Having worked in the outdoor industry for over 20 years, many of them spent right in the heart of Times Square, I have seen it all. Experiential events, augmented reality, 3D props that move and steam, characters in furry costumes, naked cowboys with guitars...you name it. The most memorable executions all have something in common — great creative.

Whether I am in a city walking by transit shelters, traveling through airports scanning baggage claim screens or driving around town passing bulletins and posters, my eyes always gravitate up, looking for the best examples. It's natural for me to scan the landscape for these larger-than-life canvases promoting new brands, products or services that are relevant along my journey. Over the years I have seen countless examples and the best ones always have something in common. They stick to a set of tried and true best practices.

As I help lead teams of designers across the country, working with myriad brands and ad agencies, I have developed 7 fundamental ways any of them can have success when asked: "What can we do to make our billboards better?" I hope you find these easy to apply, and effective when developing your next out-of-home campaign to create impact, leave a lasting impression and drive consumer action.

Not everyone looks forward to their birthday (especially when phrases like "Pushing 40" and "Reaching 50" are the norm) – but brands sure do. They have cause for celebration as their companies have withstood the challenges of the marketplace over many decades, and have a legacy to show for it.

That's right...one biiillliiion passengers. More people than ever are traveling today—passenger traffic at our airports has grown year-over-year by 7.3%. Individual airports reached record breaking passenger numbers, with Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson remaining the busiest airport in the world for the 20 ^th consecutive year, and Chicago's O'Hare named the nation's busiest airport in terms of total flights in 2018 (over 900,000!)

Six out of ten of the most connected airports in the U.S. for 2018 (Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis & Philadelphia) are part of the Clear Channel Airports portfolio. Kicking off 2019, we marked a milestone: Advertisers can now reach one billion annual passengers throughout our Global Network of airports, including the growing surge of millennials who are racking up frequent flyer miles.

After the decorations and holiday lights were finally stowed...(wait, you don't still have your lights up, do you?), we hope you've caught up on your "To (Binge) Watch" list. It's about time you found out what all those people on YouTube walking around blindfolded with birds on their shoulders, walking into walls are doing—and what they've been watching. And then there are your neighbors tossing boxes out front, proclaiming "This doesn't bring me joy!" What's going on? Here's a hint, check out these displays in Times Square and more of What We're Loving for your OOH cultural check:

It's the most wonderful time of the year...there are bright lights, snowmen and reindeer  everywhere you turn, and billboards providing entertainment and seasonal cheer for frenzied commuters and last-minute shoppers on the go, go go.

Whether they're home-bound, warm-weather bound or off to a destination less charted,  travelers are in countdown mode to take flight this holiday season. AAA projects 54.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving, a 4.8 percent increase over last year. 

"Consumers have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season: higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels of household wealth," said Bill Sutherland, AAA Travel senior vice president. "This is translating into more travelers kicking off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving getaway, building on a positive year for the travel industry."

For some, the thought of stowing the Halloween decorations and going full-on 'Santa and snowflakes mode' is just too much. They need more transition time. Don't fret, the terror isn't gone yet − we're sharing some of our scarier fall campaigns, and Mr. Grinch himself for those cringing at holiday music (too soon, too soon)!

There's nothing we love more than the creative geniuses that display their art on our billboards across the country. Check them out in these unskippable campaigns.

Regardless of issue, affiliation, party, candidate or zip code, only one thing will make a difference on November 6th: Showing up. Of the myriad challenges political candidates face today—delivering campaign messages to their voters, getting new voters to the polls, standing out against their opponents—what they need most is for their constituents to move beyond social media posts and dinnertime debate and to VOTE.

Billboards deliver by building brand awareness, driving action with no interruptions, reaching voters by district, demographics and behavior and by being omnipresent. While  political campaigns have traditionally placed their buys on television, many are becoming more savvy in their planning and using out-of-home strategically, including Vote.org, which placed their messaging on more than 2,500 billboards in nine states, including Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

With fall's arrival, it gets darker earlier, an eeriness lurks in the air, protruding skeleton bones emerge from lawns across your neighborhood, and creepy clowns are celebrated. Folks...this is Halloween.

Halloween is the third largest holiday in the U.S., following Christmas and the Super Bowl, and almost 80% of households are expected to make related purchases. With over 171 million Americans celebrating Halloween each year, there is a huge opportunity for your brand to utilize the largest creative canvas to elevate your seasonal message—and to share a little scare!

With unusually warm weather lingering across the country, the only thing making it feel like fall again − is football season!  Tailgating, trash-talking, high-fiving, Super Bowl-predicting fans dominate the chatter at the office, on social and in our very own kitchens, Thursday thru Monday. Ok, it's ALL THE TIME...up until the Big Game in Atlanta this February.

While you may think of NFL fans as glued to the screen, they're on the move:

• 59% are more likely to have a daily commute of 30+ minutes
• 52% are more likely to travel 500+ miles a week, and
• 124% are more likely to take 3+ personal vacations a year (maybe they're checking off that stadium bucket list one by one?)

With 256 regular season games and over 17 million fans heading to stadiums each season, there is huge upside for advertisers to align themselves with game day. Whether your brand's focus is local or more of a national play, out-of-home is an unskippable medium that reaches consumers en route to the game, those picking up eats for their own turf, and those reliving every blissful touchdown during their drive the next morning.