Kevin Conlin on Solar Powered Billboards

At last year’s Geopath/OAAA convention, Lamar’s CEO Sean Reilly predicted that within 10 years most of Lamar’s billboards would be off the power grid or feeding the power grid due the use of solar power.

Autonomous Power Solutions wants to make this happen.  The company has installed solar powered billboards for Lamar, Clear Channel Outdoor, Ralston Outdoor and Sign-Ads.  Insider talked with the CEO Kevin Conlin about solar and billboards.

Kevin tell us about Autonomous Power Solutions.

Since we’re based in the Houston, TX, area, our core business is oil and gas. We build high reliability power systems for remote locations without power; such as offshore platforms, mountain top repeaters, and pipeline measurement stations. Our systems are expected to last 30 years, with 99.99% reliability, and this is the mindset we bring to the solar lighting business.

MOUNT OLIVE TWP, New Jersey. – They flash different messages every eight seconds and police and other officials are convinced that digital billboards pose a hazardous distraction to passing motorists.

But despite police concerns, the township may not be able to block applications to set up flashing signs on Route 46 and Route 206.

The Planning Board is scheduled to resume hearings on Thursday, Feb. 9, into an application by Eye Spy Media Corp. of Lakeville, Pa., to erect two, 10- by 30-foot digital billboards to replace the Trading Post sign on Route 46 west in Budd Lake. One billboard would face eastbound traffic and the other would be seen by westbound travelers.

They would each provide eight second commercials with a maximum of eight advertisers per cycle.

The digital signage industry continues to grow. There is a new story daily regarding hardware and software that delivers more with smaller pixel pitches and more customization. With the new year upon us, it’s time to look at a few key questions regarding, “What’s on the horizon for digital signage?”

HD is old news, as 4K has entered the market, bringing UHD to customers. Lyle Bunn, analyst of dynamic place-based media, believes the “quality of content presentation” will help to drive industries towards 4K.

“The quality of content presentation is an increasing priority for product promotion in fashion, jewelry, travel, automotive, luxury and sporting goods and other retail categories, and for visitor engagement in museums, galleries and sporting venues,” Bunn said in an email. “The use of 4K will increase as brands seek to gain maximum advantage from brand communications investment.”

 When smokers walk by a certain billboard in Stockholm, something strange happens: The billboard coughs at them.

The innovative advertisement is paid for by a Swedish pharmacy chain that wants to encourage smokers to kick their smelly habit.

At first glance, the digital screen positioned outside a metro station shows only a simple photo of a model. But walk by with a lit cigarette and the man in the picture starts coughing, clearly bothered by the smoke.

The screen then changes again, offering various products sold by pharmacy chain Apotek Hjartat that can help smokers quit.

Akestam Holst, the agency behind the campaign, created the effect by attaching smoke detectors to the digital advertising screen. They chose a location where people often smoke — Stockholm’s Odenplan square — and let the coughing begin.

The agency filmed the reactions of smokers — some express surprise, others react with laughter. The resulting video has been posted online and is being shared widely.

“The purpose was to drive the conversation about this topic, documenting the reactions, encouraging people to live a healthy lifestyle,” said Fredrik Kullberg, marketing director at Apotek Hjartat. “The reaction has been mostly really positive.”

The timing of the campaign was deliberate. “We released this initiative that aims to help people with one of the most common New Year’s resolutions — quit smoking,” said Ida Persson, spokeswoman for the agency.

The Church property is in a single-family residence zone next to commercial, urban residential, downtown, and industrial zones, all of which permit digital signs.  The Church is located on Antioch Road, a four-land roadway with about 14,000 travelers each day.  Since 1956, the Church has had a monument sign consisting of glass display cases surrounded by brick framework.  The sign included messages and information about Church activities that were manually  added using letters hung from cup hooks.  In 2010, at a cost of $11,000, the Church installed a digital sign, which replaced the display case, but no changes were made to the brick surround.  At this time, the Church was unaware that the Kansas City sign ordinance prohibited digital signs in residential zones (Section 88-445-06-A-4 of the code).  Accordingly, the Church did not seek a variance before installing the digital sign component.

About a year later, the City issued a notice of violation to the Church for installing the digital component without seeking a variance.  The Church then sought and was denied a variance.  Its local appeal of the Board’s decision was also denied.  Following this local process, the Church sued in Clay County Circuit Court.  The Circuit Court entered judgment in favor of the Church and ordered the issuance of the variance, but did not address the Church’s constitutional claim finding it to be moot.

The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the Circuit Court’s decision that the Church was entitled to the variance.  First, the Court of Appeals rejected the Board’s assertion that it had no authority to issue a variance as to the “type” of sign under the code.  Section 88-445-12 of the code states: “The Board of Zoning Adjustment may grant variances to the requirement for signs, except as to the type and number.”  (emphasis added).  But a “digital sign” is a “component” of a sign (Section 88-810) – not a sign “type.”  Rather, Section 88-445-12 defines “sign type” as:

A group or class of signs that are regulated, allowed, or not allowed in this code as a group or class.  Sign types include, but are not limited to, pole signs, monument signs, oversized monument signs, outdoor advertising signs, wall signs, projecting signs, roof signs, ornamental tower signs, electronic or digital or motorized signs, banner signs, and temporary signs.

As found by the Court of Appeals, the monument sign which had been there since 1956 was the “sign type,” so the Board had authority to grant a variance to permit a digital component for a monument sign.

The Court of Appeals also found that the Church had proven practical difficulty warranting issuance of the variance: (a) the variation was not substantial; (b) the sign does not effect a substantial change to the character of the neighborhood; and (c) the Church lacks other means of advertising or communication, such as fliers or paid advertisement.  Like the Circuit Court, the Court of Appeals did not address the Church’s claim that the code violated the First Amendment by favoring commercial speech above non-commercial speech.