Signs seen in a harsh light

Clear Channel is doubling its digital billboards in L.A. Critics call the signs distracting and an eyesore.

Now receiving prime billing in Los Angeles: digital billboards that advertisers see as a way to break through the marketing clutter.But the bright lights of these signs make many people cringe. Critics say they are a driving distraction and a neighborhood eyesore that should be forbidden.

But, in fact, digital signs are multiplying. Clear Channel Communications, which owns 10 such billboards throughout the city, is announcing plans today to double that number by the end of the month, making Los Angeles a prime growth area for these signs. The company also is expanding its network of digital signs in Chicago and Philadelphia, but its largest crop by September will be in Los Angeles."The more congested the area is, the more effective outdoor advertising can be," said Paul Meyer, president and chief operating officer of Clear Channel Outdoor.Advertisers like the signs because they're finding it difficult to reach consumers through traditional channels such as television and newspapers. But even fickle viewers go outside -- and in Southern California they're often stuck in traffic when they do so -- so billboards are harder to avoid. The digital signs allow marketers the flexibility to change their messages quickly, advertising daily promotions or special deals, Meyer said.They pay for the opportunity. A four-week campaign on a digital billboard, which flashes a different message every 8 seconds, costs $85,000, Meyer said. A campaign on 10 static billboards for a month costs half of that.Clear Channel isn't the only billboard company expanding its digital capabilities. There are more than 500 digital displays throughout the country, and analysts expect to see more of the country's 450,000 billboards converted in the next few years.Clear Channel's announcement comes six months after the company settled a lawsuit with the city. The suit came after Clear Channel and CBS Outdoor sued over a proposed ordinance that would have instituted an annual billboard inspection fee.The settlement levied an annual fee on billboards while allowing the companies to modernize their signs. The deal also gave Clear Channel and CBS Outdoor amnesty on billboards that lacked permits and allowed them to replace old static signs with flashy digital ones.Then, the community group Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight accused the City Council and city attorney of caving to the billboard company, but a judge prevented the group from filing a motion to stop the settlement. Now, representatives aren't surprised to hear that new digital signs are sprouting up."It's regrettable and a sellout of the aesthetic interests of every Los Angeles resident," said Gerald Silver, vice president of the community group.Some L.A. residents who live near the signs agree."My kitchen glows alternatively red, blue and orange," said Sarah Lagrotteria, a chef who moved into a new apartment near the Beverly Center only to discover that a digital sign had just been installed the next street over. The light flickers into her kitchen, she said, and sometimes she's driven to escape it by going into her bedroom and shutting the door.Her neighbor, Dora Davis, is not as fortunate. The billboard, which on a recent weeknight was flashing ads for the Hotel Bel Air, the movie "3:10 to Yuma" and a Wired magazine festival, shines into Davis' second-floor apartment, which is at the end of the building. The light reaches her bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom. Davis is having new blinds installed, but her windows for now are bare, allowing the lights to flicker in her rooms unabated."It came on at 5 a.m. and it was like someone slapping your face with red," she said. Davis' son called the company to complain, and Davis said the lights were slightly dimmed. But she still doesn't like the bright lights in her room and said she would prefer a regular billboard."But I'm stuck," she said. "There's nothing I can do about it."A man knocked on her door a few weeks ago with a petition to get rid of the sign, but Davis said she never heard from him again.Kevin Fry, the president of advocacy organization Scenic America, said the signs aren't just annoying but also dangerous. His group says that the billboards distract drivers and that signs on federal highways violate the Highway Beautification Act, which bans flashing and intermittent lights."State legislatures are passing laws left and right that regulate these signs," he said. "We think it's a tragic mistake."A bill introduced into the California Assembly this year by Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) would have permitted companies to replace highway billboards with digital displays. The bill passed the Assembly, but Ma's spokesman said it was pulled from the Senate after Bay Area residents began complaining about the brightness of a digital display on I-80 heading toward Oakland.Fry said that opposition from Scenic America and other advocacy groups might also have played a role. In a letter to the California Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing, Scenic America pointed to a federal study that showed that anything distracting drivers for more than two seconds was dangerous."The brightest object in the driver's field of vision containing frequently changing, complex messages is often going to distract drivers for more than two seconds," Fry wrote.The billboard industry has sponsored two safety studies of its own, conducted by engineering consultants Tantala Associates and researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. The studies conclude that drivers generally look at digital displays for less than a second, and that digital billboards neither cause nor prevent accidents.The industry says the signs can also be useful during an emergency, diverting travelers to different routes and putting out the word about missing children.Stephen Freitas, chief marketing officer for the Outdoor Advertising Assn. of America, said that the digital signs are no more distracting than regular billboards. Digital billboards are outfitted with sensors that dim light at night and on cloudy and overcast days, he said, and on sunny days are as bright as a static sign.Plus, he said, advertisers are demanding them.Jim Richardson, associate publisher of marketing for Wired magazine, said the signs were a good way to convey a lot of information without too much clutter.Wired also bought online ads and regular billboard space, but Richardson wanted to try out the newest outdoor advertising technique in one of the country's best markets for outdoor advertising -- where, he said, people always seem to be stuck in their cars.

Source: By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 20, 2007