I wanted to write this post about three years ago. Finally making it happen now – will talk about timeliness some other time.. here is innovation.

Many of us would have noticed these mobile billboards that have sprung up over the last few years in many cities(esp. in India). .. This is the innovation I wanted to write about…

simple disruptive innovation

To appreciate this better, let’s look at what is the business of traditional billboards. The most important value driver of the traditional billboard business is location.  Just like any other natural resource like oil, if you happen own a piece of land which today gets a lot of eye balls (foot falls, wheel rolls, et al), you can make lucrative sums of money by renting your land out for hoisting a billboard.

How has the mobile billboard impacted this business?

First and most disruptive of all – mobile billboards do not need one of the most treasured resources, real estate, anymore! Within the ‘billboard value chain’, traditionally, the real state owner takes away the highest share of the value, what I would consider, an undue share of value.

Secondly, this simple innovation has unlocked tremendous amount of marketing/advertising efficiency possibilities. Let’s see how.
While traditional billboard ads are positioned based on the customer profile of a location, like, a luxury car billboard at the exit of an airport or a Virgin mobile billboard in the vicinity of a college. However, if it were for a mobile billboard, you could place the same luxury car billboard at the airport highway, during peak business travel hours and then move the same board to the Central Business District during office commute hours. Even have the mobile billboard trailer get stuck in traffic along with the target customers and attract maximum attention/eye balls! The possibilities are unlimited.

In essence, just by bringing mobility (by putting ‘em up on trailers), this innovation has disrupted the billboard industry in the following three key areas.
1. Brought down the entry barrier (prime real estate) for the industry. All you need is a trailer!
2. Potentially, brought down the cost of billboard advertising – due to increase in competition and by taking out real estate cost.
3. Potentially, increased the efficiency levels of billboard advertising, with the ability to move the billboard to the relevant location, attracting more eye balls per billboard!