Billboard Top Tips: A Marketing Article

From highways to cityscapes, billboards have long commanded attention. Historically, they served as monumental reminders of products, services, or simply art or painting landscapes with vibrant brands and bold statements. Today, in the vibrant arena of advertising, where does the traditional billboard fit, especially with digital marketing at the popularity forefront?

First, a key definition of billboard advertising:

Billboard advertising or marketing is, simply put, the art of presenting a brand, product, or campaign on large-scale prints or digital displays. Strategically perched in areas teeming with life or along pathways frequented by travelers, billboards belong to the out-of-home (OOH) advertising family. However, expectations toward billboard marketing aren’t only about exposure; they include building brand narratives that resonate, persist, and intrigue.

The statistical numbers give weight to their enduring influence. An impressive 82% of viewers retain memories of a digital out-of-home ad they chanced upon even a month later. This affinity is echoed by top brands, with 79% amplifying their OOH ad expenditure in recent times.

This makes billboards likely a tempting idea when presented as a marketing method – but is this method the best, or even necessary for your brand?

In this episode, you will discover if billboard marketing aligns with your brand ethos, aspirations, and marketing goals. By weighing the pros and cons of today’s digital-dominated scape, this unbiased analysis of the potential efficacy of billboards as a marketing strategy will help you answer the overarching question of: “Is billboard marketing for you?”

First, a little history lesson. 

Billboards in Traditional Marketing

For generations, billboards have evolved as silent witnesses to history, narrating tales of commerce, propaganda, and eventually, branding. Their metamorphosis over time offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of traditional advertising.

The roots of billboard advertising stretch back to Ancient Egypt. Hieroglyphics on massive structures revealed early instances of what might be considered billboards, primarily aimed at promoting the dominance of rulers. It was a form of storytelling, simple yet impactful.

Today, billboards remain a marketing channel in use by many brands across the world. This can be ascribed to its strengths as a means of getting word out about a new brand, product or service. Let’s explore these benefits:

• Visibility: Billboards are designed to be seen. Their sizes vary, with even the smallest “poster” measuring an impressive 12 by 24 feet. The larger they are, the more unavoidable their presence, making them a mainstay in the visual panorama of commuters.
• Constant Presence: Unlike other media forms, billboards don't have an ‘off’ switch. They persistently broadcast their message, ensuring they capture the attention of 71% of passers-by, according to studies. They operate independently of user choice, ensuring consistent impressions.
• Strategic Location: Positioning is crucial, and billboards have the advantage of being strategically placed to intercept a variety of audiences, both vehicular traffic and pedestrians. Often, they serve as directional indicators, guiding potential customers right to business doors.
• Audience Diversity: The audience for billboards is as varied as it is vast. From local citizens to tourists, highways to neighborhood roads, they cater to everyone, ensuring a business’s message reaches an expansive audience demographic.
• Prolonged Exposure: The sheer physical presence of billboards means they offer repeat exposure. Every day, the same commuter, driver, or pedestrian views them, ensuring the message imprints over time.
• Sales Potential: The visibility and repetitive exposure combine to drive sales. While the immediate metrics might differ from digital marketing campaigns, the long-term imprint of a billboard can steer consumer behavior.
• Digital Adaptability: The traditional billboard isn’t averse to evolution. The introduction of digital billboards has infused the medium with dynamic capabilities, from LED displays to short video snippets, enhancing their ability to captivate.

Limitations of Billboard Marketing

Billboards have maintained a consistent presence in the advertising scenes for their ability to make bold, lasting impressions – but these giants of traditional marketing have their limitations. Knowledge of this is imperative in making your decision to add billboard marketing to your brand strategy book. The limitations of billboard marketing are:

