Side of the road billboards have been a successful form of marketing for well over a century. Even in today’s digital world, billboard marketing is still one of the most effective ways to get your brand to the consumer. With millions of motorists on the road every day, billboards certainly have mass consumer reach.
So, how do you ensure that your billboard is memorable and converts the consumer into a client?
Our printing and design professionals have put together a few tips for successful billboard marketing.
Depending on traffic, motorists will either be speeding past your billboard or moving past it at a snail’s pace. It is important to consider the former, especially if your billboard is on the side of the highway.
You need to understand what your message is, and you need to get it across to your audience quickly. What is it you want your audience to remember? Do you want them to visit your website? Do you want to inform them of a new product or service? Do you want feet through the door at your store?
Make sure your key message is easy to understand.
(Brand Name) will satisfy your coffee craving. Get your fix at the next exit.
(Brand) has the stylish winder wardrobe you want! Order online today (WEBSITE).
These examples tell a story, speak to the consumer, solve a problem, and contain a key message and call to action. Your target market will drive past your billboard and instantly understand your brand and your brand message. You will also be solving a problem that they didn’t even know they had!
Humans are great at remembering and passing on stories, and not so good at remembering the facts. Billboard marketing is a visual medium, and you need to turn your billboard into a compelling storyteller through images and text.
You need to be strategic in your approach to billboard design, but where do you even begin?
One of the most effective ways to make an impact with your billboard content is to use a short play on words. This will entertain the audience and make it memorable – especially if it gets them to chuckle. Puns, short rhymes and snappy catch phrases will help your message stick.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and they are right. Especially when it comes to billboard marketing. Using a dynamic image will keep your brand top of mind. An image can tell it all. This is quite challenging and you have to make sure that your design makes an impact in 5 seconds or less. Test this by sharing it with your friends and fellow designers. If they smile and get it – awesome! If they look a bit confused, just try again until you see that smile.
A driver has roughly 5-10 seconds to look at your billboard, read text, and understand the message. In those seconds, they may also be looking back at your billboard (depending on traffic of course). This means even less viewing time. One of the most important things to remember is to keep your message short! 7 words or less!
Once you have your catchy message, you can consider other valuable information. Do you need to add a contact number? A logo? A location? Be sure to only add information that is relevant. If you add more than you need, your billboard will become cluttered and motorists simply won’t read it.
Billboards are large and with such epic size to work on, don’t be meek. Print your text cleanly, in bold font to ensure it is readable from the road. The larger the font, the easier it is for the motorist to consume the content. Get loud! Get in your face! Basically, go big or go home.
Make use of bright, bold imagery. This will effortlessly attract the eye of motorists. Contrasting colours in your design have a greater impact and will improve the retention of your message.
However, for your image to be effective you must keep your background minimal to ensure the feature image isn’t fighting to be seen. One dynamic image is more visually stimulating than a handful of images slotted together.
To ensure a successful print marketing campaign, you have to be strategic in your approach. It is vital to work with a professional print designer, branding company and printing company to achieve this.
Jetline understands the entire branding process from start to finish – from business cards to billboards. We provide design, printing, brand management and digital marketing solutions to promote and boost your brand awareness.
Contact our experts today for all your graphic design, printing, brand management and online solutions.