What is the Typical Lead Time Required for Setting up Outdoor Advertisements?

Published On
June 18, 2025
This blog explains the concept of "lead time" in outdoor advertising, emphasizing its importance in planning, production, and installation. It outlines average lead times for various ad formats, helping brands set realistic expectations for campaign timelines and execution.

It's not easy to run OOH advertising campaigns. A successful OOH ad campaign needs strategies, ground research, a creative team, permissions, etc. to hit the right spot.
However, one of the most important factors for an OOH ad campaign is ‘TIME’. Here comes the understanding of preparation and installation requirements and how small issues can doom your ad campaign. The best idea is to find the right lead time for OOH advertising campaigns and discuss it with the service provider.

What is Lead Time?

Lead Time refers to the time required for the process from beginning to end. In the case of outdoor advertisements, lead time talks about discussion, planning, processing, manufacturing, and installation periods. For note, Lead time for OOH advertising campaigns depend on the company efficiency, ad complexity, and weather conditions.

Why is Managing Lead Time Important for OOH Advertising Campaigns?

Lead time considers all the sub-procedures for outdoor advertising that includes all the procedures for planning the outdoor ads from the time of installation request.  A thoughtful OOH ad lead time helps brands understand the importance of each procedure and track the progress.
Moreover, there will be no excess pressure on the agencies, elevating their performance excellence.

Planning the right lead time allows for the following:

  • Time to research & understand all aspects of outdoor advertisement.
  • Arrange & organize raw materials, locations, vendors, etc.
  • Time to design the creatives, write copies, renditions, and approval.
  • Choosing the right vendors and manufacturing the creatives.
  • Installation of the outdoor ads.

Typical Lead Time for Different OOH Advertisements

  • Billboards: Billboard ads are huge so it takes approximately 1-12 weeks to create and install them on highways and city market areas. The lead time for billboard ads also depends on the complexity of the campaign.
  • Transit Ads: Transit ads use vehicles to promote their ad remotely. They generally take 2-4 weeks.
  • Digital Outdoor Ads: Brand scan releases their ads as soon as they are ready for publishing. Digital outdoor ads may take as little as hours to 3 days for standard placements.
  • Street Furniture Ads: Street furniture ads typically take around 2-4 weeks.
  • Outdoor Signs: They are usually seen outside the store. These usually take about 2-6 weeks.
  • Retail Advertising: The lead time for retail advertising can range from 1 week to several months, based on the campaign scale
  • Banners: Banners generally take around 1-2 weeks of lead time.
  • Experiential Ads: Experiential ads are unique and actively involve the audience. They often need 4-12 weeks, depending on the event's complexity.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have discussed ‘Lead Time’ and how it helps brands and small businesses create successful outdoor ad campaigns. We have also discussed the average lead time required for various outdoor ads. However, they may differ from agency to agency. While finalizing a deal, brands should discuss their expectations with the service providers. Outdoor ad agencies should also present a detailed timeline for their operations and the final installation with a realistic deadline.
Looking for a professional outdoor advertising agency to launch your next campaign? Connect with Vigyapan Mart experts today!

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