Making the Most of Outdoor Advertising

Simplicity is key

When defining your message, keep it concise, bold and clear. Six or seven words on a billboard is the goal. This is because the audience is generally moving while viewing the ad, so it needs to be easily digested. Usually, you have under ten seconds to capture their attention, and get your message across. Simple copy, fresh ideas, inspiring imagery and clever design are all needed to effectively use outdoor advertising.

The devil is in the design

When it comes to outdoor advertising creative, there are a few tricks of the trade you need to consider:

• Be wary of the logo size. If it’s too big, it takes away from the key message. Too small and your brand won’t even be associated with the ad.
• Image vs copy. Getting the balance right between the imagery and the message is important too, they need to work together, not compete against each other for attention.
• Know thy medium. What works well for a print or online ad, definitely doesn’t always translate to outdoor. Make sure all your outdoor ads are designed specifically for that medium.

Locations and campaign launches
To be effective, outdoor advertising requires a lot of planning and research. If you don’t put the effort into the planning, you’re wasting your time and money. You don’t want to spend months designing the perfect campaign, only to find out a new development is being contracted next door that blocks off the billboard. In advertising, a Gross Rating Point (GRP) is a standard measure in advertising impact, relating to traffic, visibility, location, size and other factors that need to be considered.

This is where the importance of research becomes apparent. For example, it’s been found that in Australia, when heading to shopping centres, 76% of drivers are relaxed and open to finding out about new products and services. You need to take advantage of these opportunities in advertising and discover which environments will best suit your brand.

Campaign integration

Billboards and other forms of outdoor advertising are all about brand building and supporting the greater advertising campaign. Rather than direct leads to a website or phone number, outdoor advertising generally works best to support an existing campaign. Don’t cover your billboard with phone numbers and website addresses because chances are, people won’t have time to copy them or won’t remember them. Again, it’s all about creating an ad specific to the medium.

You might think it sounds like there’s a lot to consider when it comes to outdoor advertising… and there is. From knowing where to start your research to creating the perfect message and finding the right location, it’s quite a process. So why not leave all the planning, organising and ideation to someone who can make the whole thing feel like a breeze. To find out how we can help you get your outdoor advertising campaign off the ground, get in touch with us at hey@wildandfreemedia.com.au.