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.
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!