Billboards or hoardings are large structures situated usually on the sides of major and busy roads where traffic is high. Marketers are able to rent the structures and put customized ads on them. This type of ads not only provide exposure to a high number of people but also give companies the freedom of customization and creativity. Containing witty catch-phrases and visuals, billboards around market areas are quite an efficient way of marketing that, of course, comes with a mentionable amount of investment. Billboard ads in Bangladesh cost from 3 to 40 lakhs BDT a year depending on its position and size.
Dhaka city contains quite a few billboards and hoardings that are rented by various companies using advertising agencies who get the tender of rentable billboards from the government. With the introduction of LED billboards, billboard advertisements have become even more popular. An LED or digital billboard is one that contains a digital image which is changed every few seconds automatically with the help of a computer.
Price of regular billboards usually depend on the size of them. Depending on the area of the structure, billboards in Dhaka city can be rented at around 1200-1400 BDT/square feet a year and the largest size of billboard allowed in Bangladesh is 600 square feet.
Recently, mini pole LED billboards have been built in DSCC that provide exposure to a high number of audience. Approximately, this area is the daily commute for 5.7 million people with 120 seconds exposure per signal. According to an advertisement posted in slideshare.net, the mini poles in this area are being rented for about 90+ BDT per day to upto almost 600 BDT per day. There are 500 mini pole LED screens for rent in total. and the pick advertising hours are 4 pm to 11 pm.
The highest estimated reach from this advertisement is in the Gulistan to English Road circle which is 50 lakh people a year at a rate of 14 BDT per minute, 270 minutes a day. Following close behind, is the New Market Police Box one, with a reach of 45 lakhs at a higher rate of 30 BDT per minute, 270 minutes a day. The police box smart screens are 6 feet*4 feet in size. Other than New Market, these police box screens can be located in Sheraton, Kadam Fuara, Kakrail, Matsha Bhaban, Doinik Bangla, Mogbazar, Lab Aid, Shikkha Bhaban, Mintu Road, Bango Bazar, Zero Point (gulistan), Bata Signal, Malibagh Railgate, Mouchak Crossing, Fakirapool, Shahjahanpur, Sadarghat, Rai Saheb Bazar, Fulbaria and Golap Shah Mazar.
The table below shows some LED billboard locations with best advertisement times for them [Contact Information].
| Location | Screen size (in feet) | Pick Hours |
|---|---|---|
Projonmo Chottor, Shahbag Mor | 10*20 (3 screens) | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Pantho Kunjo, Karwan Bazar Traffic Mor | 16*30 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Baily Road | 10*15 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Gawsia/New Market | 27*12 | 4 pm to 10 pm |
Mintu Road | 10*15 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Navana Tower, Gulshan 1 | 17*20 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Nilkhet Mor, Azimpur | 10*15 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Dhanmondi 27 | 10*25 (3 screens) | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Russell Square, Dhanmondi 32 | 20*10 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Kakrail Mor | 10*7 (3 screens) | 4 pm to 10 pm |
Sadarghat | 8*12 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Fakirapool Mor | 8*12 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Kamalapur Rail Station | 8*12 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Science Lab Mor | 10*15 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Bata Signal, Elephant Road, Dhanmondi | 8*12 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Mirpur 10 | 22*12 | 6 pm to 9 pm |
Shantinagar Mor | 8*12 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Paltan Mor | 8*12 | 4 pm to 8 pm |
Moreover, Bashundhara City Shopping Mall has a 9*15 sq ft LED screen with sound system, 22 wall LED screens that are 4.5*7 sq ft in size and 16 lift TVs that are rented for advertisements.
Nowadays, there are plenty of billboards and LED screens to choose from in Dhaka and most are filled with large catchy ads. The amount of creative freedom and control billboard ads provide is unique to only this type of advertisements which marketers can use to their advantages.