Five Tips for Successful Billboard Advertising

Don’t settle for that billboard location that fits your budget

because it may not fit your goal.

Example:

If your budget is $10,000 and your new store needs a billboard within a 1/2 mile from it's hwy exit,

the site you found across town for $9,000 will not work.

Choosing the Correct Location

Speaking of location, it is EVERYTHING!

Is the location on the right side of the road (preferred) or to the far left across a few lanes of traffic?

Although a billboard sign is large, the average attention span of a motorist reading this is 2-6 seconds.

Don’t make the mistake of getting lost in that small time frame.

A quick drive by someone on your team will clarify any questions and give you a “first impression” on the chosen site.

More On Location

Really, this is important and thus gets a second listing.

Is the area you chose full of other billboard clutter?

Is it visible from the highway or is it hidden behind a large cluster of trees or buildings?

Is it only visible for one second because the road curves the other way? Is it in the shadow of a skyscraper?

Silly questions but you get the point.

Unfortunately there are a few unscrupulous billboard companies that will not disclose this on their info spec sheet. So make sure and either drive to location, have one of your team members drive to the location or at least check it out on google maps or google earth.

Dig Into the Data and Do Some Research

All legit billboard companies that you deal with directly will have pertinent info about the traffic that passes by the billboard.

Make sure it is relatively new data and that it is complete.

Not only will it tell you the traffic count,

it will even break down into more detailed, valuable demographics.

This info will help you target the right group(s) for your business and/or product advertised.

K.I.S.S. and Billboard Design

Hire a graphic designer with billboard design experience!

So many times companies get their web designer to also design a billboard

But...

these two types of design are so very different.

It’s like asking a plumber to look at your car’s radiator.

In addition, we recommend the K.I.S.S. method (an acronym for KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID).

What happens when a company has their first billboard is that they want to put as much info on there as possible.

This format does well if it’s a brochure or flyer.

It does not work well with a billboard for numerous reasons; including the idea that you should keep the design clean, simple and to the point (for faster reading.).

Remember you only have 2 - 6 seconds for someone to read your ad.

What do you want them to do?

If it is for branding purposes, how do you want them to remember your brand?

Your Call To Action

Don't forget to put a "call to action" so your audience knows what to do.

If it is to visit a website, make sure that the domain name (url) is easily visible!

Create a landing page and buy a short memorable domain name that they can visit so that you can track the billboard traffic.

We hope these small tips help you on your billboard journey.

Need Help?

With over 20 years of experience, MusiGraphics can help with designing, researching, planning or negotiating your next billboard project.