Do bans on illuminated on-premise signs matter? Balancing environmental impact with the impact on businesses

Abstract

Recent years have seen some US municipalities implementing restrictions on lighted on-premise signs, often based on environmental arguments. At the same time, sign companies and sign users argue that restrictions are harmful to businesses. To date there has not been any research on the degree to which restrictions on illuminated signs are harmful to businesses. To this end, this study reports the results of a nationally representative sample of on-premise sign users which explores the degree to which sign users: (1) rely on the signs to help them perform key marketing functions; and (2) report that these signs impact their bottom line. Findings indicate that respondents strongly agree that lighted on-premise signs perform key marketing functions for them and a majority of respondents believe that restrictions on lighting harm their profitability.