YESCO says yes to mobile video displays
Meanwhile, Young Electric Sign Co. (YESCO) in Las Vegas got into the mobile LED display business through a different route. The company built its first mobile LED in 1999 and has since established a fleet of trucks and partnered with Englewood, Co.-based Mobile View to take advantage of mobile jumbotron opportunities.

“Take Chevy, for example,” says YESCO sales manager Neil Whitaker. “They’ll sponsor a downhill ski event, broadcast it on the screen and then have banner ads that go around the bottom promoting their cars and trucks. The real testimony to the effectiveness of the signage is repeat business from promoters because they see the value of it and are willing to pay the price.”

While there are currently few regulatory issues surrounding temporary set ups of mobile LED displays, state ordinances could present a challenge down the road. Industry players suspect rules could be implemented that determine how frequently the images can change and sound could be eliminated for on-road usage. Some cities already have existing ordinances on the books that outlaw mobile promotional vehicles of any kind.

Pushing the advertising piece
Like GoVision, most of YESCO’s business is in event rentals, but the mobile advertising piece is growing. “Recent technological developments have resulted in a significant reduction in the cost of LED display systems, which are quickly becoming the most sought after advertising solution on the market,” says Steve Velte, director of research and development for OnScreen Technologies.

One of their current units was designed for advertising at sporting and stadium events, store openings and any other events where the installation of a fixed screen is not feasible. Advertisers at a variety of professional sporting events and concerts have already used this unit at events like Daytona’s Bike Week, Jimmy Buffet concerts and Elvis Week and the company expects it to continue to generate significant revenues moving forward.

New ideas for a new millennium
The potential of the mobile LED display market is significant enought that many companies have made significant investments in development of LED Display technology.

Seems like a wise bet, with the worldwide outdoor advertising market reaching nearly $19 billion and the U.S. market representing $5.2 billion in 2002, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. An increasing percentage of that figure is using the technologies of motion display advertising. That said, there are still barriers to explosive growth.

“Energy consumption has become a limiting factor in the advancement of outdoor LED displays. Significant heat is generated when powering LEDs in outdoor displays that must compete with the sun,” says Velte. “It also means that a category of product with huge market potential - outdoor television and medium scale display advertising boards - has to this point been virtually technologically impossible.”

There have been many advances in LED display technology in recent years that allow for very desireable display characteristics in direct sunlight, yet avoid many of the challenges associated with sun-loading, wind-loading and excessive weight, while still providing higher resolution images than what the market has seen recently.

That’s good news for the various vendors touting the benefits of mobile LED displays for both advertising and event broadcasting. Curtis, for one, is thoroughly assured that his vision is a go.

“This is a wave of the future. Video is becoming more and more prevalent in our society everywhere,” says Curtis. “We will see a proliferation of outdoor video display technology and it will be available in every major market in the country in the next five years.”