Why your Billboard Isn’t Working

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There are many factors that go into making a successful billboard campaign. Really good billboard advertising hits like a truck, because it’s powerful, simple messaging that makes people really think. It’s edgy, conceptual, bold, striking, and emotion-provoking. We also need to recognize that there are multiple billboards on the road competing for everyone’s attention. There may be four billboards in the area at one time, and the messaging competes against each other for everyone’s attention. Small businesses are competing with national brands in these areas, and we need to know who we’re up against and how to beat them. Everybody is beatable. When small businesses create an effective outdoor campaign, they can compete with the national brands beside them and look just as good. Don’t let your billboard be 2nd place.

Wes Frick, Founder, Wes Frick Design Agency

The problem facing many billboard advertisers is that they tend to just stay “safe”. They have a very general message, with generic stock images, and a typical, expected billboard layout. Many small business advertisers believe that if they show up in general, that they’ll start getting sales calls and booked business. It just doesn’t really work that way. The general advertisements below doesn’t really have a unique flair or unique selling proposition, there’s nothing about them that really stands out, or makes you emotionally react. The second advertisement is colorful, and has a decent layout, it’s just not engaging enough. This is a general example of when an advertiser just kind of “shows up”. This type of advertisement makes people aware of you, but it doesn’t make people laugh, share, or pull over to take a photo of it to share with their audiences. It doesn’t generate user-generated content from the community. It’s not catchy enough to be displayed on the news.

In order to truly stand out and compete with the surrounding areas, we need to create messaging that makes people emotionally react, otherwise they’ll see it, acknowledge it, and pass by it without thinking twice. We need to think about concepts that shake the boat, stir the pot, and drive action in the community. Billboard campaigns that go viral go viral because they’re sharable. They can spark conversations. They’re good enough for someone that works in the news to do a story about it. That’s the type of billboard advertising that works.
These concepts below are what I consider to be very highly shareable. These below are so outrageous that they demand attention on the road. This type of imagery really knows how to spark conversation.
Here’s a checklist that I have put together to ensure that your next billboard campaign truly resonates and rocks on the road:
• Is this content worthy of being shareable? If the shareability is up in the air, change it.
• When I show this concept to someone, how do they react? If they don’t react, make it more engaging.
• Does this design compete on the road with high end billboards or not? If not, change it or you could be next to something greater, putting you in 2nd place.
• Do I fully understand the message in about 2-3 seconds? If not, change it so it comes across fast. Remember, your message is not the only one on the road.
• Is the billboard engaging enough for a news story? If not, re-think it until it could be a feature.

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One Comment

  1. Jim Schultheis
    August 1, 2023 at 7:47 am

    I hope this is the first in a 3- or 4-part series…