MARCH 29, 2010 – http://blogs.universitybusiness.com/

Robert Morris University (Pa.) has been sharing its tweets with the local community via a new twist on an old form of advertising — digital billboards. When RMU’s men’s basketball team made the NCAA tournament this month for the second year in a row, coach Mike Rice’s Twitter account was linked to 15 digital billboards on the various major traffic routes into and out of Pittsburgh, as well as two locations near its Moon Township campus, explains Kyle Fisher, chief PR and marketing officer.  The billboards ran for 10 days, beginning when RMU’s team qualified for the tournament and ending three days past the first round game. Although the team, a 15 seed, didn’t manage an upset to win that game (despite an overtime fight), sharing live the excitement of being part of March Madness surely boosted the spirit level and pride of the university community and beyond.

The effort got the attention of local TV station KDKA Channel 2. Its coverage can be viewed here.

Mar. 29, 2010 - http://www.whby.com/news/whby/news/

Digital billboards are popping up in more places….and some cities around the country are taking stances against them, arguing that they’re distracting. A senator from Green Bay doesn’t expect Wisconsin to follow suit anytime soon. Senator Dave Hansen is a member of the senate’s transportation committee, and he says he hasn’t heard anyone talking about the issue. Hansen says he doesn’t find digital billboards distracting. He says there are conflicting studies out there. The Green Bay democrat says he’s more concerned about drivers who send text messages while they’re behind the wheel. He says lawmakers need to finalize a ban before the legislative session is over.

Posted by John S. on March 27, 2010 // 8 Comments

According to a few simple reports, digital billboards are not causing any more accidents than the ones that are NOT digital.  After some speculation brought attention to the new digital billboards in Pennsylvania, a study was done by the Virginia Tech University in 2007 that showed digital billboards as “safety neutral”.

According to that study, it appeared that almost all drivers going past the digital billboard on a regular basis looked in the direction for less than one second.  I hardly believe they can say that is wouldn’t cause any accidents, especially when it takes less than one second for an accident to occur.

Over the last 20 years, studies showed no link between digital billboards and accidents.  That was a study with information from three different states.  The billboard industry expects to see a rise in the number of digital billboards by the hundreds per year.  Supporters for the billboards are saying that digital billboards belong alongside America’s roadways.  With the benefit that emergency messages can be displayed instantly, digital billboards would be a plus in high traffic areas, even if they only see the message for a second.

I like the fact that digital billboards are allowed.  The way a company can take on many more messages for each billboard to rotate and it gives the advertiser a better price.  They are also “more green” because there is less wasted paper and LED’s are energy efficient.