Dynamo LED Displays supplied and installed a 10mm pixel pitch outdoor LED billboard in Cannes, France, for a UK media agency during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Built from outdoor rental LED cabinets on a steel frame above a shopfront, the full-colour screen ran the agency’s campaign content for the festival week and was then removed.
Updated October 2026. Case study first published April 2016.
Project facts
| Client | A UK media agency, running a brand campaign for festival delegates |
|---|---|
| Event | Cannes Lions, the International Festival of Creativity held each June in Cannes, France |
| Screen | 10mm pixel pitch outdoor LED billboard built from rental LED cabinets, full colour |
| Mounting | Steel frame fixed above a first-floor balcony and shopfront, with the screen angled towards the street |
| Duration | Temporary: installed for the festival week and de-rigged afterwards |
| Scope | Supply, installation, content playback and de-rig by Dynamo LED Displays |
The brief: a billboard for one week in Cannes
Cannes Lions brings the advertising industry to one small stretch of seafront for a week, and every brand with a budget wants to be seen there. The agency wanted a large full-colour screen on a building the delegates walked past, for the festival only. That rules out a permanent billboard: the screen had to go up quickly, run reliably in Mediterranean sunshine and come down the week after. Dynamo supplied it from LED screen hire stock rather than selling a fixed installation.
What Dynamo installed
A 10mm outdoor LED billboard from rental cabinets
The screen was built from 10mm pixel pitch outdoor rental cabinets. At 10mm the image is designed to be read from across the road rather than from the pavement beneath it, which suits a billboard above a shopfront, and the wider pitch keeps the cabinet count, weight and power draw down for a temporary structure. Our pixel pitch guide explains how viewing distance sets the pitch.
Mounted on a steel frame above the shopfront
The cabinets hang from a steel frame fixed above the first-floor balcony, braced back to the building and angled slightly down towards the road. Because the screen is a wide landscape format rather than a square, the frame carries the load along its full width and the cabinets lock to it in a single row. The same thinking applies to any outdoor screen, as set out in our guide to wind load and structural design for outdoor LED.
Bright enough for a seafront in June
An outdoor billboard competes with direct sun, so the cabinets used were outdoor-rated units with daylight brightness and weather-sealed fronts. The photograph above was taken in daylight with the screen running full-colour content, which is the real test for an outdoor install. Our guide to brightness for outdoor LED in direct sunlight covers the figures that matter.
Current Dynamo options for an outdoor LED billboard
Dynamo now supplies outdoor billboards from two ranges: the DRE Series outdoor rental cabinets for temporary installs like this one, and the DVO Series for permanent billboards. The figures below are from the DRE Series and DVO Series datasheets. DRE outdoor cabinets are 496 × 496 mm and 9.2 kg; DVO cabinets are 960 × 960 mm at 25 kg per square metre.
| Model | Pixel pitch | Cabinet resolution | Brightness | IP rating | Suited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRE P3.875 outdoor | 3.875mm | 128 × 128 px | 3,500 nits or more | IP65 front / IP54 rear | Temporary event billboards and hire |
| DVO P6 | 6mm | 160 × 160 px | 6,000 to 8,000 nits or more | IP65 front / IP54 rear | Permanent roadside and building billboards |
| DVO P8 | 8mm | 120 × 120 px | 6,000 to 8,000 nits or more | IP65 front / IP54 rear | Larger billboards viewed from across a road |
| DVO P16 | 16mm | 60 × 60 px | 8,000 nits or more | IP65 front / IP54 rear | Very large signs viewed from a distance |
For permanent billboards see LED billboards and outdoor LED displays; in the UK most of them need advertisement consent, which our outdoor LED planning permission guide walks through.
Related Dynamo outdoor and advertising projects
- 14 m × 10 m curved outdoor LED billboard at Muscat Grand Mall, Oman
- Outdoor LED display at Liverpool FC
- Outdoor advertising: what it is and how it works
- Ten benefits of LED screen advertising
Outdoor LED billboards: frequently asked questions
What pixel pitch does an outdoor LED billboard need?
It depends on how far away people read it. A billboard above a shopfront read from across the road works at 6mm to 10mm, which is why the Cannes screen used 10mm cabinets. A roadside sign read from a moving car can go to 16mm. Only a screen read from the pavement beneath it needs a fine pitch, and that pushes up cabinet count and cost.
How bright does an outdoor LED billboard have to be?
Bright enough to read in direct sun. Dynamo’s DVO Series outdoor cabinets are rated at 6,000 to 8,000 nits or more and the DRE outdoor rental cabinets at 3,500 nits or more, against roughly 800 nits for an indoor screen. Outdoor screens also need automatic dimming at night so the billboard is not a glare problem for neighbours or drivers.
Can an outdoor LED billboard be hired for an event or festival?
Yes. The Cannes billboard was a hire: outdoor rental cabinets on a temporary steel frame, installed for the festival week and removed afterwards. Dynamo supplies the cabinets, structure, processor and media player, installs and tests the screen, and de-rigs it at the end. Hire makes sense for anything that runs for weeks rather than years.
Do you need planning permission for an LED billboard in the UK?
Usually, yes. In England most illuminated advertisements need advertisement consent from the local council under the Control of Advertisements Regulations 2007, with brightness and dimming conditions attached. Dynamo prepares a planner-ready LED planning support statement for UK applications. Rules in France and elsewhere differ, so check locally.
How is a temporary outdoor LED billboard mounted on a building?
The cabinets hang from a steel frame bolted or clamped to the building, as in Cannes where the frame sat above the first-floor balcony. The frame has to carry the cabinet weight plus wind load on the screen face, so a structural check comes before the install. Where fixing to the building is not allowed, a ground-stacked frame with ballast is used instead.
Get a quote for an outdoor LED billboard
Tell us the location, the size you have in mind, how long the screen needs to be up and how far away people will read it, and we will come back with a pixel pitch, a mounting plan and a written quote for hire or purchase. Get a quote or call 020 3489 9878.
