September 2021 - Outdoor Advertising News

Restaurant Billboard Ideas

Posted on September 29, 2021 by admin

No matter what industry you are in, you certainly know the importance of marketing and advertising. Effective advertising can help you stand out from the competition. There is perhaps no industry where this is more important than in the restaurant industry. With quite literally millions of options to choose from, people will be drawn to restaurants with good advertising. Thus, it’s crucial that your restaurant’s advertising stands out. Need some restaurant billboard ideas and tips? We’re here to help!

The most effective and successful restaurant billboards contain striking images, plays on words and humor, or details that make onlookers do a double-take. With a clever and out-of-the-box billboard design, people are sure to take notice and flock to your restaurant. Here are some of our favorite designs to help generate some restaurant billboard ideas.

Restaurant Billboard Ideas and Tips

While there are many different directions you can take your restaurant billboard design in, there are some standard guidelines you should follow. These include, but are not limited to:

Using contrasting colors and elements
Highlighting a new product/dish
Play with angles and perspectives for a clever touch
Partner with local and seasonal events
Experiment with sizing
Get creative with fonts

With this in mind, here are some great examples of effective restaurant billboards that have done some of these things.

Compare and Contrast

As part of an intricate advertising campaign from Outfront Studios, Baskin Robbins created billboards, posters, and even web landing pages with the theme of: “some things go better together.” The agency created a fictitious company called Bobo’s Fish Juice that featured some eyebrow-raising flavor combinations. These faux-healthy advertisements were then placed side by side with delicious images of Baskin Robbins shakes.

Though Baskin Robbins is not known to be a healthy choice, the advertising campaign managed to make healthy ingredients look less desirable using an artful compare and contrast. Color schemes, images, and even tone are subtle ways to compare and contrast products to highlight your restaurant. As seen in this example, conceptual contrast and color contrast can work together in a very effective way.

Highlight a Product

McDonald’s created an ambitious campaign to promote the quality and freshness of its salads. The hamburger chain planted thousands of heads of lettuce on a billboard made of soil. Over three weeks, the bare billboard sprouted full blooms of fresh green lettuce spelling out “FRESH SALADS.” The innovative advertisement boosted sales by 30%, and 500,000 salads were sold during the campaign period.

McDonald’s also ran similar campaigns with a carrot bus stop advertisement and a giant hatching egg outside another store location. This was a great example of creating hype around a specific dish or ingredient by highlighting it.

One great thing about the restaurant industry is that you have a universally-appealing product to advertise to people: food. High-quality food photography can make all the difference with your restaurant’s out-of-home advertising. Imagine you are driving home from work and can’t wait to eat. If you see a huge billboard depicting a delicious-looking pizza, you’ll be much more inclined to read where that pizza comes from and go and purchase it.

Play with Perspectives

This restaurant billboard idea for a seafood restaurant caught a lot of eyes. The actual advertisement is comprised of two parts: The billboard in the background, and the plastic fish emerging from the top of the actual restaurant building. From this angle, both elements of the advertisement look like they are all one piece. However, the billboard is a few yards away behind the building that the fish rests on.

This billboard uses perspective and optical illusion to make the fisherman on the billboard look like he’s reeling in an extremely large fish. This is an interesting way to capture and keep the attention of viewers, as the fish and fisherman will appear to move depending on where the viewer approaches from.

Partner with Local Events

This upscale restaurant in downtown Toronto participated in the annual Winterlicious event by offering a special prix fixe meal. Though many restaurants in the area participate in the event, Far Niente took it one step further. The concept art is simple, depicting salt, flour, and cheese being sprinkled against a black space. However, the simple images use restaurant ingredients to invoke the image of snow falling on a winter’s night. This ties directly into the event it is participating in.

