Billboard terms, in plain English.
89 words billboard companies use every day, from bulletin to share of voice.
Formats
- BillboardA billboard is a large outdoor ad display beside a road, made to be read from far away.
- BulletinA bulletin is the largest standard billboard, most often 14 feet tall by 48 feet wide, along highways.
- Digital billboardA digital billboard is an LED screen that rotates several still ads, each shown for a few seconds.
- Extension (cutout)An extension is a cutout piece that sticks out past the normal edge of a billboard face.
- Illuminated billboardAn illuminated billboard has lights so people can see the ad at night, usually from dusk until midnight.
- Junior poster (8-sheet)A junior poster, or 8-sheet, is a small billboard about 6 by 12 feet, mostly on smaller roads.
- OOH (out of home)OOH, or out of home, is any ad people see away from home, from billboards to airport screens.
- Poster (30-sheet)A poster, or 30-sheet, is a mid-size billboard about 12 by 25 feet, mostly on major local roads.
- Rotary bulletinA rotary bulletin is an ad that moves to a new bulletin site about every 60 days.
- SpectacularA spectacular is a custom, extra-large billboard in a prime spot, often with lights, video or cutouts.
- Static billboardA static billboard shows one printed ad, usually vinyl, for the whole flight instead of rotating ads.
- TrivisionA trivision is a billboard face of turning three-sided slats that shows three ads in turn.
- WallscapeA wallscape is an ad painted on, or printed and hung on, the outside wall of a building.
Inventory
- AvailsAvails are the faces and dates still open for sale, sent when a buyer asks what is available.
- BookingA booking is a confirmed sale of a face or digital slot for set dates.
- Cross-readA cross-read is a billboard seen across the traffic lanes, on the far side of the road.
- FaceA face is one side of a billboard structure where the ad shows, and the unit operators sell.
- FacingFacing is the compass direction a billboard face points; a north-facing face serves southbound drivers.
- HoldA hold is a short, temporary claim on a face for certain dates while a buyer decides.
- Left-hand read (LHR)A left-hand read (LHR) is a billboard face on the driver’s left, seen across oncoming lanes.
- Occupancy rateOccupancy rate is the percent of a billboard company’s available face time that is sold.
- PlantA plant is a billboard company’s full set of boards in one market, or the company itself.
- Read directionRead direction says which side of the road a billboard stands on, from the driver’s point of view.
- Right-hand read (RHR)A right-hand read (RHR) is a billboard face on the driver’s right side of the road.
- StructureA billboard structure is the poles, frame, lights and catwalk that hold one or more faces.
- VacancyVacancy is unsold billboard time: a face or digital slot with no paid ad for a period.
Pricing
- Agency commissionAgency commission is the share of a media buy paid to the agency that placed it, classically 15%.
- Cost per point (CPP)Cost per point (CPP) is what one rating point costs in a market, used to compare schedules.
- CPM (cost per thousand)CPM is the cost to deliver 1,000 impressions: price divided by impressions, times 1,000.
- Four-week periodA four-week period is out of home’s standard billing unit; a year has 13 of them.
- Production costProduction cost is what it costs to print, ship and sometimes install a billboard ad.
- Rate cardA rate card is a billboard company’s list of standard prices per face, usually per four-week period.
- YieldYield is the average revenue each billboard face earns, driven by occupancy and rate.
Measurement
- ApproachApproach is the stretch of road where drivers can fully see a billboard and still read it.
- Daily effective circulation (DEC)Daily effective circulation (DEC) counts the people in vehicles who pass a billboard and could see it.
- DMA (designated market area)A DMA, or designated market area, is a Nielsen TV market that advertisers also use for billboards.
- Dwell timeDwell time is how long a person stays near an ad and can see it. A highway gives little dwell time, so the ad needs few words.
- FrequencyFrequency is the average number of times each person reached sees an ad in a set period.
- GeopathGeopath is the U.S. nonprofit that measures out-of-home audiences and publishes billboard ratings.
- Gross rating points (GRP)Gross rating points (GRPs) measure campaign weight: in-market impressions as a percent of the market’s population.
- ImpressionsImpressions are the estimated number of times people are likely to notice a billboard ad.
- Likelihood to see (LTS)Likelihood to see (LTS) is the share of passersby likely to notice a billboard’s ad.
- Opportunity to see (OTS)Opportunity to see (OTS) counts everyone who passes a billboard and could see it.
