is the best performer. It generates more than
$23 million per year in ad revenue and is the most-seen billboard in America. One Times Square billboard and other Times Square billboards are so visible that Geopath has actually had to recalculate how it determines Times Square metrics and effectiveness. One Times Square can be seen clearly for five city blocks in every direction.
Coca-Cola
Since 1920, Coca-Cola has been an innovator in outdoor advertising in NYC. The current iteration of its sign doesn’t just light up the night—it actually moves! The 42-by-68-foot Coca-Cola billboard features almost 2,000 square LED modules that are programmed to extend and retract independently. When it launched in 2017, it introduced a whole new world of dimension, space, and motion to OOH advertising.
ABC Supersign
This massive curved LED sign broadcasts full TV shows like Good Morning America and Monday Night Football in addition to being an advertising set piece. But the billboard gets its greatest exposure on December 31st, when it is the backdrop to the New Year’s Eve celebration. This billboard measures 3,685 square feet of curved LED ribbon.
NYC Billboard Costs
Want to see your company’s name in lights? Great idea. Billboards in NYC have incredible exposure. In the busiest district (yes, Times Square), pedestrian counts can be as high as 450,000 people daily. More than 100 million people pass through the district each year—that’s a lot of eyes on your company’s signage!
As you may have guessed, NYC can be a very expensive area to advertise. Billboards can go from $5,000 to a whopping $50,000 per day, depending on the size and position of the billboard and the time of year. There are lots of factors that go into billboard cost, and a smart advertising campaign will consider all of them. Your company might not need a giant Times Square billboard– instead, you might be able to make a smarter investment with a big billboard in Brooklyn or cleverly-placed billboards near transit.
However, if you want to do something fun and memorable for personal purposes, one company offers a personal option. For $150, a photo you upload from your phone will be displayed for 15 seconds every hour on the day of your choosing—not very useful for advertising, but a great way to celebrate a friend or loved one. It’s the cheapest billboard in NYC!
For business purposes, there’s no right answer to how much you should spend on a billboard. Every business’s advertising budget and target audience are different, and no two billboard ad campaigns are the same. But one thing is certain: Billboards work.
Data shows that traditional billboards have an ROI of about 40%, while digital billboards have an ROI of around 38%. A 2021 consumer survey showed that 80% of people have bought something after seeing an OOH ad. If you’re ready to see what OOH advertising like billboards can do for you, contact us at Pearl Media to get started. We have top billboard locations throughout the US, including NYC, and are known for our bold, creative advertising that helps you reach the perfect audience for your brand.
