Ahead of Cannes Lions, New Global Benchmark Finds 63x Gap in Billboard Attention Efficiency

New Global Benchmark compares the audience efficiency of major digital billboards worldwide as attention measurement becomes a central issue for advertisers.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, June 18, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- DSA Signage, a provider of premium digital out-of-home signage locations, has released the Global Signage Attention Benchmark, a new comparative analysis of major digital advertising locations worldwide, ranked by the estimated audience efficiency of reaching 1,000 estimated viewers. The release comes ahead of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (22–26 June 2026), where attention measurement, media efficiency, and ROI accountability are expected to be among the industry's most discussed topics.

The findings arrive as advertisers increasingly shift from measuring media based solely on impressions and reach to evaluating attention, visibility, and outcome-based performance. As brands face growing pressure to justify media investment, understanding how efficiently different environments convert exposure into audience attention has become a central planning consideration.

The benchmark arrives as global spending on digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising continues to grow, with the U.S. market alone surpassing $9 billion in 2024 [1]. While markets use different audience measurement systems, such Geopath in the US or Route in the UK, advertisers have lacked a consistent framework for comparing billboard performance internationally. The analysis identifies where visibility is priced most and least efficiently.

The study assessed ten high-traffic advertising hubs across the U.S., Japan, China, Thailand, South Korea, and the U.K. By combining estimated daily footfall, screen visibility relative to competing displays, and advertising costs, the benchmark calculates a standardized cost-per-1,000-viewers (CPM) metric designed to measure audience efficiency across global markets.

Why Visibility and Attention Are Not the Same

While landmark advertising locations are often associated with prestige and reach, the findings suggest that high foot traffic alone does not guarantee cost-efficient audience attention. Some of the world's most recognizable advertising districts delivered lower efficiency because viewer attention is spread across numerous competing digital displays.

By contrast, several Asian locations combined high pedestrian density with lower media competition, allowing individual screens to capture a greater share of attention at a lower cost. The analysis also found that large-scale naked-eye 3D displays, such as Tokyo's famous Cross Shinjuku Vision, appear to generate more concentrated viewer attention than traditional billboard environments.

Key Findings:

- The estimated cost of reaching 1,000 viewers varies by more than 60 times globally across the locations analyzed, ranging from $12.50 in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district to $788.16 at London’s Piccadilly Circus.

- Times Square's estimated CPM is more than 17 times higher than Tokyo's Cross Shinjuku Vision.

- Asian locations dominate the efficiency rankings, with screens in Tokyo, Osaka, Bangkok, and Seoul delivering significantly lower CPMs than comparable landmark locations in Western markets.

- Despite recording the highest estimated foot traffic in the study, Shanghai ranked among the least efficient locations, suggesting that audience concentration can matter more than sheer volume.

- Seoul’s K-POP Square Media Wall recorded the highest estimated media share in the study, reflecting comparatively low visual clutter within the surrounding plaza environment.

- Large-scale naked-eye 3D displays, especially popular in Japan, ranked among the most cost-efficient formats analyzed, suggesting immersive display technology may improve attention capture in high-traffic urban environments.

Shokouh Shafiei, CEO of DSA Signage, explains:
"As the industry gathers in Cannes to debate attention metrics, AI-driven measurement, and how to prove real ROI, our benchmark puts a number on a question advertisers have been asking for years: does an iconic location actually mean an efficient one? In this case, the answer is a 63x gap between the most and least efficient screens we measured. Visibility and attention are not the same thing, and some of the world's most famous advertising districts are actually among the least efficient at converting exposure into real audience attention."

The full analysis, including a detailed overview of all factors and complete methodology, is available at: https://dsasignage.com/global-signage-attention-benchmark/

Source:
[1] Out of Home Advertising Association of America: Out of Home Advertising Revenue Surpasses $9 Billion, Highest Revenue Volume to Date

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About DSA Signage: DSA Signage is a California-based signage manufacturer with over 50 years of experience fabricating LED light-box, static, and digital drive-thru signage, and digital display solutions for brands in the quick-service restaurant, retail, hospitality, transportation, and sports and entertainment industries. All products are made in the USA and UL-Listed. www.dsasignage.com

Nadine Bloecher
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