Do you want to adapt your marketing strategy to reach your audience more naturally? Acquiring a large adverting space such as a billboard, in a busy location, can help you do that.

A recent advertising industry study suggests that billboards can boost your campaigns and help to maximise the ROI on your advertising strategies.

Where The Trade Buys Print, printed banner experts, have provided the guide below to help showcase what a billboard-based campaign could do for your brand.

What is the role of the billboard?

The history of the billboard dates back to New York around the mid-1830s. Since then, it has become an important part of marketing advertising — it even played a role as a crucial prop in renowned movie, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

From a strategy point of view, the billboard works because many people are out and about for various parts of the day. According to Bill Shorten, leader of the Labor Party: “Today, nine out of 10 of us spend more than 90 minutes a day travelling to and from work.” This is an ideal window of opportunity to target people with a large, quality billboard.

Also, billboards tend to be incredibly easy to design and get printed quickly. A billboard is a single design — unlike a brochure, for example, that would require more content, usually a few pages, which requires more effort and time to plan.

A consumer must digest an advert at least seven times before they can consider making a move, especially where larger sums of money are concerned — such as choosing to buy or visit a store. This interesting finding was revealed by the theory ‘Marketing Rule of 7’. If you put an outdoor banner somewhere with a lot of people — like on a highway — the same people should pass every day (e.g. going to work or dropping the kids off at school). So, you can help hit this magic number seven and boost the chance that your marketing message gets through.

So now we’ve demonstrated that billboards have advantages. So, how do you make yours effective?

Be strategic with your design

Despite billboards being large, consumers won’t notice them if they aren’t eye-catching. Think strategically:

• What is your marketing aim?
• Do you want to promote a specific product or generally highlight your brand?
• Are you already well-known in the area or are you a start-up company?
• Looking to highlight an event, rather than something to ‘sell’?

Crucial elements that need to be included on your billboard are: contact details, name of product/service/event, and important dates (like when the promotional offer ends) are.

Utilise those big, bold images on your billboard. Research states that we generally only recall 10% of information we learn three days later — but including a strong image alongside this information boosts retention by 55%! Essentially, you need to grab your audience’s attention with a funny, quirky or bold visual, text has a slim to none chance of being retained if several days have passed since consuming it. Your images can pack a powerful punch on a huge billboard, so focus on the right picture and go from there.

Achieving clarity is extremely important when it comes to designing a successful billboard. Bright shades catch the eye — contrasting colours also stay in people’s memories for longer — and opt for a simple background with a plain font.

Consider your location carefully

Considering somewhere by the road for your billboard placement? Then make sure you go easy on the text and really exaggerate imagery. A motorist typically has five to 10 seconds to look at an advertisement. The better the image, the less you need to write, so stick to a brief, punchy message of seven words to convey your marketing message, if you can.

Ensure your audience will travelling in and around the location of your desired billboard. Who’s your audience? If you’re going for 18-21-years-olds, anywhere near a university or college would be great and should help you maximise your ROI.

Is your audience the local community? If so, create a sense of familiarity by including an image of a local landmark or poke fun at the local traffic. Humour works in advertising. A review of 6,500 ads discovered that the funniest were thought to be the most memorable. Plus, you come across as personal and familiar, making your brand seem welcoming to a new customer.

Get started on your billboard strategy and increase your brand exposure and sales today.

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