This ad run shows us a creative way to incorporate local events in restaurant advertisements, and how seasonal advertisement can be impactful. Seasonal advertising is quite effective with billboard advertising, as you can keep a seasonal billboard up for short or long periods of time, depending on the time of year you’re appealing to. Plus, you can run similar campaigns while appealing to different seasons, and your audience will be excited to see what you’ve come up with next.

An Excellent Use of Cutouts

MidiCi pizza used a three-dimensional cutout to make the shape of an otherwise typical billboard irregular and eye-catching. The plate seems to hang off of the billboard. Furthermore, the bold green and red tones of the pizza advertised pop against the otherwise pristine white plate and background.

The use of three-dimensional cutouts and color is an easy way to showcase specific products or dishes on your restaurant billboards. Playing with sizing, including making certain elements of your billboard larger than the others, or playing with shapes as this one does, is a great way to make your billboard stand out from the rest.

Contrasting Text

Chipotle ran this billboard advertisement that also invites another look. Onlookers immediately see the target message in bold black text: our ingredients are better. However, a second look reveals another message about locally sourced natural ingredients, and even includes a dose of humor.

This artful use of contrast text and a message-within-a-message is deceptively simple, but Chipotle has accomplished not one but two important marketing messages about its ingredients in just a few seconds. Consider playing with bold contrast to deliver two messages for the price of one in your own restaurant billboard.

How bMedia Can Help

The advertising experts at bMedia are the leaders in out-of-home advertising in Puerto Rico. No matter what industry you find yourself in — including the restaurant industry — bMedia can help you find the right audience at the right time in the right place.

With hundreds of billboards in locations island-wide, you are sure to find the spot that’s right for you and your business. Here at bMedia, we use tried-and-true best practices and strategies to optimize your advertising budget and produce a spectacular return on investment. To learn more about how bMedia can help your business reach its maximum advertising potential, contact us today!

Billboard Design Best Practices

Posted on September 27, 2021 by admin

Designing a billboard can be hard work, especially if you don’t know what your goal is. You need to be able to strike a balance between adhering to universally understood billboard design best practices, and being creative, eye-catching, and authentic to your brand.

At bMedia, we have decades of experience designing eye-catching and high-performing billboards in Puerto Rico. We use high-level advanced analytics to create and subsequently monitor your business’s ideal billboard advertising campaign. Because of our proven results, we are often regarded as Puerto Rico’s top billboard advertising company.

Why Advertise with Billboards?

Before we take you through our tried and true billboard design tips, you’re probably wondering if billboards and other OOH advertising mediums are still worth it. In this age, practically everyone is glued to their smartphone, tv, or laptop 24/7. Does this mean that online ads are the best?

There are a few different reasons why billboards, and outdoor advertising in general, are still an effective advertising medium in 2021.

Outdoor advertising is more noticeable.

Online advertising can be frustrating since so many consumers have ad-blockers in place. Those that don’t are bombarded with so many ads that none really stand out. However, billboard ads don’t have these problems, as they’re basically unblockable.

Outdoor advertising is more accepted by consumers.

Consumers are generally pretty wary of social media ads, especially after educating themselves on the manipulative tricks that many online advertisers use on them. Billboards, on the other hand, are a long-standing accepted form of advertising that isn’t subject to any ethical issues, like social media and other online ads can be.

Outdoor advertising can benefit other advertising campaigns.

People tend to be more perceptive of their surroundings outside of the home. They can take in your advertisements, even if they’re not consciously aware of it. This effect can boost your other advertising campaigns.

According to research from Ocean Neuroscience, consumers were 48% more likely to engage with a mobile ad when exposed to the same out-of-home advertisement first.

Billboards help with brand building and recall.

Outdoor advertising has shown to be very effective in building brand awareness and brand image. Researchers think that this has to do with the fact that people tend to be more perceptive of their surroundings outside of the home.

This type of advertising can be very cost-effective.

