Are Interactive Billboards the future?

Explaining the title of my blog, this topic is an interesting case. Interactive billboards are the latest innovation to Pass IT On!
‘IT’ stands for ‘Information Technology’, and so I litteraly mean IT. By using IT, companies are able to spread word of their products or services in an innovative manner.

These days, companies are searching for ways to attract consumers by using the newest technology. An interactive billboard is one of these methods. Just Google the term and see for yourself how many articles and info there are to be found about interactive billboards! From an edible chocolate billboard, to colour sensitive interactive billboards.
Check out the video below for another interesting example of a campaign in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.



With this campaign, Dutch authorities created awareness for street violence by making use of the surroundings. I think it's pretty innovative!
After a few days, the campaign got a lot of attention in the media. On Geenstijl.nl, the video was watched 200.000 times a day and generated a big discussion.

It seems like a good way for companies to get more interactive with customers. It also makes the advertisements more fun and interesting. The billboards can communicate with mobile devices, social media and have touchscreens. But will this be the future?
Possible problems that might arise are the high costs and the difficulty to make the billboards safe. Safety is an issue due to the fact that private information is shared and shown. High costs might be a problem because creating huge touchscreens is still quite costly. Since the billboards are public, the expensive billboards somehow need to be protected against thieves.
I am also wondering whether customers will actually use it. However, an interactive billboard is a nice way to attract attention. It can greatly contribute to branding and word of mouth through social media.

But do these benefits outweigh the drawbacks? Will there be interactive billboards on every bus stop and train platform in the future? I'm curious what you think! Use the comment box below for letting me know :)