Let's Go Back in Time.

It's the end of summer 2009. I'm returning from Zakopane to Warsaw, beautiful weather. From around the bend, an equally beautiful billboard emerges (it's truly beautiful, I know a thing or two about it, after all), and on it, five figures are striding confidently towards a bright future. And here the first problems arise: the silhouettes are very indistinct. I stop the car. Now I see, the figure in the middle is the Prime Minister, on the left, probably the President. I'm guessing more than reading the indistinct inscription – Poland deserves a miracle. So the matter becomes clear – it's an election poster. I frantically try to remember if I've missed anything, but no, no one had announced any elections, the elections were two years ago after all...

This is just an example, it doesn't matter that it's from a few years ago; each of us encounters this practice. An advertising campaign ends, and the old poster remains until a new campaign appears. Sometimes the break lasts a month or two, but there are record-holders who can prolong such a situation for years. Is this good?

Let's Think for a Moment if We Gain Anything.

And What Do We Lose? What Does our Client Lose?

A paper poster, like everything in the world, has its durability, and it's not eternal. 3 months
is the limit that should not be exceeded. Falling rain, freezing water, shining sun, blowing wind – all of this causes the paper surface to gradually deteriorate. After some time, the poster becomes completely unreadable. Then, there's no question of aesthetics for such a display. This is simply shooting oneself in the foot. This is the first and most obvious issue.

Another issue is copyright, which in some cases is purchased for a specific campaign. If this right is time-limited, we put the Client in trouble.

Another issue is advertising things that are already outdated. This applies, for example, to the Client's temporary campaigns. In what situation do we put the Client and a person who read information about the possibility of promotional phone purchases, only to find out upon arriving at the store that this promotional offer ended a month ago?

Yet another situation: A Client is interested in a directional billboard for their company – they go to check out the options and see two billboards: the first one nicely set up with an aesthetic display, and the second one -
from which remnants of a poster are hanging. Which one will they be interested in?

Let's also answer the question – do we have a chance to offer the Client media for the next period so that the campaign is extended in this way, under the existing commercial terms? Very little, because Clients know that in all likelihood their campaign won't be covered anyway.

So, should media be covered with blank paper after completed campaigns, or as we say in our jargon: to blank out?

I have no doubt that they should (though there are exceptions, for example, social campaigns whose idea is timeless can be presented as long as the aesthetics of the paper allow).
It's a shame that the answer to this question isn't as obvious for everyone.