Media Companies—this is for you.
Big f#cking ideas start with small *ss steps.
Let’s get out of our own heads about how to make great billboard creative. It’s not magic. It’s small steps and processes. Done consistently.
You too, can be champions of great f#cking billboard creative. Here’s how.
The Three P’s.
Positioning.
Portfolio.
Promo.
FIRST UP.
Positioning.
You’re in advertising.
Talk the talk.
By swapping out these commonly used industry terms you will have a better chance at getting greater creative up in your markets.
It’s how you’re perceived. Both internally. And externally. Shift your language. Shift your mindset. Action follows.
Art
In art, audience doesn’t matter. All that matters is the artist’s self-expression.
Creative
In advertising creative, audience is king. All that matters is how the audience reacts to your message.
Sign
It’s a physical marker of what exists at a location. That’s it. Nothing more.
Billboard
It conveys a message. It makes you think. It stirs up feelings, in this case—hunger.
Your billboard is not a business card.
A phone number and a logo tell you nothing about this roofer. Except that they exist and they have a phone. SMH.
Your client’s billboard should give you insight into what kind of people they are. Because, at the end of the day, you’re dealing, with people. And people make the business.
Your billboard is an event.
Billboards are meant to be experienced. You experience them with those around you. You participate. You engage. They’re an ensemble activity. No other media grips a group like OOH.
Your billboards should come alive.
NEXT UP.
Portfolio.
How can you expect great billboard creative from your clients, when they’ve never seen it?
You’re introducing your clients to compelling out of home. Setting the bar with the examples that you show them.
You would use a portfolio to show clients and prospects, how to get the most out of their billboard campaigns.
Educate and inspire them. If there’s any doubt about a particular campaign—DO NOT SHOW IT.
Before
When local clients are only exposed to ineffective billboard creative. It’s all they’ll know. And all they’ll expect.
After
But when you educate your clients on the caliber of billboad creative that you expect in your market, you change their expectations.
Before
Businesses look to others within their industry. If the majority of weight-loss clinics feature before-and-afters, or shots of their physicians, why would your client have any reason to deviate?
After
But what if they were shown other examples? From other markets? A compilation of killer billboard creative focused on healthcare? Your client would think differently. And in advertising, that’s the point.
Before
How much information can we take away from this billboard creative? Directional. Website. Price. Training. Equipment. All intended to get you to exercise?
After
But you know what gets people to exercise? Zombies.
Not a bloated series of messages.
Before
Agencies can overcrowd billboard creative, as well. At a glance, you might get the “New.” Maybe “Howdy Houston.” The rest is lost in an overly complex billboard design.
After
One of the biggest mistakes that agencies make is repurposing print ads for billboard creative. That’s the default logic. Until you say something.
AND LASTLY.
Promo.
Your ads could work harder. So you don’t have to.
Every piece of self-promo should be delivering as much for you, as your clients’ ads deliver for them.
You’re setting the stage. Your self-promo is the first touch point. Your prospects are formulating opinions about you, long before you ever make that first sales call.
So make it count. Show ’em how it’s done.
And yet, ask someone on the street, who you are, and they can’t tell you. It’s on your imprints. On every billboard. All over town. And, you’re unknown.
What if your self-promo was positioning you in your markets? You’re the advertising experts. Shouldn’t your prospects and clients be aware of who you are and the value you bring?
If you don’t own your market physically, own it by standing the eff out.
Find what makes you, you—and blast the f#ck out of it, using the very medium that sets you apart.
Your billboards are the best medium in advertising, when it comes to awareness.
And your billboard self-promo could just be the begining.
Connect the dots for your prospects and clients. Your email, social, print, and brand marketing oughta have consistency.
Because, let’s not forget, consistency builds trust.