The Billboard Buzz

Without Fail Every week, we hear the same two questions from business owners, finance teams, and decision-makers who aren’t deep in the weeds of marketing: “How long does brand marketing take to work?” “What happens if we need to pause it?” These are fair questions. Running a business means watching every dollar, and when budgets get tight, marketing is usually one of the first things on the chopping block. But here's the thing—cutting brand marketing doesn't just stop future growth. It can undo a lot of what you’ve already built. If you’re in it for long-term growth, your mindset around brand marketing must shift from “campaign” to “commitment.” Why Brand Marketing Doesn’t Pay Off Immediately There’s a reason seasoned marketers rarely panic over immediate results: they know how the system works. Brand marketing doesn’t operate like a faucet—you don’t just turn it on and expect a flood of new business the next day. Yes, some buyers may be rea...

Measuring digital ads used to be easy. You’d set up some tracking pixels, install cookies, and watch the data roll in. You knew who clicked, where they came from, what they did on your site, and how long they stuck around. That’s not how it works anymore. New privacy laws, platform changes, and tech updates have flipped everything upside down. You’re now working with fewer signals, more gaps, and strict rules around user data. That doesn’t mean you can’t measure results. It means you’ve got to change how you do it. What Changed and Why It Matters In the past few years, digital privacy rules have exploded. Countries have passed strict laws, big tech players like Apple, Google, and Meta have made major changes, and users have started blocking more trackers than ever before. Here’s what’s different now: Third-party cookies are going away. Google Chrome is removing them for good. Firefox and Safari already did. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) f...

“How Do You Make a Billboard Memorable?” Here’s the Truth. If there’s one question we get asked a lot by clients at Whistler Billboards, it’s this: “How do you make a billboard really stand out?” It’s a fair question. We're bombarded by thousands of messages a day, making a single, static (or digital) billboard unforgettable might seem like an uphill battle. But the truth? Memorability isn’t magic—it’s strategy. And we’re pulling back the curtain on exactly how we do it. Following up on our last post about using science to capture attention , this Friday Feature explores the science, psychology, art, and technology behind billboards that don’t just get noticed, but get remembered. 1. Simplicity Wins: Less is Always More Billboards are a “blink-and-you-miss-it” medium. Research shows drivers spend about 6 seconds or less viewing a billboard [1] . That means complexity kills. To be memorable: Use 6 words or fewer . Choose one focal image . M...

At Whistler Billboards, we are proud to announce an exciting moment for our team. Huge congratulations to our incredibly talented graphic designer, John Morgan , for winning the prestigious 2025 Indie Impact Award for Breaking Convention at this year's Independent Billboard Operators (IBO) Convention ! John's fearless creativity, bold vision, and cutting-edge design style continue to break new ground, not only for Whistler Billboards but for the entire out-of-home (OOH) advertising industry. His recognition at one of the industry's top events is a testament to the spirit of innovation we aim to bring to every client and campaign. Breaking the Mold: What the "Breaking Convention" Award Means The "Breaking Convention" Award is given to the designer or campaign that challenges norms, pushes creative boundaries, and redefines what billboard advertising can achieve. Winning this award signals that a designer is not only thinking outside th...

How We Search Is Changing For over two decades, Google has been the king of search. Whether you needed directions, a recipe, or medical advice, you typed it into Google and clicked through a list of links. But in 2025, something new is happening—more and more people are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT to get answers instantly. It raises a big question: Is ChatGPT outpacing Google? Could AI become the future of search? In this blog post, we’ll break down what’s really going on, what’s changing, and what it means for everyday users, businesses, and the future of the internet. What is ChatGPT, and how does it work? Let’s keep this simple. ChatGPT is an AI chatbot created by OpenAI. Instead of giving you a list of links like Google does, ChatGPT gives you a direct, conversational answer. For example: Google : You search “how to clean an air fryer.” You get 10 links. ChatGPT : You ask the same question and get a 4-step answer instantly, with no need ...

Turning Impressions into Action: The New Clickable Billboard Clicks, impressions, and conversions measure every ad in our digital marketing landscape. Of course, traditional billboards might seem like a throwback. But modern marketers know better— billboards are far from outdated . When used strategically, today’s billboards can drive measurable online engagement. Whether it’s a web visit, a phone call, or a Google search, a billboard can spark real, trackable action— if it’s designed to do so . In this post, we’ll break down what makes a billboard “clickable” in today’s environment: how to integrate it into your digital marketing strategy and how to design it to drive leads and conversions, not just eyeballs. Why “Clickable” Matters in Billboard Advertising “Clickable” doesn’t mean physically clickable. It means the billboard creates a clear and immediate pathway for a viewer to interact with your brand digitally, through a website, a search engine, a phone...

We see them every day. Whether we’re walking downtown, catching a flight, or waiting on a subway platform, digital billboards and screens have become a regular part of how we experience cities, airports, transit stations, and even taxis. But have you ever stopped to wonder if these digital out-of-home (DOOH) ads actually work? Well, the short answer is yes. Absolutely. In partnership with Nielsen, the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) recently released two major studies to dig into exactly how effective digital out-of-home ads are. And the results? They’re hard to ignore. What Did Nielsen Study? Nielsen looked at DOOH advertising in two key ways: Billboards, street furniture, airports, and other place-based formats (Surveyed across the top 30 U.S. markets) Transit formats like rail, subway, train, and taxi ads (Surveyed across the top 6 transit-heavy markets) They surveyed travelers and consumers in those areas and asked ...