The world's most unique billboard: The hefty price tag to advertise on the Vegas Sphere

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The Sphere is years in the making with a hefty price tag of $2.3 Billion. CEO James Dolan would surely like to start making that money back.

Concerts, movies, and performances inside the newest Vegas attraction will generate revenue, but the true return on investment might be coming from the outside.

According to an agency pitch deck reviewed by News 3, a one-week campaign could cost $650,000. A one-day campaign will cost $450,000. A representative with the agency confirmed the Sphere provided those numbers.

“If you look at the absolute cost of advertising, it's expensive,” said Marla Royne Stafford, a professor of marketing at UNLV’s Lee Business School. “But when you look at the relative cost of advertising, and how much it's going to cost to reach each person, or each individual, it's actually not super expensive.”

She noted the strong social media reach the Sphere has already proven to have. Searches of the Sphere on social media apps like TikTok show videos with hundreds of thousands of views, with some in the millions.

Stafford said if you compare it to something like the Super Bowl, a 30-second TV ad will cost a company about $7.5 million in 2024 (that game is also happening in Vegas). She noted that the Super Bowl total doesn’t include production.

According to the Sphere’s pitch deck materials reviewed by News 3, the $650,000 or $450,000 price tag will include the production of a 90-second spot created by their creative team.

The documents also show that a one-week flight will feature 276 appearances and 414+ minutes (about seven hours) of airtime per week. It also includes a four-hour, 50% takeover on a chosen date. A one-day flight consists of a four-hour, 50% takeover of screentime. The prices could change as the Sphere grows and learns its potential, Stafford said.

Though the costs for Exosphere advertisements might seem steep to some, Stafford said a lot of the advertisers that will be attracted have deep pockets. Exosphere is the name for outside of the Sphere.

“If you look at the budgets of some of these top companies, they're incredible. They're in the billions of dollars. So $450,000 or $650,000 for them is nothing,” said Stafford. “And when you look at what you're going to get, it doesn't look like a bad deal to me for some of these companies.”

According to the company, the Exosphere is the largest LED screen on Earth. It consists of about 1.2 million LED pucks across 580,000 square feet of surface.

It’s already begun demonstrating its advertising potential with current promotions for shows like “Dancing with the Stars” or movies like DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming Trolls Band Together film.

Earlier in the summer after The Exosphere’s Independence Day debut, there were ads for NBA Summer League. More recently, ads for a Mortal Kombat video game could also be seen.

On Wednesday, Sphere Entertainment Co. announced the Trolls promotion was a first of its kind by a movie studio to launch a brand campaign specifically designed for the Exosphere.

“We’re thrilled to have the innovative and imaginative DreamWorks Animation be the first movie studio to collaborate on a bespoke marketing campaign for the Exosphere,” said David Hopkinson, President and Chief Operating Officer of MSG Sports, who oversees brand partnerships across Sphere Entertainment. “The Exosphere’s larger-than-life canvas has become the premier platform for brands looking to tell their stories on an unparalleled scale, reaching audiences across the globe from the heart of Las Vegas.”

Costs ballooned over the years as COVID affected the prices of construction materials. In investor calls, Sphere executives announced lofty goals with the venue’s advertising potential.

Glenn Nowak, an associate professor of architecture at UNLV, said creating a new experience like the Sphere is going to come with a higher price tag. He said it’s now one of the “most iconic buildings in the world.”

“We have a beautiful building that can project amazing art, but it also has a huge advertising revenue built into its business plan. I anticipate we'll see a lot more of that,” said Nowak. “We've been seeing that through buildings up and down the Strip. We see it in places like Times Square. But here, it might have another couple of zeros behind it. That's the direction this scale of architecture is really going.”

The much-anticipated Sphere is officially opening on Friday, Sept 30, with U2 launching a 25-show residency.

Shortly after, movie director Darren Aronofsky will debut “Postcard From Earth,” a movie exclusively designed for the Sphere’s unique interior. Showings start Oct. 6 and run four days a week, according to the Sphere’s website.