Public Perceptions of Billboards: A Meta-Analysis

While outdoor advertising is currently the fastest-growing traditional advertising medium, the value of billboards to the public has long been debated. Drawing on a conceptual framework developed by Farris and Albion (1980), contrasting two schools of thought about advertising's economic and so...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of advertising 2017-07, Vol.46 (3), p.395-410
Main Authors: Franke, George R., Taylor, Charles R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advertising
Bans
Billboards
Consumers
Literature Review Corner
Meta-analysis
Outdoor advertising
Power
Public opinion
Studies
Systematic review
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Summary:While outdoor advertising is currently the fastest-growing traditional advertising medium, the value of billboards to the public has long been debated. Drawing on a conceptual framework developed by Farris and Albion (1980), contrasting two schools of thought about advertising's economic and societal role, this study reports a meta-analysis of more than 100 surveys of U.S. public opinion toward billboards, covering almost eight decades of findings from more than 100,000 participants. Variables analyzed include the degree to which the public believes billboards are informative, entertaining, irritating, and helpful to the economy; in need of more regulation; and beneficial overall. Results suggest that, both historically and currently, consumers view billboards positively, and a strong majority do not support billboard bans. Moreover, the overall results are more supportive of the notion that the public subscribes to the Advertising = Information school of thought as opposed to the Advertising = Market Power school.
ISSN:0091-3367
1557-7805
DOI:10.1080/00913367.2017.1334248