HOW MUCH DOES A SIGN COST?

Understanding the Advertising Analysis

To answer the question, “how much does a sign cost?”, it’s important to understand the return on investment (ROI) of your sign.

There is a reason that business locations with better visibility and exposure to both vehicular and foot traffic rent for significantly more than comparable sites in the same market with less visibility. This premium can be attributed to the“advertising” value of the location.

A sign that people can’t see will obviously have no advertising value. But while a sign that people can see will have some advertising value, that value can vary widely. In practice, a sign’s advertising value depends on a number of factors,including:

• The size and prominence of the sign
• The length of time it remains visible
• Its design and ability to attract attention
• The number of people to which it is exposed
• How well it projects and reinforces the business’ values and messaging

Some of these factors are subjective, and are necessarily beyond the scope of this calculator. But others are quite amenable to calculation, and, in fact, to comparison with other channels of advertising.

Advertising– whether TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, outdoor, or Internet, to name a few –is universally analyzed in terms of “cost per thousand exposures,” or CPMs, thereby answering the question:

How much are you paying for 1,000 people to see your advertisement?

Your new or upgraded sign can be analyzed in exactly this way. The Return on Sign Investment Calculator asks for data on the number of people passing your location, and the operating costs of your new or upgraded sign. It’s then simple to calculate the sign’s CPM, which can fairly be compared with the CPMs of other advertising expenditures. (Please see the posted chart on our “Ad Analysis” page showing various CPMs.)

Of course, a CPM is not a magic number. Every CPM must be considered in the light of who is getting exposed to your advertisement.

For example, regardless of how favorable the CPMs may be, a veterinarian will get little value from advertising in a car-enthusiast magazine (or any publication that does not appeal to pet owners).

In most cases, you’ll find the CPM of your new or upgraded sign makes it a great bargain.