In 1963, author J.G. Ballard predicted the use of enormous electric signs to entice people to “buy now” in a short story entitled, The Subliminal Man. Today, digital billboard advertising is very much a reality utilized by small and large corporations across the country.

According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, digital billboards made their first actual appearance in 2005 as both screen and Internet technology became available to make the remote loading of files possible onto a billboard-sized screen. However, prior to the first electronic billboard, digital place-based screens had been in use since the 1990’s.

The science behind how electronic billboards work is pretty simple: advertising messages rotate every six to eight seconds on an LED screen. Controlled remotely, this advertising option is best-suited for companies in need of more flexibility in their ad messaging. Created in a similar way to ads on traditional billboards, the key difference is in ad delivery. Digital billboard advertising is sent out as a simple .JPEG file rather than printed and pasted directly to the billboard.