. 71% of travelers notice billboards. . Almost 75% of billboard viewers shop on their way home from work, and more than 67% make a shopping decision while in the car. . 50% of billboard viewers reported getting directional information from a billboard. . 25% said they immediately visited a business because of an outdoor message.
Most of these findings backed up the same 2003 study, proving the steady effectiveness of billboards. These statistics show that billboards are indeed effective, but are they something you should spend your marketing budget on? The answer depends heavily on the type of business you have, as well as the resources you have available to you.
There are plenty of benefits to advertising with billboards:
They are not permission-based. Billboards are unique in that they are there whether you want them to be there or not. Most other forms of advertising require the viewer to make a step to allow the advertisement to be seen. For example, advertisements in magazines require the reader to open the magazine. Radio and TV commercials require the viewer to turn the radio or TV to a certain station or channel and to actively listen or watch. Internet ads require viewers to be online viewing a certain webpage. The fact that billboards don’t allow for this type of permission is one of the reasons why they can achieve incredible results.
. They deliver repeated exposure of your message. In this fast-paced world we live in, it takes people 7–12 times of seeing your ad (or your brand) before they really take notice of you or the product or service you provide. Since most people travel the same roads to and from work and to and from shopping centers, schools, etc, they will see the same billboards repeatedly. The average commuter sees a billboard 20-40 times in a 30-day period.
. They continue to deliver your message 24 hours a day (as long as you have an illuminated sign that can also be seen at night). Billboards are essentially like renting real estate to house your individual advertisement. There aren’t many other forms of advertising that can say that.
. They increase the effectiveness of your other advertising efforts. Billboard advertising alone isn’t going to provide you with a line of customers coming in your door, but combining this tactic with additional guerrilla marketing weapons will greatly enhance your marketing effectiveness.
. They increase brand awareness and trust. When we see a product or service advertised on a billboard, we instantly see that company as being reputable. This is probably because people view billboard advertising as only being for the big guys, as we mentioned earlier. Therefore, by advertising on a billboard, your company will be recognized as being trustworthy. In addition, you increase your brand awareness, which means that when someone sees your logo elsewhere, you will be recognized, and not only that but when you are recognized, you will be remembered as the reputable company they perceived your company as from the billboard.
In many cases, billboards are mostly considered reminder advertising, meaning that on their own, they aren’t usually going to send droves of clients to your doors. The exception to this is when you are advertising a local store, restaurant, hotel or other business that motorists would want to visit immediately as they are driving. In these cases, guerrilla marketers cash in on this tactic by using the following phrases on their billboards whenever possible: “next exit,” “two miles ahead” or “5 minutes down the road.”
When you have the luxury of being able to add “next exit” or a similar phrase on a billboard, you strengthen your chances of speaking to baby boomers directly. This is because baby boomers want immediate gratification, so they are inclined to see a billboard, notice the store is right up the road, and stop to shop.
Billboards can be highly effective if you are new to the area and want to introduce your company to the surrounding community. In these cases, be sure to give a very short (2-3 word) description of where you are located and show the benefit you offer to the community. Baby boomers love to be made to feel like they are special, so if you can show them that you are in business especially for them, you’ll have a winning strategy to launch.
Billboards also work well when they are tied in as part of a larger, unique campaign or promotion you are running. For example, if you were using radio advertisements to promote an open house, a billboard would serve to make that message stronger, since your company will be noticed over several different advertising medias. As with all guerrilla marketing weapons, the more you fire at once, the more your success increases.
Having said all of that, you may still be wondering if billboard advertising is something you should consider. Here are some questions to help you through that process:
Does it fit your business? Remember, billboards are not targeted to a specific market. Instead, they hit the general population (everyone who travels certain roads); therefore you need consider if your business will be effective at targeting the general public. If your client base is broad, billboard advertising might be just the thing. But if your ideal clients are highly targeted, you are better off using a different form of advertising.
. Are you looking for local customers? Since billboards are essentially a type of real estate themselves, the prospects you speak to with a billboard will generally be from a specific location. If you are looking to find customers in a specific geographic location, billboard advertising just might work for you, but if you are seeking a more targeted, global or national client base, billboard marketing might not work as effectively as you would like (although it still could).
. Do you have the means to come up with a truly creative design? Can you afford professional design services? If you can’t, billboard marketing probably isn’t for you. As a society, we are bombarded with advertising messages everywhere we go, so it has become the norm to tune advertising out; therefore, you must make an extra effort to stand out, otherwise, you will waste a ton of money. This brings us back to one of the keys in guerrilla marketing – creativity. Being creative on your billboard advertising gives your audience a reason to not tune you out. It gets you noticed and keeps the audience’s attention on you. Believe it or not, putting a truly creative billboard in a “bad” location will still generate lots of gossip, publicity, brand awareness, and ultimately, sales.
. What location can you afford? Even though creativity is more important, location is still an important factor to consider. Obviously the higher trafficked areas will require a higher rental cost, so be sure to analyze your budget to see what you can afford, and then choose the best location. Costs of billboards are generally between $1000 and $5000 per month depending on the size and location you choose.
. What type of traffic are you looking for? Does the traffic that passes by a specific billboard location match the characteristics of the prospects you want? A hotel billboard on a road that gets lots of travelers passing by each day makes a lot of sense, but a local car dealer advertising on the same road probably wouldn’t, since travelers aren’t usually looking to buy a car as they travel.
Once you’ve done your research and gotten pricing and traffic counts for various billboards in your area, the next step is to create a billboard that will draw attention. As we mentioned, getting your billboard professionally designed is going to make the difference between launching a winning advertising weapon and blowing a bunch of money. Here are some tips to help you make your billboard the best design possible:
1. Make your message short and sweet. Your message needs to register quickly with passersby. Remember, motorists will be driving at about 55-65 miles per hour in most cases, so they will only have 6-7 seconds to view the billboard and take in the message. Make sure you don’t give them so much to take in that it’s impossible in the time they are given.
The biggest tip you can receive for billboard advertising is this: Use no more than 6 words, and make sure the entire message can be taken in and understood in 6 seconds.
2. Make sure it is legible at great distances. The best billboards are the ones that can be seen from far away because the viewers will have longer to take in your message than they would if they have to wait until they are on top of the billboard to read it.
Bonus Tip: Black backgrounds make text stand out best on billboards.
3. Choose images wisely. You want to make sure the graphics you choose capture attention and provide a deeper meaning for your message. Images have tremendous power and they can make or break your effectiveness.
4. Make sure your design contrasts with the surroundings. Use bold colors that will make the billboard literally pop out from its surroundings.
5. Make sure it is laser focused. If you try to convey too much information on the billboard, you will lose any effectiveness it might have had. A billboard should tell a 6-7 second story. That’s it. It shouldn’t tell a little story and then also tell a side story that is similar to the main story, while also telling where they can get more information. In fact, billboards generally don’t have any phone numbers or web addresses on them, because people can’t write them down as they are passing by in 6-7 seconds, and they won’t remember them either. Just focus on making your laser focused message memorable and you won’t have to explain to them how to get in touch with you.
Remember this:
The billboard is finished when there no longer is anything to take away.~Robert Fleege
It is amazing that even in a time when more and more people are working from home and using public transportation, the time Americans spend in their cars is actually increasing considerably. On average, they are spending at least 3 hours in their cars each week. During this time, they will see numerous billboards and advertising messages. Should yours be one of them?
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