Another key advantage of outdoor advertising, especially for companies with limited marketing budgets, is its cost-effectiveness. In the current marketing environment, outdoor advertising is often cheaper than print or digital advertising. Additionally, outdoor advertising is more long-term than print or digital ads, which often require repeated payments to carry out campaigns. Paying to have an advertisement on a billboard for a month can be a much better use of funds than repeatedly paying for a commercial campaign.

Billboard Design Best Practices

With our decades of experience at bMedia, we’ve compiled a list of billboard design best practices that hold true across all businesses and industries. Note how all of our billboard design tips allow for a lot of flexibility, which is critical to enabling your brand to share its own unique vision.

1. Keep it simple.

Use fewer than 7 words and fewer than 3 visual elements. Billboards are made to be quick bursts of essential information. Making it more complicated than above will dilute the message your brand is trying to send.

2. Use borders and cropping properly.

Making an object larger than life will turn heads. Leverage size, cropping, and borders to help make your billboard eye-catching.

3. Be intentional with colors and contrast.

Bright colors and sharp contrasts make for an easily digestible billboard that’s also eye-catching.

4. Leverage key locations and seasons.

You wouldn’t want to advertise your new holiday line of sweaters in the middle of April. At the same time, you also want to make sure the location of your advertisement matches your target demographic. You’ll want to advertise in different places if you sell luxury goods vs if you sell more affordable, discounted goods. Ensure that you’re getting the right information to the right people at the right time.

5. Be careful with fonts.

The most critical part of proper use of fonts is to ensure your billboard is readable from various distances. You don’t want your font size too big or too small, and you definitely want to stick to simple, easily discernible fonts. Don’t overly condense text, unevenly weight fonts, or make the font too thick or thin! Simplicity and readability are key.

Examples of Effective Billboards

As you may have picked up by now, there’s no one-size-fits-all billboard design. Even when following our billboard design tips, you will see that there’s plenty of room to be creative and unique. As such, there are many different examples of effective billboards that can turn heads and attract customers.

One company that’s done a great job with its billboard advertising is Apple. Even though it’s one of the world’s leading technology companies, Apple frequently uses billboards and other traditional forms of advertising. In 2015, Apple launched its “Shot on iPhone” campaign. The campaign offered iPhone users the opportunity to capture images on their phones that would then be used on billboards, commercials, and other ads. Apple’s Shot on iPhone campaign displays the importance of engaging consumers and being thoughtful with image selection. These billboards were remarkably simple, yet remarkably effective.

Another fantastic billboard example was a Formula Toothpaste billboard in Indonesia. This remarkably creative advertisement shows a man whose teeth are so strong that he is literally ripping the billboard off of its supporting structure. This billboard is a wonderful example of using creativity to stand out. Once again, it’s a clean, simple image that effectively communicates Formula’s product and value while simultaneously being creative.

bMedia: Puerto Rico’s Premier Outdoor Advertising Firm

If you are advertising on the island of Puerto Rico, there is no better company to work with than bMedia. We have hundreds of billboards in strategic locations island-wide to ensure that you can connect your billboard to your consumers. We utilize advanced analytics to measure and optimize billboard engagement, providing your business with maximum value.

bMedia are Puerto Rico’s leaders in OOH media and advertising. We will work with you to ensure your advertisements are seen and remembered. Contact us today!

Asociación Hecho en Puerto Rico y bMedia Group Crean Alianza Para Impulsar Empresas Locales

Posted on September 27, 2021 by admin

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO. 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2021 — La Asociación Hecho en Puerto Rico (AHPR) anunció hoy, lunes, una alianza con bMedia Group dirigida a apoyar e impulsar a los empresarios puertorriqueños para generar crecimiento económico. Con esta unión, todos los socios de la AHPR tendrán acceso a un programa especial creado para promocionar sus negocios en la red de medios publicitarios de bMedia Group a través de Puerto Rico.

