Outdoor advertising is about catching your audience’s attention through brilliant and stimulating outdoor art and copy. As the biggest and most prominent form of outdoor advertising, billboards are the best examples of doing outdoor advertising right. As an advertising strategy, billboards can play an important role in your brand’s presence outside of the digital realm.
Focus on a single message with a specific goal.
Each billboard must focus on communicating a single message. Since billboards are often found near roads and public areas, brands compete for the audience’s split-second attention. Having multiple messages adds complexity to your ad. Remember: Your audience won’t stop in the middle of the road to ponder your ad.
Use short copy
The best practice in billboard copy is: Use seven words or less in your copy. While renting an entire billboard to communicate a short copy might not seem economical, your advertising agency will make it worth it. More often than not, billboard copy is purposively short but designed to be effective (because your audience won’t have much time to read a longer message).
The simpler, the better.
In terms of design, keep your billboard simple. Using unnecessary elements in your billboard distracts from your message. Don’t add to the visual noise that other billboards are already emitting. Also, use a minimal number of attention-grabbing images.
Choose the right colors.
Remember to choose hues that reflect your company’s branding when it comes to using colors in your billboard. Consistent branding on every platform creates a strong, unified image in your audience’s mind. If the design calls for different colors, try eye-catching colors and color combinations to draw in attention.
Put a premium on typography.
Billboards are meant to be viewed in a few seconds. Therefore, the fonts, kerning, spacing and visual flow of your content affect your audience’s perception significantly. Make your content easily readable for your audience.
Billboards allow your brand to show how different you are from others. Don’t fade into obscurity by flooding your audience with multiple messages, complex copy, and boring design. Create a tight, direct, and unique billboard that will make your brand memorable for your audience.