The Billboard Buzz

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...

What Did the 2025 Harris Poll/OAAA Study Find? The April 2025 Harris Poll and Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) study revealed a powerful insight: 87% of U.S. adults aged 18-64 are interested in sit-down or fine dining restaurant OOH ads . Out of these consumers, messaging focused on restaurant locations (35%) and cost-saving opportunities (34%) generated the most interest. Other top performers included promoting new food or drink offerings (32%) and showcasing popular menu items (31%). [Source: Harris Insights & Analytics LLC, 2025] Why Is OOH So Effective for Restaurants? Out-of-home advertising naturally reaches consumers where dining decisions happen: on the go . Whether commuting, shopping, or traveling, people are exposed to visual cues that can trigger cravings and meal plans. Fine dining and sit-down restaurants, in particular, benefit from: High visibility: Large, attractive billboards grab attention instantly. Loc...

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 ...

What Smart Brands Do When the Economy Slows Down When the economy slows down, most companies look for ways to cut costs, and marketing is often one of the first areas to get trimmed. But here’s what the smartest brands know: visibility matters more than ever during a downturn . Major brands like McDonald’s, Amazon, and Coca-Cola don’t vanish during a recession. They lean into their presence, especially through out-of-home (OOH) advertising like billboards. Why? Because when people are unsure about where to spend their money, they turn to brands they know and trust . And nothing builds trust like consistent, public visibility. In this post, we’ll explore why billboard advertising is a smart recession-proof strategy, how big brands use it, and how smaller businesses can learn from their example. What Happens to Marketing During a Recession? Before we get into the billboard part, let’s understand the bigger picture. During a recession: Consumer spe...

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...

Smarter, Faster, Better: A/B Testing on Digital Billboards In digital marketing, A/B testing is second nature. Marketers test headlines, colors, layouts, and messaging to squeeze every last performance drop from a campaign. But did you know you can do the same with digital billboards ? Yes— like in a digital ad campaign, you can A/B test billboard ads , monitor real-time performance, and adjust creative elements based on data . Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising has evolved rapidly in recent years. As more screens go digital and programmatic options increase, marketers can now treat billboard campaigns like web ads—flexible, testable, and responsive. In this post, we’ll explore what A/B testing looks like for digital billboards, how real-time creative optimization works, and why it's a game-changer for brands wanting to make more innovative use of their OOH spend. What is A/B Testing on Digital Billboards? A/B testing (also known as split testing)...

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 ...