“Apostamos a las alianzas para impulsar el desarrollo económico de nuestras empresas. La penetración, alcance y relevancia de los medios de bMedia Group en el mercado local es incomparable y proveerá exposición a los negocios y marcas de nuestros socios a sus audiencias, apoyando sus metas de crecimiento”, expresó la presidenta de AHPR, Aysha Issa.

bMedia Group es una empresa netamente puertorriqueña fundada en el 2008, que actualmente cuenta con una red de vallas publicitarias y medios alternativos proveyendo una cobertura completa del mercado, para generar alcance masivo y una exposición efectiva y eficiente de mensajes publicitarios. bMedia Group es la principal compañía de medios en Puerto Rico y continúa invirtiendo en tecnología para brindar calidad visual e impacto, creando no solo espacios publicitarios sino áreas de entretenimiento para el pueblo, como lo es la imponente valla en la Placita de Santurce.

“El promover el empresarismo en Puerto Rico es una de las prioridades de bMedia Group. Este acuerdo colaborativo con la Asociación Hecho en Puerto Rico es una confirmación de nuestro compromiso para seguir innovando y creando nuevas oportunidades. Me siento inspirado y motivado como agente de cambio a contribuir al crecimiento económico de mi país, sus empresarios y al ecosistema empresarial. Nuestro norte es añadir valor a nuestros clientes para que sus marcas, servicios o productos, establezcan una conexión emocional con su consumidor de forma única, relevante, entretenida e impactante. Me honra decir que somos una empresa para y hecha en Puerto Rico”, señaló el confundador y CEO de bMedia Group, Juan Casillas.

De su parte, Viviana Mercado, directora del comité de mercadeo de AHPR, estableció: “Con esta alianza, la AHPR eleva los beneficios para sus socios y ayuda a fortalecer decenas de empresarios puertorriqueños, socios de la organización, a través de la oportunidad de amplificar sus mensajes y contar sus historias en la red de medios de bMedia Group”.

La Asociación Hecho en Puerto Rico es una organización que agrupa a más de 400 socios que componen la fibra del empresario puertorriqueño. “Esta poderosa alianza dará acceso a nuestros socios a miles de espacios publicitarios para beneficiar sus marcas y promover sus negocios utilizando nuevas formas creativas y tecnológicas”, finalizó la directora de la Junta de la Asociación Hecho en Puerto Rico, Mónica Ponce.

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La Asociación Hecho en Puerto Rico (AHPR es una organización sin fines de lucro que agrupa más de 400 socios y promueve el desarrollo económico de los empresarios locales.

bMediaGroup es una de las principales compañías de medios en Puerto Rico con una red de más de 3,000 espacios pubicitarios a través de la isla.

Sightseeing in San Juan

Posted on September 17, 2021 by admin

San Juan, Puerto Rico is a truly fantastic city to visit. It’s full of culture, beautiful architecture, delicious food, and interesting sights to see. The gorgeous weather and beaches don’t hurt either! There are so many different sights to see in San Juan that you’ll most likely want multiple days to fully experience the city. Sightseeing in San Juan is an unmissable experience.

San Juan truly has something for everybody, making sightseeing in San Juan an extremely customizable activity. It has beautiful beaches and world-class luxury resorts both in the city and in neighboring towns. The heart of the city, Old San Juan, is a UNESCO world heritage site that blends traditional colonial architecture with contemporary Puerto Rican culture. Old San Juan has tons of delicious restaurants and great shopping.

History of San Juan

Spanish colonists founded San Juan in 1521. They gave it the name Ciudad de Puerto Rico. Under Spanish rule, merchant and military ships often used it as a port when traveling to the Americas. Its use justified building an extensive network of barriers and forts to serve as protection.

Because of the city’s prominence and expensive cargoes in ships that would stop in San Juan, San Juan was often attacked by other foreign powers. One such famous attack occurred in 1595, led by Sir Francis Drake and George Clifford. Over the next 200 years, both the Dutch and the British attacked the city. Spanish soldiers were able to continuously repel any attacks.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, various events, such as colonial revolutions, liberalized commerce with Spain. The opening of Puerto Rico to immigrants greatly increased San Juan’s population.

