How to Advertise on a Billboard

Billboard advertising has been around for a long time, and is definitely here to stay because of its effectiveness. Those large ads you zoom past every day have a subconscious impact on you and kind of etch the product they are trying to sell in your mind. However, to be able to advertise effectively on a billboard requires some serious thought and consideration. It is not a cheap affair and you have to ensure that the money you spend is well worth the effort you are putting in to attract your audience. Here are some tips that will help you make billboard advertising work.

Some Useful Tips for Billboard Advertising

It is important for you to know that billboard advertising is a supplement to other forms of advertising. One ad on a billboard cannot allow the consumer to understand what you are trying to sell or the concept of the ad. You have to use other forms of advertising such as print ads, television ads, Internet ads, and the like, to reinforce the effectiveness of billboard advertising. Once you have assured this, here's a look into some ideas that will help.

Identify the Demographics you are Targeting
Any form of advertising begins by first determining your target audience. Similar is the case with billboard advertising. The target audience of billboard advertising is usually on the move. As such, your billboard advertising strategy should address the following questions:

• Who exactly is your target audience (based on gender, age group, income group, etc.)?
• How often does this audience travel by the area where you want to put up the billboard?
• Are you targeting an audience that travels by car or on foot?

All these questions need to be answered before you decide on your ad and its location. For instance, if you place a billboard ad for interior paint colors right next to a furniture showroom, it may make sense as people who come there may also be interested in having their homes painted. Similarly, advertisements for cars in areas with high but smoothly moving traffic may make more sense. The idea is to conduct thorough research before you place your ad.

The Ad should be Attention-Grabbing but Simple
As mentioned earlier, your billboard ad should not have too much on it. More often than not, it is people who are traveling at high speeds in vehicles whom these ads are targeted toward. These individuals should then be able to see these ads, register them, and understand the concept behind them in a span of a few seconds. As such, your billboard should be decided keeping the following tips in mind:

• The billboard should not be overloaded with too many words. Experts suggest using a maximum of 7-9 words on a billboard for it to be effective.
• The billboard should be concept (or image) based, not word based.
• Use phrases rather than complete sentences, and leave a little to the imagination of the viewer.
• Any font used should be clear.
• There should be a proper color contrast so that the product you are trying to advertise is highlighted.

While the location of a billboard is important, so is the concept that has been used to attract the consumer. A thorough combination of the aforementioned steps will help you create an advertisement that makes a whole world of a difference to your product/service sales. Some billboard ads go over the top but are highly effective. Of course, these also cost as much, but if you are really willing, you can get an ad agency to design such a billboard for you. Even if you can't afford such huge ads, keep the billboard vibrant, easy to understand (not confusing with different fonts, words, images, and the like), and visible in the right place at the right time. There is no way this method of advertising can then go wrong.