- ReachReach is the percent of a target audience that sees an ad at least once during a campaign.
- Target rating points (TRP)Target rating points (TRPs) are like GRPs but count only impressions from a chosen audience.
- Traffic count (AADT)A traffic count tallies vehicles passing a road point; AADT is the daily average across a year.
- Viewing distanceViewing distance is how far away a person is when reading a billboard, which sets letter size.
Digital
- DaypartA daypart is a block of the day, like morning drive, used to plan and price digital ads.
- DOOH (digital out of home)DOOH, or digital out of home, is any out-of-home ad shown on a screen that can change ads.
- LEDLED stands for light-emitting diode, the tiny lights that make the picture on a digital billboard.
- LoopA loop is the full cycle of ads on a digital billboard, played over and over all day.
- Programmatic DOOHProgrammatic DOOH is buying and selling digital out-of-home ad time through software, often by auction.
- Proof of playProof of play is a log showing when each ad played on a digital billboard, and how often.
- Share of voiceShare of voice is your part of a digital face’s ad time: your spots divided by all spots.
- SpotA spot is one ad position in a digital billboard’s loop, often 6 to 8 seconds long.
- SSP (supply-side platform)An SSP, or supply-side platform, is software that offers a screen owner’s ad time to many programmatic buyers.
Sales
- BackfillBackfill is what fills unsold billboard time, such as house ads or public service ads.
- Contract (OOH)A billboard contract is the signed deal that books faces for set dates, rates and billing terms.
- FlightA flight is the run of dates a billboard campaign is booked for, such as four weeks.
- Footprint mapA footprint map shows a billboard company’s faces near a buyer’s locations, so the buyer sees what’s close.
- Location listA location list names every face and site in a billboard campaign, with IDs, addresses and details.
- Market rideA market ride is a drive to inspect the actual billboards in a campaign or plant.
- National vs local salesNational sales come from brands buying many markets; local sales come from businesses near the board.
- Photo sheetA photo sheet is a one-page sheet with a billboard face’s photo, location, size, read, traffic and rate.
- ProposalA billboard proposal is a written offer listing the faces, dates, rates and terms for a campaign.
- RenewalA renewal is when a current billboard advertiser signs up for another flight after their contract ends.
- Rep firmA rep firm sells ad space for many media owners, often to national agencies, for a commission.
- UpfrontAn upfront is a deal where an advertiser commits budget early, often for a year, for better terms.
Operations
- BleedBleed is extra artwork printed past a billboard’s visible edge, usually 6 inches per side on bulletins.
- Copy (billboard)Copy is the ad shown on a billboard face, meaning the whole message, not only the words.
- CreativeCreative is the ad design itself: the picture, words and layout that run on a billboard face.
- Flex faceA flex face is one flexible vinyl sheet stretched tight across a frame to form the ad surface.
- Ground leaseA ground lease lets a billboard company keep its structure on someone else’s land in return for rent.
- Highway Beautification ActThe Highway Beautification Act of 1965 is the federal law that makes states control highway billboards.
- InstallationInstallation, or posting, is putting a new printed ad up on a billboard face.
- LandownerThe landowner owns the land under a billboard and leases it to the billboard company for rent.
- LegibilityLegibility is how easily drivers can read a billboard, set by letter size, contrast, word count and distance.
- MakegoodA makegood is free extra time or space given when an ad did not run as sold.
- Nonconforming signA nonconforming sign was legal when built but no longer meets current rules.
- OAAAThe OAAA is the U.S. trade group for out-of-home advertising, founded in 1891, with 800+ members.
- Off-premise signAn off-premise sign advertises something not sold or made on the property where it stands.
- PermitA billboard permit is government approval to build and keep a sign, usually from the state DOT.
- Proof of performanceProof of performance is a billboard company’s certified statement that it ran the ads it sold.
- Proof of postingProof of posting is a photo or report showing a printed billboard ad went up as sold.
- Safe areaThe safe area is the inner part of a billboard design where words and logos stay visible.
- SnipeA snipe is a sticky strip of copy placed over part of a billboard ad to update it.
- Spacing ruleA spacing rule sets the minimum distance between billboards on the same side of a road.
- Trim sizeTrim size is the final size of a billboard print after it is cut and finished.
- VinylVinyl is the large printed plastic sheet, usually PVC, that carries the ad on most static bulletins.
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