In 1898, United States Navy ships attacked San Juan. This attack was extremely powerful, and the ultimate result was the Spaniards ceding control of Puerto Rico to the United States in the Treaty of Paris.

The United States used San Juan and Puerto Rico extensively as training camps for both World War I and World War II. Interestingly, the man who fired the first shot by the United States armed forces in World War I was a Puerto Rican native.

Modern History

In 1947, Felisa Rincon de Gautier was elected as mayor of San Juan.

This election gave Rincon de Gautier the honor of being the first woman to be elected as Mayor of any capital city in all of the Americas.

In 1950, San Juan was the site of the San Juan uprising. In this uprising, insurrectionists attempted to attack the governor’s palace in a protest against the Puerto Rican and United States governments. The attack on the governor’s palace was short-lived, as police killed 4 of the 5 attackers.

San Juan is currently the capital and largest city of Puerto Rico. The city has a population of around 400,000. It is a major source of Puerto Rico’s income and GDP. This is especially true as Puerto Rico transitions to a service-based economy, rather than manufacturing. The services sector, which includes things like trade, tourism, finance, and government work, has quickly become the leading industry in Puerto Rico, accounting for around half of its GDP and employing up to 75% of all workers on the island.

Top Tourist Attractions

San Juan is a very popular tourist destination, both for individual travelers and as a major cruise-ship stop. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best tourist destinations that you must visit when sightseeing in San Juan.

Old Town San Juan

Probably the best tourist attraction in San Juan, Old Town San Juan is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site. Viejo San Juan showcases 500 years of architecture and history. It hosts historic forts and traditional Spanish colonial architecture. The Old Town contains hundreds of beautifully restored colonial buildings, many of which house restaurants, shops, museums, and hotels. You can explore the whole area on foot, which makes for a great half-day walking tour.

San Juan Cemetery

The San Juan Cemetery consistently ranks among the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. The cemetery lies along the coast, right next to the famous fort El Morro, and has elaborate tombstones and statues. The centerpiece of the cemetery is a chapel with a red dome. The chapel is dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It is certainly a worthy stop for anybody sightseeing in San Juan.

El Morro

El Morro is the name of the fort that has protected San Juan for hundreds of years. It was built in 1539 and has been continuously expanded and renovated for the following 200-300 years. El Morro is a National Historic Site and a UNESCO world heritage site, and both the fort itself and the lawn approaching the fort offer incredible views of the ocean and the city of San Juan.

Fort San Cristobal

Although El Morro is the more famous fort, you can’t miss San Cristobal. San Cristobal is not only a bigger fort but is actually the largest Spanish fort in the New World. It was built in the 17th and 18th centuries, and unlike El Morro, which was designed to protect San Juan from naval attacks, Fort San Cristobal was designed to protect San Juan from land attacks.

Museo De Las Americas

The Museo De Las Americas, located in Old San Juan, is a great way to learn about the history of Puerto Rico. The museum focuses on the art, ethnic groups, and colonization of the country, and is a great stop before you embark on any other cultural experiences.

Condado and Ocean Park Beach

The Condado district was developed as Puerto Rico’s first tourist district in the 1950s. Condado offers many different hotels and accommodations at every price point. The white-sand beach here is beautiful, soft, and very popular.

Advertising in San Juan with bMedia

With so many tourists visiting, San Juan is a great place to advertise your business. Additionally, since the weather is warm and mild year-round, San Juan lends itself very nicely to outdoor advertising. bMedia has consistently been Puerto Rico’s Premier Outdoor Advertising Company, with hundreds of billboards island-wide.

bMedia leverages technology and advanced analytics to optimize billboard location and design, providing your company with an extremely high return on investment. If you’re interested in advertising in Puerto Rico, contact us today.