Bulletin billboard advertising may seem like an old-fashioned way to communicate with the public, but these large billboards still capture the attention of thousands of viewers each day. These structures are set for a certain amount of time and are placed in busy areas for maximum visibility in places like busy pedestrian intersections or on the highway.
The rules of effective billboard advertising come down to concise and thoughtful ways to communicate with a specific audience, such as creating a striking design, keeping your message brief, and making a clear call to action.
This article will cover five effective rules to follow for creating a billboard advertisement that will be memorable and easy to understand.
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1. Make it Memorable
When designing a billboard, it’s best to use eye-catching colors or bold images to capture a viewer’s attention. Colors that are bright or contrast with each other are more manageable for a viewer to see. For example, white text on a dark background stands out and is more easily read from a distance, especially if the text is large. Bright colors like orange attract attention more than black or gray, for instance.
Another way to make a bulletin billboard memorable is to use a striking image that diverts the viewer’s eyes. Perhaps it is of an injured kitten advertising for donations to a local shelter. An injured animal will play off the viewer’s emotions and cause them to donate money or time volunteering because they feel sorry for the kitten.
Cleverness can also help a billboard become memorable. A play on words is easy to read and will cause the viewer to ponder your message well beyond seeing the advertisement. For example, an ad for a counseling service might read, “Where are you going?” while displaying an image of a driver with a map. This image implies that the reader may need help navigating life situations and resonates with drivers trying to find their destination on the highway.
2. Keep It Simple
Bulletin billboard messages need to be easy to understand because the viewer only sees the advertisement briefly and has limited time to process the message, especially while driving. Ask yourself, “What is the main thing I want my audience to know?” and create your message from that idea.
Keeping it simple could also mean using a bold image and no text except a website or phone number. A billboard should not appear as a busy collage mixed with pictures, light colors, or lots of text. This mix of words and images makes the reader confused and unable to process the information.
3. Stay Clear and Concise
Any messaging on a bulletin billboard should be short and sweet, primarily if it’s geared toward motorists. It should impact in about five seconds since most drivers will have only 5-10 seconds to read the billboard. Try to keep the message to a maximum of seven words.
Here are more ways you can ensure clear and concise messaging:
- Avoid any words that could have alternate meanings unless you are making a pun
- Avoid wordy sentences
- Use short phrases
- Be direct with your messaging and tell the audience exactly what you want them to do.
4. Create a Call to Action
To create a clear call to action, ask yourself, “What do I want my customer to do?” Thinking like this will help you figure out your key message and how it impacts the audience. If you can relate your message to your audience, your main message will be more memorable.
Say you want them to buy toothpaste, and you connect it to solving a common problem: cavities. Your call to action is “Buy Dentapaste, fight cavities.” The next step is clear and solves their cavity problem, so it’s a win-win situation.
5. Use Your Surroundings
Your viewing audience is usually on a mission to their destination, whether walking or driving, so why not take advantage of that knowledge? Give them helpful information like directions or minutes to the next rest stop on the highway.
It can also be memorable to make a joke regarding the surroundings. For example, if you are advertising for a shoe brand, consider a witty remark like, “Shoes so comfortable you could walk 5 miles to Citytown’s Coast.” Other potential items to consider for your messaging are attractions such as restaurants, grocery stores, monuments, and theme parks.
Conclusion
While advertising through bulletin billboards requires a certain amount of cleverness, the strategy comes down to effective communication. The better a brand knows its audience, the more it will be able to tailor the advertisement to the audience’s wants and needs. You will make a mark on your future customers through strategies like keeping the message simple, providing a clear call to action, and creating a unique billboard design.
