Place-based media vs. billboards, TV and streaming: what Houston advertisers pay for attention.
A cost and audience comparison of advertising inside the places people visit (screens, doors, restrooms and counters) against billboards, broadcast TV, CTV/OTT, radio, social and search, with Houston driving and crash data.
Updated 2026-10-11
Published Oct 3, 2026 · Updated 2026-10-11 · By Pumpjack Media Research · ~7 min read
Key findings
- Billboards win on raw price, not on attention. Static billboards run $2–9 CPM, but federal eye-tracking research found highway billboard glances rarely last more than one second.[1][8]
- Streaming TV leaks budget. 18% of US CTV impressions were invalid traffic in Q2 2025, and 8–10% have been counted while the TV was off.[5][6]
- Search is the most expensive way to reach an injured driver. "Car accident lawyer houston" costs about $90 per click. That buys roughly 9,000 impressions at a $10 CPM.[4]
- Houston is a driving market. Harris County has 3.5 million registered vehicles, 69.4 million vehicle miles a day and 107,472 reported crashes in 2025.[9][11]
- In-venue media buys minutes, not seconds. People see it out of the car, up close, during a visit, and the same people come back week after week.
1 · What place-based media is
Place-based media is advertising inside and around the places people visit during their day: video screens, door graphics, restroom panels, counter displays and exterior signage. The common thread is a person who has left the car and has a few minutes with nothing else to look at. Venues range from retail stops and restaurants along commuter corridors to recreation and sports venues where visitors stay an hour or more.
2 · Cost per thousand impressions, by channel
CPM (cost per thousand impressions) is the common unit for comparing media. The ranges below come from published marketplace data and buying guides for 2025–2026.
| Channel | CPM / cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Static billboard | $2–$9 | AdQuick 2025–26 [1] |
| In-venue retail screens | $4–$10 | AdQuick 2026 [1] |
| Digital billboard (roadside) | $7.50–$25 | AdQuick 2025–26 [1] |
| Local radio (Houston) | $11–$30 | Ad Results Media 2025 [3] |
| Local broadcast TV | $10–$60 | AdWave Q2 2026 [2] |
| CTV / OTT | $15–$45 | eMarketer via AdWave 2026 [2] |
| Facebook (US) | $20.24–$27.47 | Superads 2025–26 [3] |
| Google Search, legal (avg. CPC) | $9.87 per click | LocaliQ 2026 [4] |
| "car accident lawyer houston" | ~$90 per click | Ahrefs Sept 2026 [4] |
Reading the numbers: static billboards are the cheapest impression on paper, and in-venue screens sit close to them on price. The difference is what the impression buys, which is the next section.
3 · What an impression actually buys
Billboards: about one second
In a Federal Highway Administration eye-tracking study, "the longest glance at a CEVMS was less than 1.3 seconds and glances greater than 1 second were rare." Drivers spent under 5% of the time a sign was visible looking at off-premise advertising.[8]
Streaming TV: impressions nobody saw
Pixalate measured an 18% invalid-traffic rate on US CTV in Q2 2025.[5] A GroupM and iSpot study found 8–10% of CTV impressions were counted while the TV was off, about $1 billion in ads.[6] DoubleVerify reported a 140% rise in CTV fraud schemes from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026.[7] Streaming buys also target households, so an ad aimed at drivers plays to everyone on the couch.
Illustrative arithmetic, not a published figure: at a $26 average CTV CPM, removing 18% invalid traffic and 9% TV-off impressions leaves an effective cost of about $35+ per thousand real views.
In-venue: minutes, in person
Place-based placements reach a person standing in front of the screen, door or counter at a known place and time, and every surface of the visit (door, aisle, restroom, counter) is another exposure in the same visit. Routine visits add frequency: the same person passes the same screen again and again.
4 · The Houston driver
Commercial drivers
The Houston metro employs 47,590 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, in a state with more than any other (212,770).[13] Port Houston served about 2.5 million trucks in 2025.[14] Nine of Texas's 13 worst truck bottlenecks are in Houston, including I-45 at I-69/US-59 (#4 nationally).[15]
Crash exposure
Harris County recorded 107,472 crashes in 2025, with 503 deaths and 2,630 suspected serious injuries.[11] 5,913 of those crashes involved a commercial motor vehicle.[12] The City of Houston's High Injury Network, 8.9% of city streets, accounts for 58% of traffic deaths and serious injuries (2018–2022).[18]
5 · After a crash: where state law sends drivers
Texas requires drivers in a minor freeway crash to get out of the travel lanes. Transportation Code §550.022(b): "If a collision occurs on a main lane, ramp, shoulder, median, or adjacent area of a freeway in a metropolitan area and each vehicle involved can be normally and safely driven, each operator shall move the operator's vehicle as soon as possible to a designated collision investigation site, if available, a location on the frontage road, the nearest suitable cross street, or other suitable location…"[16] TxDOT's "Move It" guidance names "a side street, parking lot, or shoulder."[17]
Frontage roads, cross streets and parking lots are where many of Houston's everyday businesses sit. No public data measures what share of crash-involved drivers stop at a particular kind of business. We present the legal requirement, not a statistic.
