‘Roadblocking,’ or why you’ll see a lot of Temple ads on highways today

Normally, digital ad billboards by the side of major highways cycle through different ads every few seconds. Often you won’t really notice them unless you’re stuck in traffic: perhaps a slip-and-fall law firm one moment, a call to avoid hell via religious repentance the next.

On Monday, Temple University will halt the cycle in five-minute blocks during rush hours across a half a dozen Philly highways (I-95, Route 30 and PA Turnpike, among others) to display its logo and succinct messaging as part of a new marketing campaign.

Emily Spitale, Temple’s associate VP of strategic marketing and communications, will cede that digital billboards themselves aren’t anything new, but they’re a flexible medium to shore up the school’s brand.

The strategy of taking up several simultaneous blocks of time on billboards (or other advertising mediums) is called roadblocking, and Spitale says it will help give exposure to Temple’s messaging.

“At certain times during the day we’ll be the only ad on there,” Spitale said. “It essentially creates a perimeter, so that people who driving around these roads are going to have our billboards.”

Aside from Temple imaging, the ads will have succinct, kinda cryptic messages like “Erase all doubt” and “Know no bounds.” [Editor’s note: These sound a little like the repentance signs, tbh.]

“For us, it’s about having a different way to get some exposure, prominence and highlight that we’re back in market,” Spitale said.