One of the most common goals any business has is to increase brand recognition and sales.
While social media, events, and strategic partnerships encourage revenue growth, paid advertising is the best, most rapid way to get the word out about your product or service. And between digital and out of home channels (such as billboards), keeping top of mind awareness has never been more available.
Having a billboard marketing strategy can be a great way to advertise and increase brand awareness—especially for businesses that are launching new products or services.
By placing a large, colorful billboard near high-traffic areas and intersections, you can reach thousands of people at once. This is particularly effective if there are no other billboards nearby; otherwise, your message may get lost in the crowd.
And if done right, billboards can be an effective way for your business to reach new customers, maintain old ones, and inform your brand identity all at once.
But how do you know where to put them? And how do you make sure that they’re effective in reaching your target audience?
Ways to Increase Brand Recognition
Do your research
Before you can create a billboard campaign to reach your target audience, you need to do some research.
First, find out who your target audience is and what makes them tick. Some questions to consider:
- Do they live in the area or are they visiting?
- Do they follow the same route to get to and from work?
- Is there a unique selling prop that makes your product travel worthy?
- What is the age, gender, language distribution in the area?
This will help you determine which type of advertising mediums might appeal to them most. For example, if they’re young professionals living in an urban area with a high population density and common language, then billboards might be a good option for getting their attention.
On the other hand, if they’re rural families not in close proximity to a population center or a travel haven then maybe billboards aren’t quite right to increase brand recognition. Instead, social media, organic search, and paid search (such as Google Ads) may be more relevant.
TIP: Take note of what competitors are doing with regard to advertising via billboards or similar methods that could apply well within your industry—this way you’ll know whether there’s anything better than what you’re doing currently so that it doesn’t take too much time before figuring out new approaches!
Keep it simple
To increase brand recognition with billboards is a constant effort. For more performant copy, create a billboard with simple, exacting messaging. Your billboard needs to be clear and concise, with a message that’s easy for the average person on the street to understand in about two seconds or less. Don’t use too many words, colors, images, fonts or lines (or curves or shapes).
Work with a designer who will help you with the creative process
Working with a designer who will help you with the creative process, is an excellent idea. Designers can help you create a campaign that is effective and memorable. They can also help you stay within your budget while staying true to your brand’s aesthetic. It’s important to remember that not all designers are created equal!
If you’re advertising a new product or service that needs to be explained quickly, consider using an image instead of words to make it easier for drivers who are rushing through their commute.
It’s important to interview prospective designers and consider their experience as well as how well they fit into your team culture before making any decisions about who will be responsible for managing your billboard campaigns in the future.
Make sure your message clear and relevant
Make sure that your message is clear, concise and relevant to the audience you are targeting. Your product or service should be front and center in the design of your billboard. You want to make sure it can be seen from a distance, and that it stands out from other billboards in the area. The best way to do this is by creating a persona for your campaign and then writing copy based on that person’s lifestyle. It will help you stay focused, ensure that your message is on point and avoid any embarrassing missteps like using outdated slang or misspelling words.
Make sure your billboard’s design is eye-catching, but not too cluttered with text or graphics that may distract from your main message (if there’s something to say).
Consider the location
Location is key. You need to be where your potential customers are. Make sure your billboard is placed in high traffic areas near the places where you want to attract new business and not just on any random highway or street corner.
Location isn’t just about where you put up an ad; it’s also about quality of placement. If you’re looking for a billboard campaign, think beyond highways and main streets—think about placing your ad in front of people who could potentially become customers or employees at local events, like concerts or festivals, sporting events, and trade shows.
Billboards can also play an important role in building brand recognition within an existing community: consider placing them near school campuses during back-to-school sales campaigns; near healthcare facilities when launching new services; near job sites when hiring; or even by bus stops if they’re close enough to major employment centers (e.g., airports).
One of the biggest advantages to billboards is commuters in rural and urban environments often take the same route to work. This allows for the message to be seen multiple times by the same audience.
bMedia And Your Brand
We hope these tips and tricks can help you to make the most of your billboard campaign.
If you’re looking for more information on how to use billboards to advertise, please contact us today!
We have helped numerous clients find success with their campaigns by developing effective designs that catch people’s eyes and convey the right message.