6 · Why injury law firms buy out-of-home
Legal services was the largest out-of-home advertising category by spend in 2025, up 21% year over year.[19] Lawyers also spent $1.2 billion on TV ads in 2023, about 45,000 ads a day, most of it for auto and injury cases.[20] On TV, a firm is one of dozens of lawyer ads in the same breaks. In search, it pays $90–100 a click for Houston injury terms.[4] Place-based media gives a firm repeated, local exposure to drivers on the corridors they use every day, often with category exclusivity by zone.
Compliance: place-based placements are passive, general advertising seen by everyone who visits. Venue staff never approach, refer or hand off anyone, and pricing never depends on leads, calls or cases. Advertisers remain responsible for Texas lawyer-advertising rules, including naming the responsible attorney and filing with the State Bar Advertising Review Committee.[21] Pumpjack Media is a media company, not a lawyer referral service.
7 · How it's measured and priced
Place-based media is priced like other media: by share of screen time in a loop and by the number of placements in each venue, over a set run. It is never priced per lead, call or case. Reporting covers verified plays per screen, impressions, reach and frequency, share of voice, effective CPM, and response through unique tracking numbers, QR codes and web addresses for each zone.
Frequently asked questions
Is place-based media cheaper than billboards?
On raw CPM, static billboards are usually cheaper ($2–9 vs. about $4–10 for in-venue retail screens). Per second of attention, in-venue placements win: highway billboard glances rarely last more than a second, while a visit lasts minutes.
How does place-based media compare to CTV and streaming TV?
CTV averages about $26 CPM ($15–45 typical). 18% of US CTV impressions were invalid traffic in Q2 2025, and 8–10% have been counted while the TV was off. In-venue screens reach a person standing in front of the screen at a known place and time.
Why do personal injury law firms buy out-of-home advertising?
Legal services was the largest out-of-home category by spend in 2025, Houston injury search clicks cost about $90 each, and venues along commuter corridors reach the same drivers repeatedly, as passive general advertising.
How is place-based media priced?
By share of screen time and number of placements per venue over a set run, like other media. Never per lead, call or case.
Sources
- AdQuick, billboard and out-of-home cost benchmarks; programmatic DOOH CPM benchmarks (2025–26). www.adquick.com · www.adquick.com
- AdWave citing eMarketer, Average CTV CPM Q2 2026; Simulmedia, How much do TV ads cost (2025). adwave.com · www.simulmedia.com
- Ad Results Media, Radio ad costs (2025); Superads, Facebook CPM US (2025–26). adresultsmedia.com · www.superads.ai
- Ahrefs, 100 most expensive keywords (Sept 2026); LocaliQ, Search advertising benchmarks 2026. www.ahrefs.com · localiq.com
- Pixalate, Q2 2025 invalid traffic report (fraud-measurement vendor). www.globenewswire.com
- GroupM and iSpot study, CTV ads counted while the TV is off (2022), via TVB. www.tvb.org
- DoubleVerify 2026 global insights, via ExchangeWire (verification vendor). www.exchangewire.com
- Federal Highway Administration, Driver visual behavior in the presence of commercial electronic variable message signs (2011). rosap.ntl.bts.gov
- Harris County, Transportation by the Numbers (2025). hcoed.harriscountytx.gov
- Data USA (American Community Survey), Harris County profile. datausa.io
- TxDOT, Crashes and Injuries by County 2025. www.txdot.gov
- TxDOT, CMV-involved crashes and injuries by county 2025. www.txdot.gov
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2023, Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (53-3032). www.bls.gov
- Port Houston, 2025 results. porthouston.com
- ATRI 2024 truck bottlenecks, via Bulk Transporter. www.bulktransporter.com
- Texas Transportation Code §550.022. texas.public.law
- TxDOT, "Move It" flyer. ftp.txdot.gov
- City of Houston, Vision Zero High Injury Network 2022 and Vision Zero program. cohgis-mycity.opendata.arcgis.com · houstontx.gov
- OAAA 2025 out-of-home revenue, via Media4Growth. www.media4growth.com
- X Ante legal advertising data, via Insurance Journal (Apr 2024). www.insurancejournal.com
- Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, Part VII; Texas Penal Code §38.12. www.legalethicstexas.com · texas.public.law
Third-party figures are industry data from the sources above, not Pumpjack Media results.