San Diego Outdoor Advertising Options
San Diego has several exciting out-of-home advertising options to choose from including billboards, bus advertising (on the buses), trolley wraps, bus benches and shelters (at the bus stops), mobile billboards as well as other forms of outdoor advertising.
Determining what method of advertising works best we’ll be completely based on what you’re trying to accomplish. For instance, targeting the San Diego convention Center will have a completely different strategy than targeting mass exposure on a major freeway.
Is Outdoor Advertising in San Diego right for you?
Ranked as the #1 US Travel destination by Money Magazine in March of 2016, San Diego is a very lucrative county to utilize outdoor advertising. Strategically placed billboards and other outdoor advertising help you to pinpoint your exact target demographic, without wasted ad dollars in unneeded areas.
North County offers exciting freeway billboards, bus ads, and Sprinter Ads. In addition to billboards and bus advertising, the rest of San Diego County offers airport ads, bus bench ads, bus shelters, mobile billboards and even trolley ads.
TIP: Trolley ads and Mobile billboards are highly valuable advertising options for targeting conventions in SD such as Comic-Con.
If you wish to know if outdoor advertising is right for your business, we recommend that you speak with an outdoor ad expert.
Outdoor Advertising Options in San Diego, CA
Billboard Advertising
With over 3 million residents in San Diego County, billboard advertising can make a very big impact. San Diego freeway billboard deliver between 300,000 – 900,000 adult impressions on a weekly basis! The coastal communities as well as various cities inland offer great small and medium sized billboard opportunities as well.
7 categories of advertisers in San Diego who have benefited from billboards include:
- Automotive (car dealers and manufacturers)
- Entertainment (movies, shows, expos)
- Education (Charter Schools, Colleges and Universities)
- Government & Unions
- Healthcare & Medical Industry
- Retail and Storefront Locations
- Online promoters and e-Commerce
Bus Advertising
Where billboards are lacking, bus advertising helps fill the gaps. Bus advertising is very beneficial throughout San Diego because it allows you to maximize exposure and target the hard-to-reach areas of the county.
7 affluent cities and neighborhoods San Diego buses travel through include:
- Carlsbad
- Coronado
- Del Mar
- La Jolla
- Mission Hills
- Rancho Bernardo
- Point Loma
Transit Advertising
Bus Shelters
Bus Shelter advertising in San Diego County can be a cost-effective long-term branding strategy. At 48″ wide x 69″ high, they can be purchased on their own in affluent areas like La Jolla/UTC area or throughout other regions of San Diego like Hillcrest, El Cjaon and even in downtown.
Bus Benches
Bus benches are a great addition to a mixed media campaign, and can be found primarily in Downtown San Diego.
Mobile Billboard Ads
Mobile billboard trucks are basically double-sided billboards on wheels. They give you an impressive 10′ high x 22′ wide ad space to get your message out. Mobile billboard advertising typically runs for eight hours per day, any day of the week Monday through Sunday.
The billboard trucks running in San Diego are Night lit, as well as GPS tracked, with reports being provided at the end of each week, or as needed. Also, unlike certain areas such as West Hollywood, there are no restricted cities where these are allowed to run.
TIP: Mobile billboards work very well for targeting events such as Shows & Expo’s at the San Diego Convention Center.
Freeway Billboards
The freeways in San Diego County which have static and digital LED (electronic) billboard coverage are:
- Interstate Freeways in San Diego with billboards include the I-5, I-8, I-15 or I-805 freeways.
- State Routes (Highways) with billboards in SD include State Route 78, 94 and the 163.
Highway 76 @ Airport Rd is a possible location for an exciting new digital billboard. Please contact us if you would like to be informed of new billboard updates.
North County
North county bus advertising is divided between 2 seperate bus garages:
- Escondido – Bus routes running in San Marcos, Escondido and other cities in the east
- Oceanside – Bus routes running in Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, Encinitas and other coastal cities of north county
The types of bus advertising offered in North County inlcude:
- Full wraps – The entire bus, including all sides, back of the bus.
- Ultra Super King – The entire side of the bus from top or any variation from top to bottom
- Full back – The whole back of the bus
- Kings – Sides: 30″ high x 12′ wide
- Tails – Back of the bus: 28″ high x 69″ wide
TIP: Bus fullbacks frequently go on sale at heavily discounted rates. Please contact us for actual pricing and availability.
Street Billboards
The top 10 most frequently advertised cities throughout San Diego with billboards include:
- San Diego
- San Marcos
- Oceanside
- Vista
- El Cajon
- National City
- Chula Vista
- La Mesa
- Del Mar
- Encinitas
San Diego (General)
The types of bus advertising offered in throughout all of San Diego (excluding North County):
- Full wraps – The entire bus, including all sides, back of the bus.
- Ultra Super King – The entire side of the bus from top or any variation from top to bottom
- Full back – The whole back of the bus
TIP: The best way to get the maximum use for bus ads is to amortize the production costs by advertising 6 months are longer.