What a billboard costs in Dallas–Fort Worth, and the six things that set the price

The short answer: each board is priced on its own location, audience, format and length of run

A billboard costs whatever that particular board's location, audience, format and campaign length add up to, which is why I quote every board individually instead of handing out a rate card. A bulletin on a busy interstate, a spot in a digital rotation and a display inside an airport terminal are different products with different audiences, even when they carry the same ad. Production, design and timing then move the total further. Once you understand those drivers, you can compare quotes and know exactly where your money goes.

I am a sales account executive at Lamar's Dallas–Fort Worth Billboard Office in Arlington, and how much does a billboard cost is the first question nearly every owner asks me. The honest answer is a short list of decisions. Some of them you control, such as format and length of the run. Others come with the board itself, such as where it stands and how many people pass it. Below are the six that matter most.

1. Location and the audience that passes it

Location is the biggest single driver. A board is valuable because of the people who see it, so a structure on a heavily traveled interstate costs more than one on a quieter road. Lamar's inventory in the Metroplex sits almost entirely along high-traffic interstates and highways across Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties and the surrounding counties, so most of the boards I show owners are built for volume.

Visibility counts as much as traffic. A board that drivers can see from far off, at a comfortable angle and on the right side of the road, is worth more than a board of the same size that is partly hidden or only readable for a moment. When I compare boards for you, I look at both the audience estimate and how readable the face really is from the road.

The audience also has to be the right one. A board in front of heavy traffic that does not include your customers is expensive exposure to the wrong people. A neighborhood restaurant, a regional homebuilder and a law firm advertising across the metro will each value the same board differently, so the question is never only how many people pass, but how many of them could buy from you.

2. Format: bulletin, digital or something else

The format sets what you are actually buying. A static bulletin gives you the whole face for the length of your contract. At Lamar, a bulletin is our largest standard board, typically 14 feet high by 48 feet wide, or 672 square feet, on major highways, expressways and primary arteries. A digital billboard is shared: according to Lamar, ads rotate in a slide show every 6 to 8 seconds, so you are buying a place in the rotation rather than the whole screen all the time.

Airport displays, wallscapes, transit and programmatic digital are priced in their own ways again. Programmatic digital, for example, is bought on impressions through ad-buying platforms, a different model from booking a board by the period. If you are still choosing, my guide to digital versus static billboards explains what each format does well.

• Static bulletin: one advertiser on the face for the whole run, plus the cost of producing and installing the ad
• Digital billboard: a share of a rotating screen, with message changes and no production cost to swap the ad
• Rotary bulletin package: your ad moves between bulletin locations at stated intervals, usually every 60 to 90 days according to Lamar
• Airport display: priced by location inside the terminal and by format, digital, static or custom

3. How long the board runs

Outdoor is sold by time on the board. A longer commitment usually gives you more room in the pricing conversation, and it also matches how outdoor works, since familiarity builds through repetition. A short run costs less in total, but it gives drivers fewer chances to notice and remember you.

This is the place where owners most often try to save money and end up wasting it. A short flight that ends just as people start recognizing your name is cheap and ineffective. My guide on how long a billboard campaign should run goes through how to match the length to your goal, whether that is a grand opening, a seasonal offer or building a brand over time.

4. Production and installation on static boards

A static board needs the ad produced at full size and installed on the structure, and that work is part of the cost. If you change the ad during a static campaign, you are producing and installing a new one. On a digital board, Lamar says you can change your message as often as you want with no production cost, which is one reason some owners lean digital when they expect to run several offers.

Embellishments are optional and add to the budget. Lamar's bulletin page notes that an ad can extend an extra 5 feet at the top, 2 feet at the side and 1 foot at the bottom, and our designers can add extensions, 3D props and lighting effects. They make a board unforgettable, and they are worth pricing separately so you can decide whether the impact justifies it.

5. Design: often the cost you can skip

Many owners assume they will need to pay an agency to design the ad. At Lamar's Dallas office, design services are free. Our office has its own graphic design staff who build billboard creative every day, so you can come with nothing more than a logo and an idea and still end up with a board that reads well at highway speed.

If you already have artwork from your own designer, we can use it, as long as it is built for outdoor. A layout made for a flyer or a website usually needs to be simplified, because a billboard is read in seconds. That adaptation is part of the free design help, and it is worth taking advantage of.

6. Timing and availability

A board can only carry one static advertiser at a time, and a digital rotation only has so many places. The boards in the best spots are often booked, so the location you want may not be open on the dates you want. Planning early gives you more choice, and it gives you time to compare two or three options instead of taking whatever is left.

Timing also matters for event and seasonal campaigns. If you need a board up before a specific date, tell me that on the first call, because the date changes which boards and formats make sense.

Ways to stretch an outdoor budget without wasting it

The cheapest board is rarely the best value, but there are honest ways to get more from the money you have. Almost all of them come from planning and focus rather than from buying less exposure than the campaign needs.

The idea behind every item below is the same: spend on the drivers who can become customers, for long enough that they remember you, and avoid paying for things that do not move the result.

• Concentrate on one area where your customers are dense instead of spreading thin across the whole metro
• Use a digital rotation if you expect to change offers, so you are not producing a new static ad each time
• Ask about a rotary bulletin package if you want to be seen in several parts of the market over one campaign
• Use the free design service instead of paying an outside designer to build billboard creative
• Book early, so you can choose between several boards instead of taking what is left
• Commit to a run long enough to work rather than buying a short flight that ends too soon

How to read a billboard quote

When you have a quote in front of you, check what it includes before you compare totals with anything else. These are the questions I would ask any outdoor company, including us.

• Exactly which board or boards is this, and which direction of traffic does each face?
• What is the audience estimate, and which measurement is it based on?
• Is this a static face for the whole run, or a share of a digital rotation, and how often does my ad appear?
• How long is the contract, and what happens at the end?
• Are production and installation included for a static board?
• Is design included, and how many rounds of changes can I make?
• Can I change the message during the run, and does that cost anything?

Getting a real number for your business

The fastest way to a useful number is a short conversation. Tell me what you want to advertise, where your customers live and drive, when you want to start and roughly how long you want to run. With that, I can pull the boards that fit and quote each one, so you can see side by side what a bulletin, a digital rotation or a rotary package would cost and what each would do for you.

If you are still deciding whether outdoor fits your business at all, start with my guide on whether a billboard is worth it for a small local business. And when you are ready to move forward, my guide on how a billboard campaign comes together from the first call shows every step, so nothing on the way surprises you.

Questions people ask me