> Most billboards are from [inter]national corporations. Local businesses usually rely on the most effective form of advertising, word-of-mouth. Your experienc

> Most billboards are from [inter]national corporations. Local businesses usually rely on the most effective form of advertising, word-of-mouth. Your experience of this will depend on where you're living. When I lived in a 100,000 population city, the local theatres and museums weren't really big/organised enough to run billboard marketing campaigns and could fill their seats without. On the other hand, in a 500,000+ population city you were more likely to see such organisations marketing. Places like theatres tend to have location-specific marketing needs, because if you're 90 minutes travel from the opera house you will not be attending a Tuesday evening performance that ends at 22:30*, and marketing it to you would be a waste of time. I still hate city advertising though, and the way the ad infestation spreads once it's started. * Yes, people will travel more than 90 minutes for a Christmas performance of The Nutcracker, as a special treat - perhaps even staying in a hotel. But if you're trying to keep your theatre open in months other than December, you've got to fill the seats. And of course, patrons who buy interval drinks can't drive home, further shrinking your core market...