What is the best time of day to run a billboard advert?
For most brands, the two commute peaks — roughly 8am to 11am and 5pm to 9pm. But the better move on digital is to run different creative in each: a functional message in the morning and an emotional or offer-led one in the evening.
The obvious answer is "rush hour", and the obvious answer is mostly right. But it is also the least interesting thing digital lets you do, and almost nobody uses the capability properly.
The two peaks, and what people are doing in them
A morning commuter is task-focused, slightly late, and thinking about the day ahead. An evening commuter is tired, has decisions to make about dinner, and is far more receptive to something pleasurable.
Same person. Same screen. Completely different frame of mind. Running one identical file at both ends of the day is leaving something on the table.
| Window | Mindset | What tends to land |
|---|---|---|
| 8am - 11am | Purposeful, time-poor | Utility: opening hours, a service, a location |
| 11am - 4pm | Errands, shopping, deliveries | Retail offers, in-store promotions |
| 5pm - 9pm | Winding down, deciding | Food, leisure, brand and emotional work |
| After 9pm | Lighter traffic, higher attention | Brand presence, launches, category ownership |
Day-parts and what to say in them
The practical constraint
Not every screen runs all day. Across our network, on-air windows range from six hours to fifteen, and most sites take a short maintenance break in the early afternoon. If the evening peak is the one you care about, check the window before you fall in love with the site — a screen that closes at 7pm is no good to a restaurant.
See the actual sites
Every screen has its own page with a photograph, the size, the direction it faces and the hours it runs.
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