• Geographical Limitation: One of the primary constraints of billboards is their static nature. They occupy a fixed spot, making them geographically bound. While a billboard placed in a high-traffic area will undoubtedly be seen by many, its reach is limited to that specific location. Unlike online ads that can be seen globally, a billboard's audience is strictly determined by its physical position.
• Audience Targeting: In the digital age, advertisers are accustomed to precise targeting tools, tailoring ads to individuals based on age, interests, browsing history, and more. Billboards, by contrast, cast a wide net. There is no guarantee the people who view them are the intended demographic, making it a broader, less precise method of reaching potential customers.
• Measurement Challenges: How many people saw your billboard? How many took action based on what they saw? These questions are challenging to answer with billboards. While footfall or traffic data can give an idea of potential views, getting precise engagement metrics, such as those available with digital ads, remains elusive. The lack of real-time feedback mechanisms leaves advertisers without granular insights into the billboard’s performance.
• High Costs and Rigidity: Securing prime billboard locations, particularly in bustling urban centers, comes at a premium. These high costs are further exacerbated by the rigidity of billboards. Once your ad is up, making changes—whether due to an error or a strategic pivot—can be cumbersome and expensive. Unlike digital ads, which can be tweaked and updated in real-time, billboard campaigns demand extensive foresight and planning.
• Non-Interaction: Billboards are not built to be engaged with. They are designed to passively convey messages, and as such cannot receive feedback in real-time, as digital channels afford. With billboards, your target audience cannot like, share, or comment on the information passed across. Rather than become participants, they are limited to being passive recipients of your brand message. In a dispensation when audiences highly value interactive experiences curated by brands, billboards don’t provide that in real-time.
• Environmental Concerns: There’s no escaping the fact that billboards, especially traditional ones, have an environmental footprint. From the materials used for the display to the energy consumed (particularly for illuminated billboards), they can contribute to environmental degradation. Moreover, they’re often criticized for contributing to visual pollution and cluttering natural or urban landscapes. It is worth mentioning that billboards built with eco-friendly materials, known as green billboards, are gaining ground. However, these green billboards are not mainstream.
• Social Implications: Historically, billboard spaces, especially in prime locations, were controlled by those with significant resources. This often meant that the voices and messages of smaller communities or less affluent advertisers were sidelined. In stark contrast to the democratizing nature of the internet, where virtually anyone can share their message, billboards were for a long time a symbol of an unequal distribution of voice in advertising.                                                                                              

Comparative Analysis: Billboards vs. Digital Advertising Channels
Digital advertising channels encompass various online platforms and methods through which businesses promote their products and services. Examples include social media, online banners, and pay-per-click campaigns.

In today’s digital era, online marketing is far from becoming obsolete. In fact, according to GWI research, 78% of social media users utilize these platforms to research products, indicating the powerful influence of digital channels in the spheres of marketing. Also, video content has become particularly compelling, with consumers being 64% more likely to make a purchase after viewing an online video. Thus, digital marketing is a dynamic force driving consumer behavior and brand perception.

In comparing billboards to digital channels, the most important metrics are the same used to measure the success of any marketing strategy:

• Reach & Targeting: While billboard advertising has the advantage of a physical presence, often capturing the attention of passersby, its reach is localized. On the other hand, digital channels, with the internet as the messenger, have the potential to reach a global audience. This wide accessibility allows digital campaigns to target specific demographics more precisely based on user behavior, preferences, and other metrics.
• Tracking & ROI: Determining the exact return on investment (ROI) for billboards can be challenging. Though some companies may provide data on the number of people who pass by a billboard, it is difficult to ascertain if these individuals actually engage with the advertisement. Conversely, digital marketing offers detailed analytics through tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights, allowing businesses to measure campaign effectiveness in real-time and adjust strategies accordingly.
• Cost: The financial outlay for billboard advertising varies based on size and location, but even smaller billboards can demand significant investment. In comparison, digital marketing can often be more cost-effective, offering scalable options to fit varied budgets and ensuring that businesses get more bang for their buck.
• Does this mean that billboards are completely relegated to ineffectiveness? Not at all. An omnichannel marketing strategy may be the game-changer.

Embracing an omnichannel approach means creating a seamless and integrated customer experience, irrespective of how or where a customer chooses to engage with a brand. In an omnichannel experience, every marketing platform is interconnected, allowing for a fluid transition and symbiotic flow between them.

So, how do billboards fit into this?

Billboards can act as the initial touchpoint, sparking interest or curiosity in a passerby. Once intrigued, this individual might then turn to digital channels – be it a brand’s website, social media page, or online store – for further engagement. In this way, traditional advertising mediums like billboards can drive traffic to digital platforms, creating a holistic marketing strategy.

In summary, while both billboard advertising and digital channels have their distinct advantages, integrating them within an omnichannel strategy can amplify their individual strengths. By ensuring consistency across all platforms and leveraging the unique benefits that each medium offers, your brand can craft a comprehensive marketing approach that resonates with today’s dynamic consumer.

The Takeaway

All things considered, the question of whether or not billboards are your go-to depends on your brand, goals, target audience, and importantly, budget. These questions will help you arrive at your answer for how important, effective, and necessary billboards are to you and your brand:

- Where are you likely to find your target audience faster? Online or offline with billboards?

- Do you prioritize audience engagement and interaction with your brand?

- What is your most important marketing objective? Awareness or conversion?

- Are performance tracking and ROI feedback in real-time important in your marketing endeavor?

- Do you prefer a wide-net marketing strategy or a more concise approach?

- Can you afford billboards as an independent marketing strategy or as part of an omnichannel strategy, or at all?

- Are prime billboard spaces available in your target location?

Essentially, make certain to understand the strengths and limitations of billboards, and consider the potential value they bring to an omnichannel strategy or as an independent medium. Weigh these against your available resources, marketing objectives, and target audience expectations to make the best decision for your brand!