Hasta La Creative!

Ad Age looks at the LA Times use of digital outdoor boards.

Los Angelenos plagued by traffic delays or seeking a productive roadside distraction will be able to catch exclusive news via 10 digital billboards placed across the city by Clear Channel Outdoor. The Los Angeles Times is the first newspaper to use the company’s digital billboards and web-based interface for news alerts and branding.

The editorial content will be comprised of mostly regional sports, politics and entertainment stories, as well as promotions for local events the paper hosts annually, like next month’s Festival of Books. “You’re not likely to see a story about some breaking news that happened in Iraq. We’re definitely focused more on signature pieces, content elements, blogs, columnists, stories, products and events that are unique to us,” John O’Loughlin, Los Angeles Times’ president-targeted media and senior VP-marketing said.

The billboards’ content will rotate roughly every eight seconds, and can be updated at any time from the Times’ digital newsroom. An eight-second spot will be displayed on the 10 boards 70,910 times per week, reaching a combined total of 455,300 people per day.