ELECTRIC BILLBOARDS: Now Driving Traffic Near You

I have to admit that, when I first saw those electric billboards, my reaction was, “Here we go again, replacing an object that doesn’t require energy consumption with one that does.”  A brighter billboard – how does that make a difference, other than more carbon emissions?  Then, here in Los Angeles, along came The Sound, KSWD 100.3, with their new ad campaign.  And it’s brilliant.  Simple and brilliant.  Up pops the logo, and in the lower right corner, in real time, the song and the artist being played at that moment on the station. 

I have flipped to that station at least a dozen times to hear the song.  This is a game changer. 

Real time feeds on billboards?  The Sound is just the beginning.  Right now, in garages and in ad agencies all over town, can’t you just feel the innovators coming up with crazy ideas for the next use of an electric billboard?  News flashes?  Weather?  Traffic?  Video?  (The lawyers among us think that might be a bad idea.  I can feel the legislation coming.)  Audio?  Baja Fresh ads around the lunch hour?  Sports updates, along with program notes for live sporting events?  Don’t forget the Fresh Prince of Bel Air marathon, starting in 20 minutes!  KROQ is giving away tickets to see the Killers in 15 minutes, if you if you call then with the next 3 songs they play!  Networked billboards?  Traffic synchronized billboards?  A picture of you, 30 seconds ago, running that red light?

We are, as they say, living in interesting times.  And, for advertisers, perhaps that is a curse.  We are at the beginning of the post-advertiser-controlled television era, where increasing numbers of consumers are zooming through the TV ads on their DVRs, or watching their favorite video on YouTube, with no commercials.  Non-commercial satellite radio, non-commercial internet radio (well, sometimes, there are banner ads).  This is where the advertising agencies are earning their money, and seemingly half of the entrepreneurs who show up in our offices are working on some way to extend the reach of advertisers to replace the disappearing mass marketing reach of an ad campaign.

But, electric billboards???  Is everything now an internet connected, real time video display?  Haven’t we seen this in Blade Runner?

As lawyers and business consultants, we look at this moment, imagine the opportunities, help those visionaries take their shot; anticipate the corporate, regulatory and intellectual property issues that will emerge, and, boy, will there be some!  We help create the infrastructure for these emerging companies, and help them find their way.  This is the fun stuff.  Interesting times indeed.