design,strategy

Billboard design and placement in Atlanta

  • Belle
  • ON
  • November 7, 2018
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Billboard advertising is one of the few advertising media maintaining business as marketing shifts to digital. While other advertising methods have taken a hit, the demand for billboards hasn’t changed. Especially with the inclusion of digital billboards, considering this as an option in your overall marketing campaign can be a very smart move.

The reach of billboards 

A billboard’s audience is typically larger than those looking at advertising in a printed piece or on television or radio simply because it’s dependent on the number of people who drive by. In Atlanta alone, over 76% of daily commuters get to work using their car. With an average drive time of 31 minutes, there is a lot of opportunity for them to regularly view billboards along the roadside, specifically when you note that over 70% of drivers and passengers take notice of billboard advertising when they pass it.

Picking the right spot for your billboard 

Looking at your options when thinking about purchasing billboard space may feel like a daunting task. There are billboards everywhere, stretching across major highways, busy urban streets, and primary roads throughout Atlanta’s suburbs. How do you know which one is right for you?

  • Location: Narrow down your search for the best billboard by being strategic in your location. Maybe you want advertising close to your brick and mortar business, maybe you want to target an audience in a specific part of town, maybe you’re after a certain sect of consumers — whatever the parameters for your target audience, it will translate into an optimal billboard location around town. 
  • Audience: In addition to reaching the right audience demographically, you also want to think about reaching the right size of your ideal audience. Will you have better odds along a freeway, city street, or around a neighborhood? Where does your audience naturally cluster? Factoring in the behavior of your ideal audience will help in your location selection when it comes time to purchasing a billboard.

Now that you’ve narrowed down where you want your billboard to be, the next thing to remember is that a picture is not worth a thousand words in this instance. Looking at pictures of potential billboards may hide glaring issues with their location, intentionally. Your billboard could be obstructed by trees. It could also be further away from the road that you’d prefer, making it harder to read as cars zoom by. The best tip, given by the outdoor advertising experts at Effortless Outdoor Media is to visit your potential billboard before you buy. Seeing it for yourself will ensure you’re getting the best billboard in the best location to be seen.

Designing the best billboard 

Once you know where your billboard advertising is going to live, it’s time to design it. Billboards, whether traditional or digital, are unique in their design requirements because the audience is on the move as they’re reading it. “Less is more” is especially true in billboard design. Less text makes a bigger impact when it comes to billboards. Limit yourself to between five and nine works when crafting your billboard message. Seven words tends to be the sweet spot to get a complete idea cross.

Selecting one graphic or photo rather than sharing a few on your billboard takes the “less is more” concept into the design itself. You’ll make bigger impact with a single, expressive image, that aligns with your message. This also leaves room to include a visible version of your logo so that passersby can easily identify who’s talking to them.

Don’t forget to leave room for an easy call-to-action as well. This ensures your audience has a reason to follow through once they view your ad. A website, phone number, or your physical address all give your audience a way to directly connect as soon as they see your billboard.

A few final billboard design tips:

  • If your board is next to a road, don’t forget to check if it will appear on the driver’s lefthand or righthand side. Your design should take into account where the human eye is most likely to start and move as your audience passes the board. 
  • How far is your board from the ground? The further away the board (especially if it doesn’t increase in size with that distance), the simpler and bolder your design should be to ensure it will still be eye-catching and easy to read. 
  • What’s the backdrop? You should take background into consideration when designing. Is it up against a building? Trees? The sky? Knowing the surroundings will help you pick the best design and palette to ensure your board really pops.

Working with experts to stay on track with billboard advertising 

Brain Bytes Creative prides themselves on working with organizations looking to expand their reach through creative marketing strategies. Should you be in need of outdoor advertising as a component of your overall plan of action, they’re happy to help get you started with the process in addition to the wealth of services they provide to ensure strong returns on your digital marketing.

When BBC needs an outdoor advertising expert, they turn to the competent folks at Effortless Outdoor Media (EOM). The personalized attention EOM gives each client creates a partnership for narrowing down billboard options to the very best choice to achieve advertising goals. Through in-depth conversations, where EOM gets to know your business, they help determine where your billboard should be to generate the highest return on your investment.

Ready to get started?

Reach out to the team at BBC in order to get the conversation started on how we can help your business generate higher returns in marketing and advertising today.

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